The Too-Small Lynx Will Have To Answer Some Big Questions

As end-of-season Minnesota Lynx press conferences go, this year’s was pretty subdued. There was no “shit was stolen from us,” no missives delivered against Cathy Engelbert. “I don’t have a speech prepared, so everyone can relax,” Napheesa Collier said at the start of her exit interview on Thursday afternoon. After an 87-71 loss to the New York Liberty in Game 2 of the first round of the playoffs, the eliminated Lynx are just looking inward. The Liberty, set to the play the Atlanta Dream in the second round starting Sunday, became the first No. 8 seed to knock out a No. 1 seed in the first round. “It sucks,” was all Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve had to say about that distinction on Tuesday night after the loss. It probably doesn’t deserve more analysis than that. The strength of this particular No. 8 seed is one reason: The Liberty are a veteran, playoff-tested team still led by one of the greatest players of all time. And in a way it did not a few years ago, when three-quarters of a 12-team league made the playoffs, it does also take a little more accomplishment to appear in the WNBA postseason these days. The last time the Liberty were a No. 8 seed, in 2021, they made the playoffs with a 12-20 record. This year, with a 26-18 record, they finished just 7 games back of the Lynx, while eight games separated the Liberty and No. 9 Portland. Beyond unfortunate history, the first-round loss makes for a sooner-than-expected start to what might be the league’s most interesting offseason. The thought on everyone's mind on Tuesday night and again at Minnesota's media availability on Thursday was something like: two's a coincidence, three's a trend. Why has the Lynx season ended in heartbreak for three straight years?

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