Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith on the WNBA Finals: 'The Lynx shouldn't have lost.'

During the WNBA's long off-season, it's never too late for WNBA Finals analysis.

In a feature on the Atlanta Hawks by Rembert Browne of Grantland, forward Josh Smith dropped a little WNBA analysis on the basketball world.

This wasn't the Josh Smith I was expecting to meet, observe, and talk to. Based on his freak athleticism, tendency to jack up 3s without hesitation, and occasional tendency to let the game take over his emotions, I unfairly expected a personality mirroring a brash wide receiver or 100-meter sprinter. The team-building, smiley, introspective 26-year-old who uses the WNBA to illustrate different types of team configurations? ("They have one outstanding superstar in Tamika Catchings on the Fever, but to be honest with you, the Lynx shouldn't have lost.") Not so much.

Although Smith (along with Atlanta native Dwight Howard) has been known to attend Atlanta Dream games, it's easy to see how the moment Browne describes might strike some NBA fans as ironic: on my list of NBA players whose style of play reflects what basketball fans appreciate about the WNBA, Smith wouldn't be near the top of the list, as unfair as that may be.

Video: WNBA Finals Game Four highlights

Game 4 of the WNBA Finals in "phantom" form.

Can the Indiana Fever repeat as WNBA champions in 2013?

The Indiana Fever won't even have their victory parade until noon today, but one reporter is already wondering about a repeat.

The women's basketball Hall of Fame Probability calculator: 2012 version

With the end of the season its time for statheads to look back at the mathematical highs and lows of the year. One of my favorite tools is the Hall of Fame Projector. I've written about the Hall of Fame Projector before, a lot of times. You can hit the links to resurrect the math, but the idea is to look at the kind of things HOF voters in basketball typically look at when making a Hall of Fame nomination, and see which players score well in those areas.

Indiana Fever, Minnesota Lynx both front page news after 2012 WNBA Finals

After winning their first-ever WNBA title and bringing Indianapolis its first professional basketball championship since the Indiana Pacers' ABA years, we should not expect anything less than the Indiana Fever making the front page of their local newspaper, the Indianapolis Star.

But it feels like a small step forward to see the runner-up get the same type of attention; it's great that the Minneapolis Star Tribune considered the Minnesota Lynx's loss to the Fever in four games in the 2012 WNBA Finals as front page news.

And to think, they got front page billing on the morning after the local NFL team won a game on the same day.

S/O to resident Lynx fan Shannon Cotterel for letting us know about this one.

Twitter reacts to the Indiana Fever's 2012 WNBA Title

I'll have my final breakdown of the WNBA season up later today, but for now a brief roundup of a few reactions from Twitter congratulating the Indiana Fever, Tamika Catchings, and coach Lin Dunn on winning the 2012 WNBA Finals.

For more on the 2012 WNBA Finals, check out our full storystream with the sidebar on the right side of this page.

Indiana Fever win franchise-first WNBA title against defending champion Minnesota Lynx

It's probably fair to say that nobody expected the Indiana Fever to deny the Minnesota Lynx a second consecutive title. Not only did they accomplish the feat, but they did so in convincing fashion: winning the series 3-1 with an impressive 87-78 win in Indianapolis.

Jeanette Pohlen to miss remainder of 2012 WNBA Finals with torn ACL

As reported yesterday by media outlets, Indiana Fever guard Jeanette Pohlen will miss the remainder of the WNBA Finals and her season overseas with TED Ankara Kolejliler.

Pohlen is scheduled for surgery by Fever team doctor Dr. Stephen Kollias in the coming weeks.

Pohlen, who led the WNBA in 3-point field goal percentage as a rookie and was 5-of-5 from 3-point range in this year's playoffs, sustained the injury of the second quarter last Wednesday at Target Center.

Although Pohlen was not a major factor during the 2012 WNBA season, she had been playing around 18 minutes per game with Fever guard Katie Douglas also out due to injury. Without Douglas or Pohlen in the Fever's lineup for Game Three, Karima Christmas played 18 minutes and had 2 points in a game that ended up being a blowout.

For more on the WNBA Finals, check out our 2012 WNBA Finals storystream.

