Sports

Lynx Seek Answers After 0-4 Start To Season

May 17, 2022 / 2:51 PM CDT / CBS Minnesota

(AP) -- This definitely wasn't the start that the Minnesota Lynx envisioned to their season — the final of Sylvia Fowles' career.

For the second consecutive year the Lynx have lost their first four games. They hope they can turn things around the way they did last season when Cheryl Reeve's team finished 22-10 and earned the No. 3 seed in the playoffs.

"We'll do what we have to do to get where we want to go, because there's only one path," Reeve recently said. "And that path is to be able to be difficult to play against from a physical standpoint and mental standpoint, your defense, your connection on offense."

Minnesota begins a three-game road trip on Tuesday night in Los Angeles.

Regardless of what happens against the Sparks, the Lynx may face a more difficult time turning things around this year.

Napheesa Collier is out indefinitely as she is set to give birth later this month. Kayla McBride just finished playing overseas and Damiris Dantas is a few weeks away from returning to the Lynx after a Lisfranc injury she suffered last year.

Reeve surprisingly overhauled the roster last week, parting ways with Angel McCoughtry and Odyssey Sims as well as 2020 WNBA Rookie of the Year Crystal Dangerfield and veteran guard Layshia Clarendon.

"Unfortunately, you don't want to be coaching effort and toughness," Reeve said. "Those are things that you want your players to bring every time they play and I haven't held them accountable enough prior to (Thursday), and so now we're in a space where we're holding people accountable.

"If we keep asking you to do it over and over again, we'll start to make the assumption that you can't do it, and that leads to a different decision, either not playing or not being on the team."