McCarville fills Lynx's needs in the middle

Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, like any coach, will look at stats — and behind the numbers. Scoring, efficiency, the whole bit.

But when asked what center Janel McCarville means to her team, she opted for the easiest approach: "I say this: Look at what happened when she wasn't there for two games," Reeve said. "What happened to us?"

That's easy.

For two games in August, the Lynx were without McCarville — the former Gophers star who returned to the WNBA this season after two years out of the league — because of a concussion. And what happened? The Lynx lost at home to Washington, one of just two losses at Target Center this season, a game that still grinds on Reeve. Then they went to Chicago and lost again.

McCarville isn't going to score a lot of points. She does not fill a boxscore line like, say, Maya Moore does. But with the Lynx hoping to close out the Western Conference finals in Phoenix on Sunday, there is no question how valuable McCarville is.

On a team filled with scorers, McCarville's ability to distribute the ball — particularly from the high post — has been valuable. Her ability to defend on high pick-and-rolls is unique.

And, as she and Rebekkah Brunson showed in a 23-point Lynx victory over Phoenix on Thursday, McCarville can be effective defensively against bigger players.

On offense, McCarville did what she always did.

"In my eyes I'm a facilitator," she said. "I'm more of a distributor through the post. I thrive on passing.''

After determining that McCarville was serious about wanting to return to the league, the Lynx made the move to get her in a three-team trade that sent Candice Wiggins to Tulsa.

The 6-2 McCarville was supposed to replace retired Taj McWilliams-Franklin, a veteran player whose powerful personality had made her a team leader.

McCarville has done just that, in her own way.

In that stat, McCarville's plus-19.1 was best in the Western Conference. Much of that can be attributed to the great players McCarville gets to play with. But it's also a measure of her efficiency.

Reeve said McCarville excels at swinging the ball from her position in the high post. Her screens are rock solid. So often she will make a pass that won't necessarily result in an assist, but will eventually result in a basket. McCarville's 2.9 assists per game were second among the league's centers.

And now she has to do more. The coaches felt McCarville played behind Griner too often. In watching the tape, Reeve is convinced the Mercury will try to get Griner the ball more than it did in Game 1.

That means McCarville will have to do more.

She's ready. McCarville joined a Lynx team that had been to two consecutive WNBA Finals, winning in 2011. And while she was part of a New York team that reached the Eastern Conference finals in 2008, this has been a new, thrilling experience.