The first preseason game is in the books for the Lynx and, looking at the box score, there are both positives and negatives for Coach Zierden’s team. Although this was only the first preseason game and there are still two weeks of training camp, scrimmages and one final preseason game, it is never too early to break down the stats.
Minnesota won the rebounding battle with San Antonio with the final tally being 34-27. The Lynx were also aggressive on the offensive glass, pulling down 11 offensive boards to set themselves up for second-chance points. The new coaching staff must be doing something correctly in this area as all 12 players who stepped on the floor for the Lynx grabbed at least one rebound. It is certainly a necessity for this team to have all five players rebounding with the lack of bigs and it seems, at least at the onset, that the team is doing just that.
Yet, looking at the rebounding as a positive, one negative that stands out is the inability to move the ball well. This resulted in a grand total of 7 assists for the game, with four coming from the starters and three off the bench. This will not get it done, to say the least. What is also concerning here is that the team’s two stars, Seimone Augustus and Lindsey Harding, combined for 20 shots to zero assists. At this point, the stars either do not have trust in their teammates or their teammates let them down by missing shots that would have given them a mark in the assist column.
The bench for Minnesota had a nice performance off the bench from the field. With the starters combining to shoot 13 of 35 from the field, the bench players shot an even 50% with their 9 of 18 shooting. As numerous players have told me throughout training camp, it is with efforts like this that this team proves it’s motto of “We’ve got each other’s backs.” On this night, the starting unit did not have their “A-game” and, although rust is somewhat excusable at this point, the second unit was able to come in and hit shots when needed. This needs to continue.
The defensive effort was evident in the Lynx ability to force 20 turnovers in this game. Watching this team so far in camp, the focus has been on the defensive end and the ability to communicate effectively with each other to achieve defensive dominance. The 20 forced turnovers, as well holding San Antonio to 38.5% shooting and 62 total points certainly shows that this team is buying into this focus…and that they have the ability to do so when they are focused.
The problem? Minnesota turned the ball over themselves an astounding 25 times. Again, this is only the first preseason game, but it is an alarming number. What jumps out of the box score here is that 19 of those turnovers came from the starting five alone, led by Nicole Ohlde’s six alone.
Eleven of the 12 players for Minnesota scored in this game, with Keisha Brown being the only one not to score a point. Yet, of the nine players who played double-figures in minutes, only Augustus and Harding were able to break double-figures in points. Rookie Noelle Quinn did end up with nine points on 3 of 5 shooting, but, at this point, those numbers seem to show the same dependence on Augustus to do a lion’s share of the work in this area.
On a night when Nicole Ohlde returned to Kansas, her line for this contest is the most concerning of all. In 27 minutes of action, Ohlde shot 2-9 from the field, scored 7 points, pulled down 6 rebounds and 6 turnovers. Haven’t we been hearing how Ohlde was working on not being so nice once she steps foot on the court since camp began? This was an opportunity for Ohlde to announce to the WNBA world that she isn’t the same old nice player that has been around for awhile now…this is a new Nicole Ohlde.
Hopefully, after another week of her teammates force-feeding her the ball and telling her to punish lesser defenses, she will be able to show this new player that we’ve heard so much about in Baton Rouge.
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