One More Target Center Defeat
July 22, 2008

Another sorry chapter in the story of the 2008 season of the Minnesota Lynx came to an end yesterday afternoon as the hometown ladies lost again, this time to the Seattle Storm at Target Center, 79-76.

The loss dropped the record of the once-promising Lynx to 11 wins and 12 losses and dimmed potential playoff opportunities. This time it was poor shooting that helped to do Minnesota in. The Lynx shot 35 percent from the floor, compared to 46 percent for the Storm.

“We need to become a team that starts with our defense first,” head coach Don Zierden mumbled after the game. “There are going to be days that Seimone (Augustus) is going to go 3-for-16 and there are going to be days Candice (Wiggins) is going to go 3-for-11. On those days, (we) have to find a way to tough it out with our defense.”

The problem is that “our defense” doesn’t exist. Apparently, Zierden and his staff members appear negligent when it comes to teaching any defensive system to the team. This became apparent yesterday when it was noticed that there was a significant absence in Seattle’s starting lineup. The Storm arrived in Minneapolis without the services of their star forward, Lauren Jackson, in Australia preparing for the Olympic Games. Jackson was averaging a 20.2 points and seven rebounds per game. Jackson scored 34 points when Seattle beat the Lynx 96-71 at Key Arena on July 5.

Another noteworthy absentee was Storm starting center Yolanda Griffith,out with a concussion. Further, starting Seattle forward Sheryl Swoopes, who was averaging 8.2 points per game went down with an injury in the second quarter and didn’t return. Even with three of five starters down, the Storm was able to overcome the disorganized Lynx and race to a 17-point lead with two and one-half minutes left in the third quarter. An announced “Kids’ Day” crowd of 12,276 (most of them under 12) learned little about basketball technique (especially defense) from the Lynx.

The first quarter was dominated by a pair of former University of Connecticut teammates Sue Bird and Swin Cash, who combined for 16 points, matching the total of the entire Minnesota team.

In the second quarter, Minnesota went without a field goal for nearly six minutes. The Lynx shot 5-of-17 (29.4) percent in the first quarter, and only made one of seven shots to start the second. Still suffering the effects of a bout with pneumonia, Zierden forgot he still had ace rookie Charde Houston on the roster and neglected to enter her into the fray until seven and one-half minutes were left in the second quarter. The Lynx rookie reserve forward promptly rattled off 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Seimone Augustus was 0-of-7 from the field at the break. Candice Wiggins was 0-of-3 in field goal attempts. Both Minnesota stars were forced to create their own shots as teammates appeared to be powerless to set up situations where either had open looks.

The wheels came off the Lynx bus in the third quarter when Augustus fouled Bird, and she made both free throw attempts for a 58-41 Seattle lead. Seattle continued to show Minnesota its knack for cleaning up on the boards. In the teams’ first meeting of the season, the Storm out rebounded the Lynx 34-23. After three quarters Seattle had out rebounded Minnesota by 32-25.

There was, however, some fight left in the Lynx, Augustus hit a three-pointer to cut Seattle’s lead to 66-60 with six minutes remaining in the game. Later, a layup by Lindsay Harding made it 72-67. After a Seattle turnover, Houston scored on another Lynx layup to make it 72-69 Storm. Next, Lynx center Vanessa Hayden-Johnson, who started the game 0-of-5, scored two baskets in a row to cut Seattle’s lead to only 74-73 with 1:14 left.

Throughout the season, Minnesota has shown an inability to perform under crunch-time situations, and yesterday was no exception. Failure to rebound a key miss by Seattle’s Bird resulted in a new shot clock for the Storm. The Lynx finally got the ball with just over a half a minute remaining. Wiggins drove to the basket, found herself surrounded, and threw up a wild shot that missed. The ball went out of bounds off a Storm player. Zierden called timeout with 10.7 seconds remaining. With only seconds left on the shot clock, Harding tossed the ball to Hayden-Johnson. She missed her shot, finishing the game 2-for-9 from the field. Minnesota needed to foul, and Camille Little hit both free throws with 7.5 seconds left to give Seattle a 76-73 lead. Next, Wiggins was able to heave up a three-point attempt from the top of the arc, but the shot missed. She finished the day shooting 3-for-11 from the field.

Zierden may be a good man who loves his wife and family, but, in the WNBA, he is in over his head. Some examples of this:

• Starting Lineups. The same starting lineup has been used without flexibility. Nicole Ohlde and Noelle Quinn start every game but frequently are forgotten after the first quarter.
• Who’s the point guard? Quinn, Wiggins, and Harding are all listed as point guards. At times all three are in the game together, sometimes two, other times none. I suppose it’s useless to have someone on the floor barking out the plays when your team has none.
• Running the break. Don’t they ever practice this? Each Lynx player on fast-break attempts runs around as if her hair were on fire. One usually settles for a jump shot instead of a layup.
• Coincidence? With Zierden ailing (and back home), the Lynx went on the road and easily defeated a San Antonio team featuring Becky Hammon, Sophia Young, and Ann Wauters. With Zierden back on the bench at Target Center, the Lynx draw more than 12,000 fans and lose to a Seattle team that’s missing Lauren Jackson and Yolanda Griffith.
• Wins and losses. This is the most responsible position of authority Zierden has ever held. His won-loss record is 21 and 36. He may very well have reached the level of his highest incompetence. The poor man does not look well. Any good doctor would tell him to take a lot of time off, maybe the rest of the season. After the season, he should be allowed to quietly drift off into coaching obscurity along with the likes of Rolland Todd, Carl Bennett, Jim Brovelli, Berl Friddle, John Castellani, Gus Young, and Red Klotz.