Phoenix knows getting defensive is a must against Minnesota
— -- ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Mercury reviewed video of their 113-95 loss to the Lynx in Game 1 of the WNBA semifinals before a light practice Thursday at the Xcel Energy Center. Brittney Griner hardly needed the visual reminder of something that bugged her.
In 27 minutes Wednesday in Game 1, the 6-foot-8 Griner, the tallest player on the floor, grabbed two rebounds, both on the defensive end. Her 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting meant nothing to her, because scoring isn't her primary gig. Her inside presence keys Phoenix's defense, which came up woefully short in Game 1.
Four days after her dominant second-round performance in New York -- 22 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four blocks -- lifted Phoenix into the WNBA semifinals, Griner's lack of aggression annoyed her so much that she brought it up without being asked. She knows she needs to be better Friday night in Game 2 (ESPNEWS, 8 p.m. ET).
"Two rebounds in a playoff game? That's ridiculous," said Griner, a two-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year. "It's unacceptable. I have to make a better effort at boxing out Syl (Sylvia Fowles), or whoever it is, and getting more boards."
Rebounds usually aren't plentiful when one team shoots 63.9 percent, as the Lynx did. Yet Fowles grabbed 10, keying Minnesota's 38-20 edge on the glass and 16-2 dominance in fast-break points.
"I saw a Minnesota team playing one of the best games I've seen them play, and I saw a Phoenix team that didn't play anywhere near as good as they could play," Phoenix coach Sandy Brondello said. "We just didn't give them any resilience or defense. We didn't execute much. Hopefully we play better in the next game."
The Mercury's poor defense and inability to slow the Lynx even a little enabled Minnesota to set the league record for points in a regulation-length playoff game. Brondello sat Griner, Diana Taurasi, Penny Taylor and Candice Dupree for the entire fourth quarter, unwilling to overtax them with the game out of hand. In the final minutes, Taurasi turned to jaw with a heckler. It was that kind of night.
"Our overall schemes were a little bit too passive," Dupree said. "Because our offense was going early, our defense slacked. We can't let our defense be predicated on our offense. Regardless of whether we're scoring the ball or not, we've got to be able to get stops. We've got to be more aggressive."
The new best-of-five semifinal format, instead of a best-of-three series, means one clunker doesn't decide a series. That takes the elimination edge off Friday night. Brondello said the Mercury prefer playing up-tempo to prevent Minnesota from setting its defense. But that requires Phoenix to play some defense itself.
There wasn't much on either side Wednesday, except late in the first quarter, when Minnesota's three-guard tandem of Anna Cruz, Jia Perkins and Renee Montgomery disrupted Phoenix's offense by slowing the hot-shooting Taurasi.
The Lynx countered with 14 consecutive points in the second quarter to go up 39-25. Phoenix never recovered. The Mercury's 34-point third quarter made little difference because they gave up 36. Phoenix shot 53.5 percent and still lost big.
"The first quarter we had a pretty good rhythm, doing things that were hurting them," Taurasi said. "In the second quarter it all went away. In the third quarter, we were trading baskets. That doesn't help when you're down double digits."
Added Griner: "A lot of times they just drove down the middle. We've got to clog up the paint, make it harder for them to get to the basket. ...
"In a playoff like this, when you let a team go on a run like that, they're going to make it hard for you to get it back. We got into a little bit more of rhythm, though, with our offense later on in the game. Now it's coming out the next game, applying that at the beginning of the game and all the way to halftime."
Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve wasn't thrilled with her team's defense, either, making that a point of emphasis Thursday. Her bench might be thinner for Game 2 if Janel McCarville, who missed Game 1 with back spasms, and Cruz (buttocks contusion) can't go.
Brondello also termed backup center Kelsey Bone (left elbow strain) questionable for Game 2. She hurt it in the fourth quarter trying to wrest her arm free from Fowles' grasp.
