The Minnesota Lynx got a big win on Sunday, 97-84, against the Indiana Fever, but the game was significant in that it was the return of star forward Napheesa Collier from an ankle injury. Collier had been sidelined for seven consecutive games since suffering the injury back on Aug. 2. Collier’s return gives the Lynx a healthy roster heading into the final stretch of the regular season, prompting this warning from Courtney Williams to the rest of the WNBA, as per Kendra Andrews of ESPN.
“We’re a problem,” Williams said. “We’ve been a problem, but now we’re really a problem.”
There is truth to Courtney Williams’ statement in that the Lynx, while formidable when Napheesa Collier was out with injury, are perhaps the championship favorite with her back in the lineup. The Lynx had not lost a game following the All-Star break until Collier was sidelined.
With the win, the Lynx improved to 30-7 and are in no danger of relinquishing their hold on the top overall seed in the WNBA standings. They are a full six games ahead of the No. 2 seed Atlanta Dream with only a handful of games remaining before the playoffs.
In Collier’s return to the court, she finished with a game-high 32 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals in 31 minutes of play. She showed no rust from being out, shooting 11-of-16 from the field, 2-of-3 from the three-point line and 8-of-9 from the free-throw line.
Before her absence, Collier was considered the frontrunner for the MVP award. Before Sunday’s game, she had appeared in 26 games at a little over 32 minutes per game. She had been averaging a career-high 23.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.6 blocked shots with splits of 53.7 percent shooting from the field, 36.8 percent shooting from the three-point line and 90.8 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
The Lynx came into this season as one of the favorites for the title following a heartbreaking loss in last season’s Finals in five games against the New York Liberty.
