Lynx well prepared for Seattle, playoffs

Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said her team prepared for its Western Conference semifinal series with Seattle by asking its practice team of men to play like the Storm last week.

"We tried to simulate what they will do with [Lauren] Jackson," Reeve said.

The Little, who beat the Storm on Friday, meet them again in 1-1/2 hours in Seattle.

Reeve said the practice team "did a nice job of being Camille Little, Lauren Jackson, Sue Bird [those are three Storm starters] and all those guys. Luckily for the Seattle Storm players they are better looking than our guys. They definitely smell better, too."

Ha, ha.

The score of Friday's game was 78-70 Lynx. It gave them a 1-0 lead in their series.

After the Lynx ended their regular season with a loss at San Antonio last Sunday, the team had a team meeting that night in the city that's the home of the Alamo.

"In the game we were not successful, that we could think of, [the] No. 1 [problem] was we did not play hard enough. Or No. 2, had [our] bad moments. We have to limit that 'my bad' times, especially the ones that lead to empty possessions -- on both sides of it."

Reeve said, the Lynx, as defending league champions, have a different type of pressure on them.

"Last year was brand new," she said. "While we were the best team in the league last year from a record standpoint, there was uncertainty about how we would perform in the playoffs. It is different this year. We repeated as the best team in the league this year and the expectation is for us to blow through this thing and win a championship. ... We don't think [that] is realistic."

Reeve said she expects tough series every round as long as the Lynx remain alive. But she likes her team's maturity.

"I have a group that has been about the block. Taj many, many times has been about the block," Reeve said. "So any time she senses [a lack of focus among her teammates], they check themselves, which is nice for me as a coach. I do have a great leadership team with my four captains."