Here we go folks. After a long season and intense playoffs, the last two teams standing are the Minnesota Lynx and the Indiana Fever. Their matchup in the WNBA Finals begins on Sunday, so we sat down to preview it. Below you’ll find writing as well as our preview podcast. Let’s get it.
Minnesota Lynx (1)
“Don’t act like you forgot, I call the shots, shots, shots”
Team’s most important player – By Zachary Bennett (@ZacharyBD)
Production from Sylvia Fowles, Lindsay Whalen and Seimone Augustus will prove critical, but Maya Moore is the Minnesota Lynx’ most important player. Last season’s MVP is the only player to finish the regular season among the top-10 in scoring, rebounding and assists. Moore scored *ho-hum* 40 of the Lynx 72 points in Game 2 against Phoenix. (Her steal at the end of the game was impressive though mostly overlooked, because of the phantom foul call.)
She will definitely draw the attention of Tamika Catchings, which should open things up for other Lynx weapons, mentioned above. The Lynx endured a good chunk of the season without Whalen, Augustus, and Fowles but not without Moore. It’s tough to imagine what things would be like in those circumstances.
“Now that it’s raining more than ever, know that we’ll still have each other, you can stand under my umbrella”
Unheralded player that will prove vital throughout the series – By Zachary Bennett (@ZacharyBD)
Rebekkah Brunson, moments into the deciding Game 3 of the Lynx’ opening-round series against the Los Angeles Sparks, came up with a steal that lead to a layup at the other end. Days later, her tip in just before the halftime buzzer in Game 1 against Phoenix gave the Lynx the lead at halftime. Both plays are microcosms of what Brunson brings at both end of the floor. She’s a tone-setter, capable of defending almost every position and while her numbers may not light up the box score, Brunson does all the proverbial little things to help the team win. Head coach Cheryl Reeve calls her the Lynx’ bandaid.
Bandaid should hook Brunson up with an endorsement deal, that would be appropriate.
Preview Podcast
Indiana Fever (3)
“Don’t act like you forgot, I call the shots, shots, shots”
Team’s most important player – By Jack Maloney (@jackhaveitall)
After the Indiana Fever’s Game 3 win over the Chicago Sky in their first-round series, Elena Delle Donne said, “Catch makes them believe things they probably never thought they could do, and that’s what makes her so special aside from her talent.” Well no one believed the Indiana Fever could be playing for a WNBA Championship this year, but here they are. And like Delle Donne said, it all goes back to Tamika Catchings.
The Fever are 4-2 in this postseason, and all four of those wins have come while facing elimination, including two series-clinching wins on the road. In those four games, Catchings is averaging 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists. Scoring, rebound, facilitating, drawing charges on defense, guarding the other team’s best player: Catchings does it all for the Fever. She’s done it all for 14 years, and she’ll continue to do it in the Finals.
There’s a mystical quality to Catchings, as if she can elevate herself to a higher state of being when her team needs it. As if she can summon superhuman abilities in order to prevent her team from being eliminated from the playoffs. And you might think this sounds silly, but you’d just be outing yourself as someone who’s never seen her play. Plus, ask yourself this: have the Fever been eliminated?
As it was in their first-round series against the Sky, the Fever’s stingy defense (fifth in defensive efficiency during the regular season), will once again be put to the test. Minnesota had the fourth best offense in the league during the regular season, and they weren’t fully healthy for large stretches. Now everyone is back, and Maya Moore is coming off a 40-point effort in the Lynx’ last game against the Mercury.
Of course, it will fall to Catchings to try and slow Moore down. Who else would it be? Now containing the former MVP is obviously easier said than done. But if anyone can do it, Catchings would be the one. The five-time defensive player of the year may not be the defender she once was, but that only means she’s one of the league’s best instead of standing on a pedestal by herself. Catchings has been brilliant on the offensive end so far in the playoffs, but her work on defense against Moore will be where she is most important to the Fever during the Finals.
“Now that it’s raining more than ever, know that we’ll still have each other, you can stand under my umbrella”
Unheralded player that will prove vital throughout the series – By Jack Maloney (@jackhaveitall)
In 21 regular season games this year, not once did Erlana Larkins play 30 minutes. But in six playoff games, she’s done it four times. Along the way she’s averaged 9.6 points and 7.1 rebounds a night while providing a paint presence the Fever have been sorely lacking all season long. She’s come up big when it mattered the most as well, averaging 15 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4 assists in the Fever’s two series-clinching wins this postseason.
Like the rest of the Fever squad, she exemplifies toughness, as evidenced by her desire to fight for loose balls and battle down low with opponents who are often bigger than her. She’ll need every ounce of that toughness starting on Sunday, as the Lynx bring forth their bruising front line of Sylvia Fowles and Rebekkah Brunson. Each of them are rebounding machines, with Brunson having put up a 19-rebound effort in Game 1 of the Lynx’ series against the Mercury, and Fowles hauling down 14 rebounds in each of the two games against Minnesota.
Larkins scores almost exclusively around the basket, but she often operates from the elbow in the Fever’s HORNS set, executing dribble handoffs, setting screens for her guards, and making nice passes. She’s also capable of putting the ball on the deck and beating her defender off the dribble on occasion. With the multitude of talent on this Indiana offense, Larkins doesn’t get too many sets called for her, and often has to rely on rolling strong to the rim and cleaning up the offensive glass in order to score. She’s made the most of those opportunities though, shooting 62 percent from the field in the postseason.
Minnesota will be focused on the likes of Tamika Catchings and Marissa Coleman, and rightfully so, but a big series from Erlana Larkins would go a long way in swinging things in Indiana’s Fever.