Lynx optimistic despite missing playoffs (again)

Optimism seems to abound everywhere in Lynxland even though the team's season ends after today's game at Washington.
For the fourth year in a row -- and the eighth in the franchise's 10-year history-- Minnesota missed the WNBA playoffs.
That's disappointing, everyone agrees, but wait until next season. Guard Seimone Augustus, recovering from a mild concussion suffered Tuesday, is ready for the 2009 season to start early.

"Give me a little break," the team's leading scorer said. "But if the season could start in January and go from there, I'd come back here and be with my teammates."

Her return trek would not be simple. She is playing in Istanbul, Turkey, this offseason.

Owner Glen Taylor remains confident the playoffs and bigger crowds are in the Lynx's not-too-distant future. "I am in on this," Taylor said. "I like the team, I like the organization. ... We just got to get better."

After a promising 5-0 start, the Lynx (15-18) never won more than two games in a row while stumbling through five- and four-game losing streaks.

Close losses caused the most soul-searching, second-year coach Don Zierden said.

Six times this season, the Lynx missed shots at the end of the fourth quarter that could have either tied or won games. Minnesota was 0-6 in those games, losing two of them in overtime.

"This was a pretty special draft for us," Zierden said. "Those three with their winning attitude, their work ethic and their passion for the game, they are going to be here for a long time."

Second-year point guards Lindsey Harding, sidelined early by a knee injury, and Noelle Quinn continued to develop, too, Zierden said.

"With those young players combined with Seimone," he said, "we think we are in pretty good shape moving forward."

The Lynx, barring a trade, will have one of the top six picks in April's draft. A lottery, usually held in late October, will determine the draft order for the six nonplayoff teams.

Minnesota's biggest need is inside. "Nicky has had a tremendous year," Zierden said. "But she is undersized in there. She is a 6-3 player, battling 6-5, 6-6 centers all the time."

This was Augustus' third season. She has been picked for the league's all-star game twice and was an Olympian.

She is upbeat about the Lynx.

"This year I feel like we found our team," Augustus said. "We got the pieces of the puzzle that we need."

And next season, Zierden said, he might start Wiggins and Houston. Why he didn't this year, while a playoff spot slipped away, was a head-scratcher.

Turns out that Zierden was relying on the advice of Tony Dungy, the coach of the NFL's Indianapolis Colts. Dungy rebuilt Tampa Bay's football team by staying the course, a strategy that pays off in the long run, Zierden said.

Patience is a virtue, but will it lead to the playoffs? Definitely, Harding said.