What does one give the team that owns the WNBA’s best record coming out of the All-Star break?
Perhaps getting its best player back at 100% health for the season’s remainder.
That’s the spot the Minnesota Lynx are happy to occupy as they resume play Tuesday night against the Toronto Tempo in Minneapolis.
Napheesa Collier, who missed the season’s first 27 games after undergoing surgery on both ankles in the offseason, returned to action in an 86-76 win at Seattle on July 22. As 24 points and 10 rebounds indicate, it didn’t take long for Collier to find something approaching her top form.
“It’s kind of fitting that No. 24 scored 24 points in her return,” coach Cheryl Reeve said. “I liked that a lot.”
Reeve also has to like the fact that opponents like Toronto really face a problem defensively. Do they try to double Collier inside and risk getting strafed by All-Stars Kayla McBride and Olivia Miles on the perimeter, or do they play it straight and perhaps allow Collier to run wild in the lane?
While Minnesota (22-6) appears fully stocked for success, the Tempo (10-16) limp into this one after dropping seven of the last eight. That includes a 109-83 defeat on July 20 against Las Vegas in their last game.
Injuries have affected the expansion team greatly, but so has lousy defense. Toronto has permitted an average of 94.9 ppg in that eight-game span, giving up 100 points three times. The Tempo rank in the league’s bottom half in steals and blocks, an indication that they struggle on the perimeter and in rim protection.
Brittney Sykes (20.1 ppg) and Kiki Rice (12.7 ppg) have combined to miss 27 games. Rice (left ankle) is on track to return sooner than Sykes (left plantar fasciitis) after participating in practice on Sunday.
“She’s worked really hard, so (I’m) excited,” Tempo coach Sandy Brondello said. “If we can get her back, that’d be awesome.”
Marina Mabrey (21.0 ppg) represented Toronto well at Saturday night’s All-Star Game, scoring 23 first-half points and hitting five 3-pointers in the first quarter.
–Field Level Media
