The rich are about to get richer – far, far, richer.
The Lynx sport the WNBA’s top record nearly midway through the regular season. And the returns of Napheesa Collier and Dorka Juhász are now imminent.
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Minnesota announced both were cleared for and returned to practice Wednesday.
“They’ve worked so hard in terms of the ramping up, 2 on 2s, 3 on 3s. So I think from them, they looked pretty excited to be out there and executing,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve told reporters. “They’re two really good players. That’s what I saw.”
The Lynx have been without both since the start of the season after Collier underwent a pair of ankle surgeries in the offseason and Juhasz suffered a sprained foot during the EuroLeague playoffs in mid-April.
Both players spoke following Wednesday’s team activities.
Collier – a top-three player in the world – noted she’s “lucky to be back.” She and Juhasz don’t have a targeted date to return to game action yet, though Friday’s bout in New York, in which Reeve could break the WNBA’s all-time regular season wins record, has to be an appealing spot on the calendar.
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Still, there’s no reason to rush. Not when Minnesota has performed so well without two of its top front-court players. The Lynx sport the league’s best defensive rating (97.4) by nearly five points, and their net rating (plus-13.4) is eight and a half points better than the next-best team.
“It’s fun to see the chemistry on the court, off the court and just having fun and competing with each other,” Juhasz said of the team’s performance to date. “Really cool to see from that side, and now excited to jump into it.”
Collier noted it’s been hard to have to watch from the sidelines, but she’s trying to take advantage of the time off – both by getting healthy and providing a different perspective to her teammates.
“Which is different when you’re on the sideline versus when you’re on the court, so trying to be a player-coach the best that I can,” Collier told reporters. “But it definitely feels better to be on the court.”
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When Juhasz and Collier do return to gameplay, Reeve noted there will likely be a “natural figuring-it-out phase.” That will apply to both the coach’s rotations as well as the team’s chemistry.
Collier noted there are players on the roster she has yet to compete alongside.
“Naturally, there’s that learning curve. So that’s why I’m in practice right now. So we can try to work out all those kinks,” Collier said. “Thankfully, all of our players are team players, not I players. So naturally, they’re always easy to play with. They’re smart players. So far, it’s been really good. I’ve been able to watch them, so I have that leg up, too. I can kind of see how they play and adjust to that.”
One of those newbies is rookie guard Olivia Miles, who has taken the league by storm in just a matter of months.
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“She’s really impressive. She has a lot of things you can’t teach in the way she can see the court, her passing ability, and then I think she’s also fun to watch,” Collier said. “It’s really entertaining, the swagger she has about her. I’m really excited to get on the court and play with her.”
And everyone else, while contributing to winning in the process. Collier said the goal of she and Juhasz is to “hit the ground running.”
Contending for a championship is Collier’s primary objective, per usual, and she’s eager to join this year’s chase.
“Making sure that we’re fitting in well with the team, that we’re adding to them,” Collier said, “that we’re giving them a boost when they’re already doing so well during the season.”
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That certainly figures to be the case.
“You’re getting players that know how to play basketball,” Reeve said. “What that means to the group is that things get easier. … They do things so instinctually that it makes things easier for everyone else.”
