Minnesota stalked into the Land of the Sun (and Bun) and torched the Mercury, 103-82.
But the “experience” argument — even perpetuated by this writer in making the dreaded preseries prediction— turned out to be just plain wrong.
Taj McWilliams-Franklin has been in this league 12 years. The 40-year-old post, the league’s oldest player, won a title in Detroit in 2008.
Lindsay Whalen played in Finals series in Connecticut in 2004 and 2005.
Rebekkah Brunson won a title in Sacramento in 2005.
Maya Moore won three NCAA titles in Connecticut. (sic: Actually, it was 2)
How much more experience did we all want from this veteran, collected group of players, who merely managed to continue what they have done all season?
The Lynx have so may damn weapons, they remind me more and more of the 2002 UConn team — all about the same height, all with the potential to kick your ass, and all smart enough to listen to Mama Taj.
Some happy Lynx-lettes greeted the team when they arrived home.
Who will they face? Minny will wait to see what happens on Tuesday as Indy, and the rest of the WNBA world, keeps an ear out for news of Catch’s health. Game three went to Atlanta because they used one Brazilian to make up for the loss of another.
It’s not as though we haven’t seen Iziane Castro Marques have huge games before. After all, she was an All-Star last season, averaging nearly 17 points per game. But she hasn’t really been that kind of dominant player this year.
If she hadn’t done it Sunday, Atlanta’s 2011 season most likely would have been over. Instead, the Dream took Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals, 94-77, sending the series back to Indianapolis for a deciding third game Tuesday (ESPN2, 8 p.m. ET).
Mechelle wonders: Who will step up in Game 3? With or without Tamika Catchings, Fever need someone to complement Katie Douglas
But if Catchings doesn’t play, the Fever will need another huge game by Douglas — she had 25 points Sunday and is averaging 20.4 in the five games of this postseason — and more offense from at least a couple of others. The only Fever player besides Douglas who scored in double figures Sunday was reserve center Jessica Davenport with 12.
If Catchings is sidelined, the odds definitely shift in favor of Atlanta, which is seeking its second consecutive appearance in the WNBA Finals.
Richard offers up his recaps of the games: Small ball comes up big for Dream; Lynx class shines through
The game will probably be remembered for Catchings’s injury, but long before that Atlanta had put in a hell of a performance. Castro Marques finished 13-22 from the floor for 30 points, a career playoff high and her best performance of the season by so far it’s untrue. McCoughtry had easily her best game of this year’s playoffs, shooting 11-23 for 26 points. She was nowhere near as effective in the second half, but the rhythm of the game had already been set. She got off to such a fast start, and Indiana spent so much time and attention working out how to cover her, that other parts of their game fell apart. Each of the other Dream starters ended the game with 10 points, as balance once again helped Atlanta over the line, even in a game where two wings exploded offensively and one starter was on a different continent. The question for Atlanta is whether they can replicate this. Those outside jumpers haven’t been falling for McCoughtry lately, and she still only shot six free throws in this game. If the shots from outside start bouncing out again, and Castro Marques goes back to her regular season form, does this team simply revert back to what we saw in Game 1?
Over at Forbes, Alana Glass writes about the league’s new owners: Mary Brock And Kelly Loeffler: Running The WNBA’s Atlanta Dream
“I think our community has been amazing; starting from the top from Mayor Kasim Reed who came to our first game and lowered our conference championship banner in Philips Arena, to the head of the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and all of the sponsors and fans. Sponsorships are up and ticket sales are up. The metrics are telling us, in addition to the anecdotal evidence that we are moving in the right direction. We know that we have more work to do so. We are not resting on any of that.”
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