Lynx at Mercury: Western Conference Finals Game Two

Lynx at Mercury 
2:00 pm CDT 
ESPN

The Lynx are on the verge of another appearance in the WNBA Finals following their game one win against the Mercury Thursday night. Today the scene shifts to Phoenix for game two, where a win will send the Lynx into the Finals.

Game one featured strong defense and poor shooting by both clubs, with the Lynx emerging with the win thanks to strong rebounding, especially from their bigs Rebekkah Brunson (19 boards) and Sylvia Fowles (14), terrific interior defense holding Brittney Griner to 9 points on 7 shot attempts, and some big plays late from stars Maya Moore and Seimone Augustus.

That was enough to offset DeWanna Bonner's 21 points and four threes, as Bonner was the only Mercury player in double figures.

I would expect better offense today from both clubs, particularly the Mercury on their home floor. The Lynx will need a better shooting night from Moore, and hopefully some contributions from Lindsay Whalen, who struggled in game one until she was removed following a knock in the 3rd quarter. Anna Cruz played the rest of the game and gave the Lynx good minutes, but they need Whalen to be at her best in order to be at their best.

The Mercury will look to involve Griner more often and more effectively, which means the Lynx bigs will have to be active denying her position as they were in game one, and use their fouls judiciously in order to stay on the court.

Elsewhere, the Liberty will be looking to finish off the Indiana Fever today in game two of their series in Indianapolis and reach the WNBA Finals as well. That game starts at noon and is also on ESPN.