Sunday WNBA Open Thread: The Fever Goes For Its First Championship in Game 4 of the 2012 Finals at 8:00 PM EDT on ESPN 2

Last Friday, the Indiana Fever soundly defeated the Minnesota Lynx, winning 76-59. The score was much closer than the game itself, when Indy was leading 70-38 after three quarters. Today, the Fever tries to seal the deal on the Lynx and win its first WNBA championship in front of its fans. Game is at 8:00 PM EDT on ESPN 2, and it should end well after star NFL rookie quarterback Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts play against the Cleveland Browns at 1:00 PM EDT.

Video: Top 10 WNBA Plays of the Week, Finals edition

The WNBA's most recent Top 10 Plays of the Week from 10/12-10/19, essentially serving as a summary of the 2012 WNBA Finals.

Indiana Fever discomfit Minnesota Lynx in Game Three of the 2012 WNBA Finals

Mercifully, this one comes to a close. #feverfinals wins it 76-59 to take a 2-1 #wnbafinals advantage.

— Alan Horton (@LynxRadio) October 20, 2012

The @indianafever faithful giving their team a standing ovation after a great Game 3 performance. twitter.com/WNBA/status/25…

— WNBA (@WNBA) October 20, 2012

After erupting for a career high 30 points in Game 3 Shavonte Zellous gets the super star treatment. #WNBAFinals twitter.com/WNBA/status/25…

— WNBA (@WNBA) October 20, 2012

At one point in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals, the Indiana Fever were up 70-33 on the defending champion Minnesota Lynx in the third quarter.

And it's really hard to put exactly what happened tonight in Indianapolis into words. What we do know is this: with the win, the Fever take a 2-1 lead over the Lynx and can win a franchise-first WNBA title with a win in Game 4, also in Indianapolis.

Even those who believed the Fever would win probably did not expect things to go quite the way they have: winning Game 1 on the road and then blowing out the Lynx at home.

Very, very impressive display of basketball from the Fever thus far.

Feel free to leave your thoughts and post-game analysis in the comments while we figure out how to wrap our heads around this outcome.

Katie Douglas, Jeanette Pohlen out for Game Three of the 2012 WNBA Finals

Coach Dunn reports both Douglas and Pohlen are out tonight. #FeverFinalsinstagr.am/p/Q-AS5GoF51/

— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) October 19, 2012

When asked for an update on Pohlen's status, Fever coach Lin Dunn-"Right now I'm approaching Game 3 thinking she won't be available,"

— Stanford FBC (@stanfordfbc) October 19, 2012

This was probably expected given the nature of their injuries, but the combination of Katie Douglas and Jeanette Pohlen leave the Indiana Fever's guard rotation extremely thin.

We've already been over the impact of Douglas' absence at length, but Pohlen was been their primary reserve at guard in Douglas' absence. She had played 12.5 minutes per game during the playoffs, but has averaged about 18 minutes per game in the last two games without Douglas available.

Losing Pohlen means that the Fever are left with Briann January, Erin Phillips, and Shavonte Zellous - their three starters - as their entire guard rotation. Karima Christmas is the other perimeter option but hadn't played for the entire playoffs until getting about 3 minutes in Game 2 on Wednesday.

The question for the Fever might be whether they rely more heavily on bigger lineups - with Jessica Davenport or Tammy Sutton-Brown getting more minutes - or try to slide Christmas into the rotation to give their guards a breather. Either way, things certainly haven't gotten any easier for the Fever.

Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve fined for jacket-throwing outburst

The Associated Press is reporting that the WNBA has fined Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve for her jacket-throwing outburst during Game Two of the 2012 WNBA Finals against the Indiana Fever.

WNBA director of communications Ron Howard confirmed the fine Friday, hours before Game 3 between the Lynx and Fever in Indianapolis. He would not disclose the amount.

During Wednesday's game, Minnesota's Lindsay Whalen was issued a technical foul after complaining about a no-call. Reeve got one, too, and she then took off her suit coat and threw it so hard that a trainer later evaluated her right shoulder.

In related news, USA Today has provided the world an animated GIF of the incident.

