Amid High Expectations, Lynx Off To Hot Start

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Before the Lynx had even played a game this season, coach Cheryl Reeve was already talking about having her deepest team yet and deserving to repeat as champions.

She welcomed and embraced high expectations and so far, her team has met them. But they know they're still not nearly the team they want to be... yet.

Starting the season 5-0 has done nothing to dampen the already lofty expectations on the Lynx this year.

"Starting off there, we had three of those four on the road, so I knew that was going to be tough," Lynx guard Lindsay Whalen said. "And we were able to just kind of find ways, each game presented something different, the first two weeks every game's been a challenge, and somehow in each game we've had a way to just kind of figure it out."

Lynx center Sylvia Fowles says the team still has to work on meshing as a group.

"I don't think we're really clicking the way we're supposed to click," she said. "I think it's just the bare basics that we're at. And the scary part is we gotta long way to go. And I'm ready to see us just click and connect in all ways."

Which is to state the obvious -- despite their perfect record, they haven't been perfect. In just their last game they allowed a 24-point lead over Indiana to shrink to just two near the end.

"In Phoenix, I thought that we kind of let them get going in the second half as well, so I think just attention to detail and defensively helping each other as much as we can throughout the full 40 minutes is going to be really key for us," Whalen said.

Despite the promising start, the Lynx still have a tough road ahead.

"I'd prefer to win every game, but I know every game is not gonna be easy," she said. "Every team in this league is gunning for Minnesota. And we've just got to be prepared for whatever they throw at us at any given night, and be prepared to bounce back."

Still, players know they have time to figure things out, and that speculation is just that -- speculation.

"The playoffs aren't until September, or whatever. It's May," Whalen said. "So you want to be getting better, you want to be getting better, you never want to be satisfied."