As preseason and training camp rolls along and as the regular season nears, let’s look at a few things we’ve learned so far and what we’re still watching before the real games begin for the Minnesota Lynx.
The start of May means we have officially entered the WNBA season with the regular-season opener set for May 14 throughout the league.
Before that takes place, teams commenced at the end of April for training camp, beginning a two-week stretch of practices and preseason games that will be used to narrow down final rosters in preparation for the 2024 campaign.
For the Minnesota Lynx, they feel like they are in a better position this year than they were at this time last preseason, looking to build off a year where they returned to the postseason with the insertion of some new faces on the squad this summer after an active offseason.
“The expectation is to build on last season, where I think a lot of people were unsure what to expect from the Minnesota Lynx. Frankly, the expectations weren’t high from people externally. (Last season), we figured things out, we learned our identity, we learned that we have a foundation and we know we have an MVP candidate in Napheesa Collier,” Lynx Head Coach and President of Basketball Operations Cheryl Reeve said during the team’s Media Day.
“We felt like we had a vision and direction. Now, what does this season look like? What are the expectations? It’s that we build on that. We do have high expectations and we feel like the additions we made in free agency, via trade and the draft, we feel a little deeper.
“You should expect us to be better defensively, you should expect us to be better at three-point shooting, you should expect us to be able to play with better pace,” Reeve continued. “That’s the feel that we have. … We are going to continue to surprise people.”
As the regular season approaches, Minnesota is halfway through a two-game preseason slate. The Lynx took down the Chicago Sky last Friday in the preseason opener, wrapping up the pair of games with a battle against the Washington Mystics on May 8 in the nation’s capital.
As preseason and training camp rolls along and as the regular season nears, let’s look at a few things we’ve learned so far and what we’re still watching before the real games begin.
What We’ve Learned
New-Look Guard Group
Entering the offseason, the Lynx once again had a gap at the point guard position, a spot the team has been trying to solidify really since Lindsay Whalen retired in 2018.
Minnesota made a big step in doing just that with the additions of Courtney Williams via free agency and Natisha Hiedeman via trade. That duo will be exciting to watch together this season, mainly with how they lead this team on and off the court while providing a steady presence as floor generals.
“We were really targeting players that could shore up some of our weaknesses from last season. Everybody knows the point guard position has been a bit of a challenge,” Reeve said this offseason on Bally Sports North. “We really feel like Courtney’s emergence as a point guard in our league, most of her career she was an off-guard. Last season, she played point guard and had one of her best seasons of her career. She’s a really productive player on both ends of the floor.”
“We tried to sign (Hiedeman) in last year’s free agency. She was a restricted free agent, so it was a little more challenging, but we ended up trading for her,” Reeve said. “We feel good about our guard spot.”
In the preseason opener, one thing was apparent when it specifically comes to Williams — she will be a key to this team in 2024 and has already taken over as a leader and veteran voice on the team. Along with that, she also has the ability to take over games and impact things on the court, like we saw in her preseason debut at Target Center.
Off the court, her voice is powerful. Not in a loud or harsh way, but as it pertains to hyping up her teammates and being a valuable veteran presence. We have already seen that plenty during timeouts and within team huddles. On the court, Williams can boost her new team in the pick-and-roll game, can push the pace and has shot well from three the last few years, all while coming off a career year at point guard in Chicago in 2023.
Williams will have a breakout year in Minnesota in 2024, you can count on that.
“You walk into the gym in the offseason when she was running up and down, and I just noticed (her leadership). I just thought ‘this is really, really good for us’,” Reeve said. “She just knows what should be happening, she’s a vet. It’s a voice that you want. The stuff that she is saying I know is the right thing. …. She’s just a really smart basketball player. I’m glad she’s ours.”
Hiedeman will pair nicely alongside Williams at the point, providing playoff experience, strong playmaking ability and strength from three, all aspects that will be valuable for the Lynx. Reeve noted after the preseason opener that Hiedeman will be a key player coming off the bench in providing Minnesota with a spark on the second unit.
“She’ll be running the second group, she’s going to be really valuable there,” Reeve said.
We haven’t seen the Lynx bring in this type of talent at point guard since the dynasty era, and it will be really intriguing to see the difference they will make on this team throughout the summer.
Mix of Rotations
With the insertion of a few new players on the team, notably players who will play larger roles such as Williams, Hiedeman and Alanna Smith, we could see a good mix up in the rotations throughout the preseason and again in the regular season.
Williams and Hiedeman add valuable experience and leadership to the existing guards on the Lynx roster that includes Kayla McBride, Diamond Miller and others. But those two offseason additions will allow Minnesota to mix things up based on who they are playing each night. We could see Williams and Hiedeman on the floor together a decent amount, giving the Lynx a pair of guards that can be interchangeable with initiating the offense. We will also see one of them on the court leading the offense at a time, with Williams handling more of the starting duties and Hiedeman coming off the bench to spark the second unit. Regardless, those two players will give the Lynx much-needed depth at that point guard position for the first time since the dynasty era, and allows them to mix things up a bit.
When it comes to Smith, it will be really interesting to see who Reeve decides to surround her with when she’s on the court. It will likely be a similar situation to the guards in that Smith could be mixed in with a few different lineups. If Minnesota is playing a bigger team, we could see the Lynx roll Smith out with a larger lineup that includes Napheesa Collier and Dorka Juhász. If they are playing a smaller team, maybe Smith is running the center spot while the Lynx try a smaller lineup that can push the pace.
