Over the course of the WNBA season, Lynx center Alanna Smith and director of player performance Chuck Barta have spent a lot of time together.
As Smith joked Thursday, they’ve become “besties.”
Smith has been banged up all season, getting knocked to the floor but always getting up. The Lynx hope that happens again Friday in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals. Playing at Target Center the Lynx, down 2-1 to the Liberty in the best-of-five series, will try to stave off elimination and force a Game 5 Sunday in New York.
They need Smith to do that.
“Without her it would be hard,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. “We saw it [in Game 3].”
Late in the second quarter of Wednesday’s loss, with the Lynx leading by 13, Smith was called for her third foul while guarding Liberty center Jonquel Jones. The call, upon review, probably should have been called a charge. Jones wrapped her arms around Smith, then pushed back, sending Smith to the floor.
Smith got back up, but she had hurt her back. She tried to return, but didn’t feel quite right. Ultimately she ended up playing fewer than 20 minutes.
And that was a problem. Plus/minus isn’t an end-all analytic. But it’s striking the Lynx were a plus-20 in Smith’s 19:51 of playing time. Myisha Hines-Allen struggled defensively, finishing a minus-19 in nearly 18 minutes of playing time.
