Three keys to beating Phoenix on its home floor.
1. A fast start. The Lynx had the Mercury in trouble in the first quarter last Thursday, taking a 28-11 lead. Typically, the first quarter is Phoenix's best. They average 23 points.
But in their 95-67 loss to the Lynx in the first game of the Western Conference finals, they were three for 17 from the field the first 10 minutes, the Lynx 11 of 19.
Maya Moore was expecially deadly. She was four for five, including two three-pointers, and made two three-pointers. So by the end of the quarter she hd 13 points and four rebounds. Even when she picked up a second foul, coach Cheryl Reeve kept her in.
This was quite a contrast from the San Antonio series. In those three games, the Lynx fell behind 7-2, 7-2 and 10-2. Getting that second basket seemed to be a problem.
2. Turn Wiggins loose. When guard Candice Wiggins makes four three-pointers or more in a game, the Lynx are 6-0. She made four against the Mercury. She is a much needed spark off the bench at times and is a pest on defense, too.
In beating the Mercury at US Airways Center in the last regular season game, the Lynx got 42 points from the bench. That was a season high. The Lynx are 2-1 in that desert oasis. In the one loss, the bench went scoreless.
One reason the Lynx had trouble against San Antonio the first two games was Wiggins had only two points in the whole series. She had 14 against Phoenix and Reeve caller her the X-factor.