We saw Reeve experiment a little bit in the preseason opener with the lineups, but with players such as McBride and Juhász absent for that game, it’s something we could see played with and tested a bit more in the preseason finale and as the regular season gets underway. Regardless, Minnesota has a good amount of depth that gives it many options for which five it wants on the court throughout the game.
What We’re Watching For
Emphasis on More 3-Pointers?
There’s no denying the fact that the Lynx were below average beyond the arc in 2023, something the team and its coaching staff will be the first to admit was disappointing a year ago.
Last season, Minnesota ranked 11th in the league in 3-point percentage (32.5%), finishing ahead of only the Dallas Wings’ league-worst mark of 31.7%. The Lynx finished eighth in three-point attempts (20.7) but converted on just 6.8 of those attempts per game.
This offseason, that was an area of focus for Minnesota to try and improve, both with the existing players already on the roster as well as the additions brought onto the team. And in 2024, Reeve has the goal of being near the top of the league in the deep-ball game to add an aspect to the Lynx offense that will match the talents of other high-powered offenses in the WNBA.
“I want to be in the top-four,” Reeve said of her goals for where the Lynx will finish in 3-point performance. “We just feel like our advantage will maybe be a little more of that, as opposed to the interior presence. And that just gives (Collier) more room to work and do what she likes to do in the paint.”
In the preseason opener against Chicago, Minnesota did end up taking 22 shots from deep, connecting on seven of those. Although that is a bit an improvement, Reeve even noted post-game that she would still like to see that number increase. It is fair to note, though, that Kayla McBride — the team’s highest volume and best 3-point shooter — did not play (rest).
When it comes to players that were already on the roster, Bridget Carleton, McBride, Collier and others will contribute to the Lynx’s improvement from long range. But the additions of talented 3-point shooters in Williams, Hiedeman and Alissa Pili should boost both Minnesota’s volume and efficiency from deep.
In the preseason and as the regular season gets underway, it will be interesting to watch how the Lynx offense operates and if we see them throw up some more shots from deep with a mix of new and returning players taking the floor together.
Rookies Taking the Court
On the eve of the 2024 WNBA Draft, Minnesota moved back one spot — from the seventh pick to the eighth pick — while selecting a player it had its eyes on all along: forward Alissa Pili. The Lynx later selected guard Kiki Jefferson out of Louisville with the No. 31 pick.
Pili is an intriguing player, providing an offensive skillset that you don’t often see out of a post player. She not only provides Minnesota with some depth in the post, but she can stretch the floor, shoot well from 3 and is a solid distributor to open up opportunities for her teammates, all of which are traits that will benefit the Lynx at points in the 2024 campaign.
“I’m super excited to come in and learn. I think that’s the fun part about it,” Pili said after being drafted. “There’s so much more to learn, I’m really looking forward to that. I bring versatility to the game of basketball. That’s mostly what they’ll be seeing from me. … I’m a competitor and someone who brings a unique style of play and is fun to watch.”
In the preseason opener, she struggled a bit from the field, connecting on only one of her seven shot attempts, while posting two points and one rebound over 13 minutes. Those numbers will increase throughout the year, but she will have some adjustments to make as she continues to improve her game during her rookie campaign.
What will be interesting to watch the rest of the preseason and at the early stages of the regular season is how Pili’s game translates to the WNBA and how fast she is able to acclimate to a quicker game on a new team. The other thing about Pili’s game that will be worth monitoring is how she performs on the defensive end of the floor. That was an area Reeve noted in her post-draft availability that Pili might need the most work on as she enters her pro career.
“The thing you can’t teach is offense. It takes talent, instincts. We’re hopeful she’s someone that can be taught to defensively be able to exist on the court with great players in a way you’d have confidence having her on the court,” Reeve said after the draft about Pili. “We feel like we can teach the defense. The offense will come naturally to her. That’s something we can’t teach.”
Pili will provide a boost to the Lynx offensively and she will have her ups and downs throughout the year, but keep an eye on how she is able to translate her game to the WNBA and how steep the learning curve might be defensively as the postseason unfolds and the regular season begins.
Familiar Faces
Though it’s yet to be seen which players will fill out the final regular-season roster, a few players who will be fighting for final roster spots in the preseason and to round out training camp are some names Lynx fans are already familiar with.
Notably, some names who Lynx fans remember included Cecilia Zandalasini — who has yet to report to the Lynx while playing overseas in Italy — and former Virginia Tech stars Taylor Soule and Kayana Traylor. Those three players in particular will get serious looks by Minnesota to add them to the roster when the regular season begins.
In the preseason opener, Soule had a strong performance over 13 minutes off the bench, ending with six points, two rebounds, two assists and one steal while connecting on both of her shot attempts from the field. Traylor appeared in 17 minutes on the second unit, ending with six points while connecting on a pair of shots.
We could start to see these players get some extra playing time — once they all do arrive with the team — in the preseason finale to see if they can showcase why they should make the final roster. It will be especially interesting to see the play (when she does report from overseas) of Zandalasini, who last played for Minnesota in the WNBA in 2018, as well as continuing to watch Soule, who nearly made the final roster for the Lynx in 2023.
The rest of the preseason, it will be worth watching to see just how much the new faces — some of which are familiar faces — enter the rotation and if their time on the court increases as Reeve and her coaching staff figure out the final names to fill the roster with.
Regardless of what happens throughout the rest of training camp and the preseason, it’s good to have the WNBA and Lynx basketball back. Enjoy the rest of the preseason and we will see you during the regular season starting May 14.