Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve says Minnesota is entering a post-all star \u201csprint\u201d with 16 games left until the postseason \u2014 starting with Tuesday\u2019s home tilt against Toronto \u2014 but that even with roster changes the team is \u201cnot in experimentation mode.\u201d<\/p>\n
Twenty-eight games into the season, the Lynx are No. 1 in the league in terms of record (22-6) and net rating (plus-10.3) and on a seven-game winning streak. Their rookie guard, Olivia Miles, is one of the best players in the league. Now, two-time MVP runner-up Napheesa Collier is back in action after being sidelined for most of the season due to double-ankle surgery.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not changing what we\u2019re doing,\u201d Reeve said. \u201cOur identity is formed. We can move that identity. We can morph it into different things. But we have an identity that isn\u2019t, at this point, going to change.\u201d<\/p>\n
As they work Collier back into the lineup, Reeve admits they\u2019ll have to \u201ctinker a little bit\u201d with rotations.<\/p>\n
In Collier\u2019s return on July 22 against Seattle, she finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and one assist in just 22 minutes. Reeve says the return performance is \u201cabove anything\u201d she could have imagined.<\/p>\n
Against Seattle, the Lynx didn\u2019t run any plays for Collier, yet she still found 20 shots. Reeve says that\u2019s a testament to Collier\u2019s ability to \u201cfit in.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2019Phee\u2019s not a player that a lot needs to be run for her,\u201d Reeve said. \u201cShe finds offense because of the way she moves and playing off of others.\u201d<\/p>\n
For a superstar joining a league-leading roster, that adaptability is invaluable. Reeve wants her squad to keep playing the brand of basketball that has fueled its success. She has talked to Miles about not changing her game with Collier on the court.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know what\u2019s in her head is \u2018Oh, Phee\u2019s back, where\u2019s Phee, where\u2019s Phee, try to throw it to her,\u2019 and that\u2019s just simply not the best basketball.\u201d Reeve said. \u201cSo just making sure that she understood that Olivia Miles being Olivia Miles helps Napheesa Collier be Phee.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Miles-Collier duo has been highly anticipated.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been really fun to kind of learn Liv and play with her,\u201d Collier said.<\/p>\n
Euroleague MVP Dorka Juh\u00e1sz is also assimilating after missing much of the season. She suffered a right mid-foot sprain during the Euroleague playoffs in April, the day before being awarded the league\u2019s MVP award. In her six appearances this season, the forward is averaging five points, four rebounds and two assists in 20 minutes played per game.<\/p>\n
The roster changes likely will push Nia Coffey back to the bench. She has been averaging a career-high 26 minutes per game, up from 10 minutes in 2025. She\u2019s averaging 7.7 points per game on 45% shooting from the field, along with five rebounds and two assists.<\/p>\n
There might be more changes coming for the team. The WNBA trade deadline is August 2, and the Lynx aren\u2019t counting themselves out of a roster reshuffle.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re certainly a team that\u2019s been quote \u2018open for business,\u2019 open-minded to things that are being talked about,\u201d Reeve said. \u201cIt\u2019ll be a busy week for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Briefly<\/p>\n
Reeve plans to use the new collective bargaining agreement\u2019s season-ending injury exemption on Emma Cechov\u00e1 for a second developmental spot once the trade deadline passes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve says Minnesota is entering a post-all star \u201csprint\u201d with 16 games left until the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":788033,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[1077,99,434],"class_list":["post-788032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-minnesota-lynx","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=788032"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788032\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/788033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=788032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=788032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=788032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}