Scoggins: As playoffs near, Cheryl Reeve must balance rest vs. rust

Cheryl Reeve expressed mock delight when informed that Paige Bueckers used her homecoming to introduce Dallas Wings teammates to the Minnesota State Fair on Sunday.

Bueckers’ social media posts showed her sampling fried food items and various offerings on a stick.

“I think it’s great,” Reeve said, smiling. “Because I hope they feel the same things that my family felt the day after [eating at the Fair].”

Stuffed or not, it didn’t really matter. A matchup between the WNBA’s best team and worst team at Target Center went as expected: Lynx 96, Wings 71.

Reeve had more pressing matters on her mind than her opponent’s calorie consumption at the Great Minnesota Get-Together. Namely, how to navigate the final five games of the regular season after securing the No. 1 seed and homecourt advantage in the playoffs Saturday.

Reeve gave veteran Kayla McBride the game off Monday but quickly noted in her pregame media session that she hasn’t mapped out beyond that game for anyone.

“This one felt obvious, and she was open to it,” Reeve said. “But it’s not something that we’re planning or scheming for. This is a one game situation that felt right.”

If Reeve rests starters down the stretch and the Lynx lose their timing and rhythm heading into the playoffs, some will argue that she should have kept her foot on the gas.

If she handles the remaining games as if nothing has been achieved yet and an injury occurs, well, you know what the reaction would be in that scenario.

Nobody is crying for Reeve, of course, but it’s something on her mind as a special season inches closer to playoff time.

“If there were some things that could be guaranteed, this would be a heck of a lot easier, these decisions,” she said before the game. “There is nothing guaranteed. You can limit minutes, and something can still happen. There are just a lot of scenarios that are well beyond your control.”

BOXSCORE: Lynx 96, Dallas 71

She’s right. Things happen. Case in point: DiJonai Carrington, starting in place of McBride, suffered a shoulder injury in the second quarter and did not return.

Reeve said Carrington aggravated a shoulder subluxation when she slapped down on a ball playing defense but didn’t have additional information immediately after the game.

“I just know that this is something that she deals with,” Reeve said.

The debate about how to handle playing time once a playoff seed is clinched comes up every year in every sport. Reeve knows that rest vs. rust questions are inevitable but would rather not make it a regular discussion topic.

“It’s a dangerous situation to be in, to talk about it all the time,” she said. “We certainly don’t talk about it with the team. I wish there was an easy answer. I wish there was a magical answer. We have to be playing well going into the playoffs and there are still things we need to work on.”

The Lynx have been the WNBA’s most dominant team because they are the most complete team. Their 32 wins stand as a franchise record. They lead the league in offensive and defensive rating, three-point shooting, assists and assortment of other categories. The roster is deep and versatile. They have a lot of good players flanking MVP favorite, Napheesa Collier. That cohesion won’t disappear if a starter rests a game or two in the next 10 days.

Their depth and unselfishness make them difficult to defend and entertaining to watch. The Lynx finished with 29 assists on their 36 baskets against the Wings. The won by 25 points on a night when Collier played just 23 minutes.

“Not many holes on this roster,” Dallas coach Chris Koclanes said.

The game reiterated that point. Reserve guard Natisha Hiedeman provided the spark that turned a close contest into a runaway. Hiedeman made four three-pointers, scored 20 points and contributed 10 assists. The Lynx shot 14-for-24 from the three-point line as a team.