Minnesota Lynx are the overwhelming title favorites
Nekias Duncan and Steve Jones Jr. make the case as to why the Minnesota Lynx should be considered the heavy title favorites. Check out the full conversation on "The Dunker Spot" and subscribe on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , YouTube or wherever you listen .
Video Transcript
It's the team at the top of the list.
It's the Minnesota Lynx.
Mm-hmm.
'Cause before that All-Star break, let me tell you what we saw.
We saw Napheesa Collier, and we saw Napheesa Collier- Yeah, we did in about 24 minutes say, "Hey, here's a double double.
I d- don't, don't forget I can give you 20 and 10 real quick."
The funniest part about that- Mm-hmm was, yeah, you know, Napheesa, Cheryl Reeve tampering ex- ex- expectation.
You know, this may not be the Phe that you're expecting.
There's gonna be a little bit of minutes restriction.
Let me tell you what Phe said, "Nothing about that minutes restriction said anything about not shooting the ball.
I'm getting these up in whatever four-minute stint that I'm gonna get."
And let me tell you the comfort that she found throughout that game.
Ooh, whoo.
I could shoot the three.
Yeah.
I can get post ups, you wanna Like the It's interesting because the space that Phe had to operate with- Yeah it was like, oh, that's right.
Like, the ball movement, et cetera.
Phe gets the ball in paint.
Oh, no, no one's around.
Hey, would you like to switch?
Oh, that's Phe against wing.
Oh, no, no one's around.
Like, that's It's gonna be interesting.
So I think it, it will take time for Olivia Miles and Phe to develop chemistry.
Like that's We take two-man game for granted.
We take pick and rolls for granted.
It takes time for players to understand each other's rhythm and cadence.
So keep an eye on that, but don't do the thing where you're like, "Well, da, da, da, da."
No, don't do that.
It's gonna take time for them to build that.
What I will say is not gonna take any time for Kayla McBride and Napheesa Collier to be on the same page.
And let me tell you- No the, the Lynx being able to have Olivia Miles, have ball movement, have a finisher in Napheesa Collier, and they're already good and at the top of the league.
Hey.
Hey.
Yeah.
Hey.
No.
It gets, it gets spooky, Steve.
So 24 and 10 for Napheesa Collier in her debut in, I think, 22 minutes.
She went one of six in the first quarter.
And her last miss, I think being like a turnaround, that she, she misses and she yells, a word, uh- signifying that she was not pleased with herself after missing said shot.
And I think that just kind of clicked something into place for her, where it's like, "Okay, no, we're not do- we're not gonna continue to do this.
I'm on the court, we're gonna get buckets."
It was like 17 at the half.
It was like, well, I think Napheesa Collier is back.
It is very funny, like quickly to your Olivia Miles P point, it, I think, to your point, it's gonna take some time for them to build like their natural chemistry, when to hit Phe on the pocket, et cetera.
It felt like a mix of, all right, I'm getting to this early, and if Phe's like, "Well, I can take this three, or I can flow into something else," which can work within the Lynx offense.
Or it was just Olivia's just getting downhill, and that part was fun.
As we started getting into pick, switch, where is Phe?
I was like, oh, that's, that's, that's gonna be tough when it hits on your switching point.
Like I don't know what you wanna do with that.
Because, you send a double team from anywhere, this is a team that spaces the floor incredibly well.
This is a team that shoots the ball incredibly well.
This is a team that if you come with help too early, they will cut behind you or screen behind you or both.
And if all else fails, like the ball can just find Olivia Miles again, and she can just beat anybody off the dribble.
And that unlocks the chain all over again.
And so the one thing that I wanted to hang on here, Steve, and I wanna take some self-accountability on this portion, 'cause we have talked about the Minnesota Lynx on this podcast, how great the offense has been, how great the defense has been.
They've been the best team in the league, best net rating, best record, all the stuff.
One thing that I haven't really said is like they should just be the title favorites.
It has largely been, man, they're this good and they're gonna add Phe.
We better look out.
They have been so much better than everyone this year.
Like they're the only team in the league with like a plus 10 net rating right now.
They are now adding Phe into the mix.
Should we just say they are the title favorites right now?
Not that it's impossible for anyone else to win it.
I just started this with the Aces, of course.
But like, I just don't think I, in a literal sense, I have said the Lynx should be the title favorites.
I think they have earned the right to be called the title favorites, at the very least.
I think it's fair.
You think?
I, I think it's a, I think it's understandable to say that.
I mean, they've separated themselves at the top of the pack, and they can only get better, I think is the scary part.
