Neal: Alanna Smith’s toughness makes her a WNBA Defensive Player of the Year candidate

This is La Velle’s 3-2 pitch: Three observations on the local sports scene, followed by two predictions.

The Lynx were attempting to scramble back into their game against Seattle on Thursday when Alanna Smith went for a rebound basket during the third quarter and was clobbered in the face by the Storm’s Brittney Sykes.

Smith tumbled to the floor and was down for a minute. Someone brought a towel for her face. She got up and headed to the bench while others cleaned up some blood on the court. The foul was upgraded to a flagrant-1. Smith came out to sink the foul shot, went to the bench but returned three minutes later.

“She was great,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said of Smith’s mindset. “She does that for us and we appreciate her getting back out there.”

That was the nicest thing Reeve said during a news conference in which her frustration over her team blowing a 21-point lead and losing was evident. But Smith usually deserves that. Getting off the floor with a bloody nose to sink a free throw then return to the game moments later reflects her resolve.

And that resolve also fuels her as a defensive force.

Physical gifts aren’t required to be a great defender, although they help. Desire, tenacity and preparation can stifle an opponent. Smith, at 6-foot-3, is one of the best defensive centers in the WNBA because of those traits. She regularly goes up against bigger post players and shuts them down. During an Aug. 16 victory over the New York Liberty, Smith held the 6-foot-6 Jonquel Jones — a former league MVP — to no points and no field-goal attempts in the pivotal fourth quarter.

Smith doesn’t pattern her game after anyone in particular. When she watches film, she focuses on opponents’ offensive repertoire. Smith notes the things they do well, things that she must prepare for and things she can exploit.

“Being on a team that really values defense helps a lot,” said Smith, who is third in the league with 2.0 blocks a game. “Everyone on this team values it, and we’ve got really good defenders in pretty much every position. I’m not the only one that plays really good defense, and I’m able to do so because of the defenders on this team.”

But, of all the Lynx players, Smith is the only one being mentioned as a candidate for the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year. Regularly winning battles with bigger players should land her the award.

Two things the Twins should consider as rosters can expand starting Monday.

One, they should sideline Bailey Ober and give him a few bullpen sessions to work on his mechanics. Ober admitted during the previous homestand that he wasn’t all the way back after recovering from a minor hip issue. On Tuesday at Toronto, he failed to throw a pitch faster than 90 mph.

The Twins also should go to a six-man rotation, as Pablo López is nearing a return and David Festa is beginning a rehab stint. With those two, Joe Ryan, Zebby Mathews, Simeon Woods Richardson, Mick Abel and Taj Bradley, they have the arms to do it. Let the battle for 2026 rotation spots begin now.

Wild coach John Hynes visited the Minnesota Star Tribune stage at the State Fair on Friday to talk some puck as training camp will open next month. He denied a rumor that he had Kirill Kaprizov and a trunk full of money in a limousine just outside the fairgrounds. So that contract saga continues.

Seriously, I did ask him about fixing a Wild penalty kill that was 30th in the league last season. How much is it personnel? How much is it scheme? Mindset?

Hynes believes the addition of old friend Nico Sturm will help.

Sturm had a 51% faceoff win percentage last season and is at 56.5% for his career. Two years ago, it was an outstanding 62.7%. If Sturm can perform closer to that mark, he will be valuable on the penalty kill, where faceoffs mostly are in the defensive zone and need to be won.

• Despite the big addition of defensive force Micah Parsons, the Packers will not win the NFC North. If he could throw passes, maybe, because the jury is still out on Jordan Love.