{"id":863555,"date":"2026-09-28T13:16:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T13:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/863555\/"},"modified":"2026-09-28T13:16:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T13:16:11","slug":"napheesa-collier-must-meet-be-more-assertive-demand-to-save-lynxs-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/863555\/","title":{"rendered":"Napheesa Collier Must Meet \u2018Be More Assertive\u2019 Demand to Save Lynx\u2019s Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Minnesota Lynx started this year\u2019s playoff run in the worst way possible. They were the only top seed to suffer an upset, falling 75-91 to the New York Liberty. If they still win the series, they will be the first No.1 seed since 2022 not to sweep their first-round series.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was just a tough game all around. The Lynx lost the rebounding battle, conceded 24 points off turnovers, and shot 35% from deep compared to the Liberty\u2019s 52%. Napheesa Collier, Nia Brodie, and Natasha Howard all got into foul trouble early, leaving the Lynx with no good answer to Breanna Stewart. She finished the game with 34 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Lynx\u2019s stars, meanwhile, had quiet games. Brodie led the team in scoring off the bench with 16 points. Olivia Miles finished with 11 points on 3-for-12 shooting from the field, 8 rebounds, 1 block, 1 assist, and 4 turnovers. She looked every bit like a rookie in her very first playoff game against a team with a championship core. Collier also scored just 12 points on 6-for-14 shooting along with 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 3 assists, and 3 turnovers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With Miles adjusting to the playoffs, the Lynx need Collier to step up and play like the MVP runner-up she was for two straight years before undergoing double ankle surgery in the offseason.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like her to be more assertive,\u201d Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve said about Collier in the postgame media availability, per a video<\/a> on the team\u2019s YouTube channel.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When asked what Collier could do better, Reeve added, \u201cMove. I think she was a little more stuck. She\u2019s great when she moves. She\u2019s just like Stewie when she moves.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Lynx need more from Collier to avoid an upset\"Napheesa<\/p>\n

Sep 27, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30) shoots the ball over Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier (24) in the first half during game one of the first round for the 2026 WNBA Playoffs at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

After losing Game 1 at home, the Lynx are officially in dangerous territory. The Liberty can enter Game 2 on their home floor confident that they can beat the No. 1 seed, and knowing that even if they don\u2019t win this one, they will have another chance. The Lynx, on the other hand, will go home if they lose Game 2\u2014and that would be quite the disaster. They\u2019re supposed to compete for a title, not lose to the lowest playoff seed<\/a> in the first round.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Miles needs to play better, although the Liberty have been a rough matchup for her<\/a> all season long. So do Natasha Howard and Courtney Williams. But, in the end, Napheesa Collier is the most important player on this team. The Lynx need her to match Breanna Stewart on both ends of the floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Collier was named Defensive Player of the Year just two years ago, and she is Minnesota\u2019s best shot at slowing down Stewart. She also needs to be aggressive offensively to match Stewart\u2019s output and make her work defensively or maybe even get her in foul trouble. Beating the Liberty at home will be a tall task if Collier isn\u2019t playing like an MVP candidate\u2014even if Miles finds her rhythm and the other starters play better.<\/p>\n

\"\"Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Minnesota Lynx started this year\u2019s playoff run in the worst way possible. They were the only top…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":863556,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[99,434],"class_list":["post-863555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863555","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=863555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/863556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=863555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=863555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=863555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}