Swanny’s Stats

The official Minnesota Lynx Statistician Blog

Wrapping up the week, we'll examine the creation of offense through defense. A year ago, the Lynx ranked last in the league -- by a substantial margin -- in points scored after turnovers by the opposition, as displayed here:

Fewest Points Off Opponents' Turnovers
WNBA Average: 15.8 per game
12.7 -- Minnesota
14.4 -- Seattle
14.6 -- New York
14.6 -- Houston
14.6 -- Detroit

Minnesota produced just 193 steals last summer, or 5.68 per game -- the second-lowest single-season average in WNBA history (San Antonio, 5.50 in 2003). For some perspective, the average number of steals for the league's other 13 teams a year ago was 277 (8.14 per game), 43 percent more than the Lynx' haul. Indiana (354), Sacramento (330), Charlotte (315), Washington (306) and Los Angeles (296) were the five overall leaders in steals, while the Mystics (18.9 ppg), Fever (18.3), Monarchs (17.9) and Sting (17.5) topped the Points Off Turnovers category.

Stylistically, one of the Lynx coaching staff's goals this season is putting more pressure on the ball defensively. Analyzing last year's games on video left the impression of Minnesota not being nearly disruptive enough, allowing the opposition to make the first pass of their possession unimpeded and permitting post entry passes without fighting adequately to deny position.

The addition of Lindsey Harding -- the WBCA's National Defensive Player of the Year for 2006-07 -- is theoretically a giant step toward resolving one of those issues. The other is more of a work in progress, with Kristen Mann moving from a wing to the interior and newcomers Katryna Gaither and Kathrin Ress not yet established at the WNBA level. But improving the number of steals per game would feed into Minnesota's strength, which is the creativity of open-floor players like Harding, Noelle Quinn, Svetlana Abrosimova, Chandi Jones and Seimone Augustus.

Saturday's evening practice:
Nine players took part for the Lynx, with Mann excused for personal reasons and Quinn and Eshaya Murphy nursing minor ailments. The scout team again featured superior height and strength, but Minnesota's execution turned this into the best-played scrimmage to date. Amber Jacobs drained three consecutive three-pointers to keep the Lynx even in the first quarter, and Augustus took over in the final two minutes of the half to cap off a 31-point second period for the Lynx.

Harding shone in the third quarter, and Jacobs made all four of her three-point tries in the fourth -- including the game-clinching shot with 20 seconds left -- as Minnesota held on. Jacobs, paying immediate dividends on her move to shooting guard, finished with 35 points (an astounding 8-for-9 from beyond the arc). Augustus had a sublime game, leading the team with seven rebounds and adding five assists and four steals. Harding and Nicole Ohlde also reached double figures, while Shona Thorburn handed out 10 assists (with no turnovers) in 16 minutes. Plus/minus leaders for the night were Thorburn (+19), Navond Moore (+17) and Tamika Raymond (+14).