At the start of the season, it didn’t seem like there would be much movement in the power rankings’ top two spots. Yet four teams already have cycled through second place, and one more makes its debut this week.
Since an 0-6 start, the Minnesota Lynx have steadily clawed their way back to .500, getting there for the second time this season thanks to consecutive road wins against the New York Liberty and Connecticut Sun — both victories taking place without All-Star Napheesa Collier in the lineup. Prior to those games, the Lynx were helpless without Collier on the floor; the star forward averages 33.3 minutes per game because Minnesota was getting outscored by 18.4 points per 100 possessions when she sat.
But just as Collier has raised her level of play throughout the season (prior to this ankle injury that will keep her out seven to 10 days), the rest of the Lynx have risen with her. Lindsay Allen is the stabilizing hand that Minnesota needs from its floor general, her drives to the basket — she makes 68 percent of her shots at the rim — complement her stable distribution. Kayla McBride made 38 percent of her 3-pointers in the month of July after starting the season 33 percent from distance, including 8 of 14 in the Lynx’’s last two wins.
Meanwhile, the Lynx’s…
