by Bruce Wolfe

For the second consecutive season, the WNBA representative from the Land of 10,000 Lakes has qualified for the playoffs. The Lynx won 18 games in the regular season for the second year in a row. Minnesota has needed every win in those two seasons to qualify for the playoffs. In 2003, Minnesota won a tiebreaker with Seattle to qualify as the fourth and final seed in the Western Conference. This season, Minnesota finished one game ahead of fifth-place Phoenix, and used a tiebreaker advantage with Sacramento to qualify as the third seed in the Western bracket.

Even though Minnesota finished 2004 with the identical record from 2003, the Lynx have had to return to the playoffs without their leading scorer. Katie Smith injured her knee July 23 at Washington and did not play in Minnesota's final 11 games of the regular season. The Lynx were in playoff position when Smith was injured, but the team certainly was not guaranteed a return to the postseason. Minnesota won five games after the Smith injury, including road wins at Detroit, Houston, and Los Angeles, to clinch its second playoff berth in team history.

There are a lot of similarities in the two playoff seasons for the Lynx, but one major difference is the opponent for Minnesota in the first round. Last season, the Lynx played Los Angeles, a team with two WNBA titles and loads of playoff experience. This season, Minnesota will play Seattle, a team that — like the Lynx — is making its second playoff appearance. The Storm won 20 games in the regular season for the first time in their five-year history this season, but Seattle has never won a postseason game. Either Minnesota or Seattle will advance to the second round for the first time in their team's history.

The Lynx will be the underdog in this series without their leading scorer and with Seattle holding homecourt advantage. How can Minnesota advance to its first Western Conference Final?

Minnesota will have to slow down the high-powered Seattle offense to have a chance in this series. The Storm scored 71.7 points per game this season and shot 43.1% from the field, ranking second in the WNBA in both categories. The leader is 2003 WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson, who this year led the league in scoring for the second consecutive season (20.5 ppg) and was sixth in the league in shooting (47.8%). In Minnesota's 64-61 win over the Storm on Sept. 10 at Target Center, the Lynx limited Jackson to 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting. They will have to do something similar on the defensive end to Jackson.

But Jackson is not Seattle's only threat. Point guard Sue Bird (12.9 ppg, 5.4 apg) not only controls the game with her passing but is one of the top clutch shooters in the league. Shooting guard and former Lynx player Betty Lennox (11.2 ppg, 42.1%) is an explosive scorer who can produce 20-point games at any time. The Lynx guards will have to keep this tandem in check to have success.

The Lynx will have to take care of the basketball to have success in this series. In the regular season, Minnesota averaged 18 turnovers per game, nearly 2.5 turnovers more than any other WNBA team. This led to an offensive average of 63.7 points pergame, second-lowest among the league's 13 teams. Minnesota won its last meeting with Seattle despite 26 turnovers. That number will likely have to be lower for playoff success.

Finally, Minnesota will have to get offense from as many players as possible, especially without the presence of Smith. In the win against the Storm, four players were in double figures, including a career-high 18-point effort from Teresa Edwards. Against Los Angeles on Sept. 17, the Lynx received a combined 35 points from Nicole Ohlde and Vanessa Hayden. Svetlana Abrosimova had a season-high 21 points in the season finale at Sacramento, the Lynx' highest point production from a single player since the Olympic break. It will take efforts like these to be successful against the Storm.

The Lynx were a significant underdog to the Sparks in last year's playoffs but defeated Los Angeles in the opener before losing twice at Staples Center. Minnesota has defeated Seattle this season without Katie Smith. The Lynx have been very competitive at KeyArena in their last three visits, winning once and losing twice by just three points each. It should be an exciting series when Seattle and Minnesota hook up in the first game Saturday afternoon at Target Center.

Lynx Playoffs Index