Ress Reports From Phoenix

The best thing that could have happened to the Lynx occurred in Phoenix Tuesday night. Yes, they finally got their first win of the season, but something more important happened. Although the Mercury were able to come back from a large deficit to make the final score respectable (and to scare Lynx fans that they just might blow it), it taught this team two things.

One, they learned, on this one night how to close out tight games. Secondly (and equally important) was that although this game should be a confidence boost to the Lynx, they still have plenty of work to do.

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Although brief, Kathrin Ress writes after the Lynx first win of the season in Phoenix.

"It feels really good. It just proved that we are a good team. We were just really focused and I don't know, it just all clicked. It is definitely a booster (to the team’s confidence) and, like I said before, it just gave us that reassurance that all the hard work is paying off...

Coach Zierden was just really happy more for us than for anything. Now we just have to stay on that same level and keep it consistent no matter what. Win or lose we need to stay together. We learned that we are a good team. I feel like I am repeating myself, but that is it. Yes, we are young, but that does not mean anything...we are going to keep getting better and growing every game."

The NBA Got Exactly What They Wanted

Now that we know that the San Antonio Spurs will face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals, it is rather tough to make a prediction as to who will come away the champions. It almost seems to be the fight of head versus heart.

More...

http://www.downtownjournal.com/index.php?amp;page=65&story=5960&page=65&category=57

Ress Reports From Chicago

After another tough loss, rookie Kathrin Ress honored her committment to check in with Minnesota Basketball. I would just like to publicly thank Kathrin for her time while on this road trip. She certainly has a lot on her mind with the Lynx tough start to the season, so taking the time to do this really should show Lynx fans how special of a person they have in this rookie.

SL: Simply, why is this team shooting so badly right now? Is a lack of confidence a part of it?

KR: Shooting is different for people. Some people just need that routine and follow it every time they are open to shoot. Others just get into a flow and they cannot be stopped or, on the other hand, have a slump that then becomes mental. Right now, I think on our team our shots are just not falling...that is the only explanation I can think of. If you'd ask anyone of us to shoot 100 shots, we'd all make at least 70% of them. It is tough right now, we just need to continue and have faith and shoot with confidence when we are open.

SL: Is Tamika Raymond playing now because she is now healthy or could the coaching staff no longer keep her out?

KR: Tamika is very important to our team. She is a floor leader and gives us lots of energy. She is getting healthier every day and I think that she feels ready. Chuck is a great trainer and he would not put someone out there if they were not physically healthy. Also from tonight we saw how much Tamika can bring to our team and the coaching stuff did a good job using her to give us that spark that we needed.

SL: The past two games, it seems as if there is a conscious effort to get Ohlde out of the post and on the move. On the flipside, there seems to be an effort to allow Augustus to post up more? Is that truly a conscious effort or just the way the game is happening?

KR: Both Nicole and Seimone are such a central part of our team and they are both great players. Coach is just using the skills they both have and putting them into our plays. Ohlde is such a finesse player that she can use her speed on the block against the bigger post players she is matched up against, while Seimone can use her strength and height against who is guarding her. So it is just a matter of using their strengths to be successful.

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Be sure to check back with Minnesota Basketball after the Lynx game in Phoenix (which is on ESPN2 on Tuesday) for another Ress Report.

Listen to me on KFAN AM 1130

Sunday, June 3rd-5:00 PM

I will once again be a guest of Doogie's, as we discuss the state of the Timberwolves.

Should be fun and I hope that you will tune in.

First and Second Half: Night and Day For Nicole Ohlde

In my very first article for Downtown Journal in which I previewed this 2007 Minnesota Lynx season, I placed a great amount of pressure on Nicole Ohlde. In what may be a first, I quote myself…

“Therefore, the key to this season will fall squarely on the shoulders of Ohlde. With both the inexperience and lack of depth down low, Ohlde needs to step up her game and become a leader on the floor. The skills are there to be an All-Star in this league, but, for whatever reason, she has not shown that “killer instinct” to take over games in which she has a clear mismatch. For this team to be successful in 2007, Ohlde needs to become mean, something that is seemingly out of character for the bubbly 6’5” forward, but something needed nonetheless.”

(Full article here, for those who did not see it.)

Believing that tonight’s contest against the New York Liberty and their young post players would be an excellent opportunity to really key in on Ohlde, I was able to see both the good and the bad from her. In the first half, Ohlde led Minnesota with nine points and four rebounds. That would be the good. The bad? The final box score shows Ohlde finishing the game with eleven points and seven rebounds.

So, what happened in the second half?

To me, the answer is simple. In the first half, Ohlde was catching the ball on the move, allowing her to use her athletic mismatch against most post players. However, in the second half, when Ohlde was getting touches, she was back to the basket where her defender has a better chance at stopping her.

After New York defeated the Lynx, dropping their record to 0-6 on the season, I spoke with Nicole Ohlde on what I had witnessed…

SL: In the first half, you were getting the ball on the move more, rather then posting up. Was that by design or just how the game developed?

NO: I think it just kind of happened. We had a game plan coming in that we wanted to get their posts on the move and especially bring Jess out and stuff. We wanted to make her guard pick-and-rolls and everything like that. That’s just something that we decided to do at the beginning of the game and then other people got hot, so we went to other things. So, it’s just kind of how the game evolved.

SL: Does having Svetlana Abrosimova actually help you due to your familiarity with her?

NO: I don’t necessarily say just because of that. I’m getting more accustomed to everybody that’s playing. I’m getting used to the rookies, I’m getting used to Shay, Q and, you know, all those people playing. I don’t necessarily think that that has anything to do with it. Obviously, you love seeing Svet out there and getting more comfortable with everything because she missed three weeks of training camp. It’s just good seeing her get familiar with everything.

SL: How beat up are you right now?

NO: Not beat up enough to not want to go out there. My teammates are beat up too, so not enough. I want to go out there and just win for them.

SL: How much does this team miss Vanessa Hayden?

NO: You know, obviously, we don’t have a huge banger inside, but that’s something that we’re continuing to work on. All of us, as a post rotation, are trying to be successful, trying to work hard and trying to get better at things. Obviously, we miss V, but we understand that that is something that we just don’t have right now.

SL: What is the biggest lesson that you personally learned from this game and will be able to utilize going forward?

NO: Obviously, at the beginning of the game, I was aggressive. I came out aggressive. I was trying to attack. I think I can take that and continue to learn from everything that goes on in the game, whether it be from watching film or reflecting on what happened. I just have to learn from it now, learn from it tonight and learn from it tomorrow when looking back. I’ll just try to take things from it and the next time we play, hopefully change things up that weren’t so successful for me.

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With the next four games on the road, Minnesota is very seriously looking at dropping all the way to 0-10 to start the season. Although it may not be the only thing that the Lynx need to work on, if they are to have any success in 2007, Coach Zierden and his staff must continue to find ways to use Ohlde’s strengths…and not only for half the games.