For Minnesota, five of those are on the road, including a three-game road trip that will start Friday in Indiana against a Fever team that, with five straight wins, is the hottest team in the league, having risen to sixth in the standings. If the season started today, those two teams would meet in the first round of the playoffs.
After having played six games in 12 days — including a stretch of three games in four nights — the Lynx had a five-day stretch between Sunday’s victory at Target Center and Friday’s in Indianapolis. That gave the team time to rest — get Smith back after missing a game with an ankle injury — and get some practice in.
That’s all good. But what’s better for the Lynx is having their point guard healthy.
“She never once complained,’’ Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. “She never stopped playing the way that she plays. It was just, ‘Hey, this is what I have to do.’ ‘’
The stretch run will be difficult. The Lynx play Indiana, Washington New York, Connecticut and Atlanta on the road and have Chicago and Los Angeles at home. New York and Connecticut are currently the top two seeds. Indiana and Chicago are currently in playoff position, with Atlanta and Washington still vying for spots.
“We want to go into the postseason playing our best basketball,’’ Williams said. “That’s our focus, getting back to what made us a top team.’’
