The Lynx Are Stone-Cold Killers | Defector

"The scariest thing about playing the Minnesota Lynx is not that you don't stand a chance, which, to be clear, you probably don't. It's that for a quarter or two or however long they want, the Lynx will let you feel like you do. Their 82-69 win over Phoenix in Game 1 of the best-of-five semifinals took a familiar shape-the same shape as their last win, over Golden State, and the same shape as many of their regular-season wins."

"Alyssa Thomas can hurtle toward the basket on a fast break, but in the halfcourt she can just as quickly hunt a mismatch. She leaned both on those instincts and on her sheer strength to score 16 points in the half. By the break, the Lynx and their All-Defense frontcourt had ceded a shocking (and playoff-record!) 42 points in the paint-that is, all but five of Phoenix's first-half points."

"Thomas would only score two more points the rest of the way as the Lynx defense keyed in on stopping the inverted pick-and-rolls that were letting Thomas get to the rim. "We cleaned up guarding probably the most difficult play for any team in the league to guard," Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve said. "Once we solved that a little bit, we made that a little harder, they went to other areas in their offense and we were mostly prepared for some of that.""

The Minnesota Lynx won Game 1 of the semifinals 82-69 over Phoenix by tightening defense after a slow start and halftime deficit. Phoenix led by seven at halftime and scored 42 first-half points in the paint, driven by Alyssa Thomas's 16 first-half points. The Lynx adjusted to focus on stopping inverted pick-and-rolls that had allowed Thomas to get to the rim, holding her to two more points thereafter. Coach Cheryl Reeve credited the team for cleaning up that defensive look and forcing Phoenix to attack other areas. The Lynx often allow opponents short bursts before exploiting mistakes and taking control.

Read at Defector