Getting rid of a month's worth of rust

For the first time in a month, Seimone Augustus will put on a uniform and play in a WNBA game.

She has been hampered by injuries all season, first with a knee that needed arthroscopic surgery and held her out for exactly a month. Then, just three games after her return she sustained a left mid-foot sprain, putting her out, again, for almost exactly a month.

So what can we expect tonight, when the Lynx open the playoffs with a game against Los Angeles at Target Center? Augustus, admittedly not 100 percent, said she is going to grind through the pain and play. After today's shootaround, she said she had to make sure not to try to do too much. "I'm not going to overdo it," she said. "I'm not going to do too much, too soon. I'm going to do what the team needs.''

In the three games of her last comeback, the rust was evident. Augustus went 3-for-13, 2-for-10 and 5-for-14 in those games before being re-injured.

Thursday Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said she thought it might take more than a game or two for Augustus to shake the rust. Friday Augustus would only say that she hoped it happened sooner than later. Her ability to make her own shot is key to the Lynx offense. Her usually deadly accuracy on mid-range shots can make everything else go. In short, the Lynx need Augustus.

"I've been doing this a long time," she said. "For what, 10 years professionally? It's a matter of going out there and playing. My legs will be a little different, because I haven't played in a month. But, once you get out there and start getting a feel for it, it's basketball. It's playoff basketball, and that's the best.''

Other notes:

--Having played in playoffs at every level, Maya Moore knows what it takes. ''You want to turn everything up, just a little bit," she said. "Hopefully during the regular season we've been able to play at a high level. But having another level you can go to is very important, as far as the execution, energy, passion. And that's definitely what you'll see from us.''