For more on the 2012 WNBA Finals, check out our WNBA Finals storystream.

Friday WNBA Open Thread: The WNBA Finals head to Indy for Game 3 on ESPN 2 at 8:00 PM EDT

The Minnesota Lynx won 83-71 against the Indiana Fever last Wednesday, led by a combined 50 points from Seimone Augustus and Maya Moore to tie the series up to one game a piece. Still, the bad news for the Lynx is that if the team expects to win this series 3-1, the Fever has home court advantage as this game, and Game 4 on Sunday will be at Bankers Life Fieldhouse instead of Target Center. Tonight's game is on at 8:00 PM EDT on ESPN 2.

Minnesota Lynx use record-setting rebounding effort to win Game Two of 2012 WNBA Finals

After yet another slow start, the Minnesota Lynx got back to their strengths with a record-setting rebounding effort to defeat the visiting Indiana Fever in Game Two of the 2012 WNBA Finals.

For more on the 2012 WNBA Finals, check out our storystream on the right sidebar of this page.

Video: Cheryl Reeve's jacket-tossing outburst during Game Two of the WNBA Finals

During the Minnesota Lynx's 83-71 win over the Indiana Fever in Game Two of the WNBA Finals, coach Cheryl Reeve drew a technical late in the third quarter that changed the course of the game.

Indiana Pacers coach, players step up to support Indiana Fever

With the Indiana Fever returning to Indianapolis for the WNBA Finals tied with the Minnesota Lynx, the Indiana Pacers are stepping up to support them with a ticket giveaway for Game Three.

Details on @dgranger33, @king24george, @george_hill3 & Coach Vogel's free ticket giveaway are here: on.nba.com/OJFu3e #FeverFinals

— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) October 18, 2012

Always great to see that.

Minnesota Lynx vs. Indiana Fever: Seimone Augustus, Maya Moore combine for 50 points in Game Two of WNBA Finals

The @minnesotalynx tie the series up at 1 defeating @indianafever 83-71 behind Seimone Augustus' 27 points while Mayaadded 23.#WNBAFinals

— WNBA (@WNBA) October 18, 2012

Well, it should have been pretty clear that the Minnesota Lynx were not going to play as poorly as they did in Game One again and Seimone Augustus came up huge in the second half tonight to make sure that her team would even the series at one game apiece.

After struggling to hit shots she normally makes in the first half, Augustus caught fire in the second half and finished with 27 points on the night that she received her first-ever All-WNBA First Team award. And when Augustus gets in the zone, she's almost entirely unguardable as she has the ability to elevate and hit contested jumpers over defenders.

As stated earlier today, this was about a combination of the Lynx getting back to what got them here, the home crowd providing an added emotional boost, and of course Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve drawing a motivational technical foul and tossing her jacket off on the sidelines.

And the play of the game goes to Coach Reeves!! Her "tantrum" turned the game around...which I knew it would! She knows what she's doing...

— Ticha Penicheiro (@TichaPenicheiro) October 18, 2012

The Indiana Fever were still playing without star guard Katie Douglas who mentioned during a halftime interview that she's responding to treatment but could not offer a timeline for her return to action. Meanwhile, forward Tamika Catchings continued to play MVP-caliber basketball throughout the game, though it was her turn to falter in the final period.

Catchings cuts Minnesota's lead to 9 with her first points of the quarter and 2:51 to play. #FeverFinals

— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) October 18, 2012

Game 3 will take place on Friday in Indianapolis at 8 p.m. EDT.

Wednesday WNBA Open Thread: Game 2 of the 2012 Finals is Tonight at 8:00 PM EDT on ESPN

The Indiana Fever drew first blood in Game 1 of the 2012 Finals against the Minnesota Lynx, winning 76-70, headlined by by Erlana Larkins' 16 points, 15 rebounds, and 3 assists. Tamika Catchings added 20 points, 6 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 3 steals in another one of her trademark all-around performances. For the Lynx, Seimone Augustus led the way with 23 points and 6 rebounds. Today the Fever tries to get the home team on the brink of elimination in Game 2, which is on ESPN (not ESPN 2), at 8:00 PM EDT.

For all of our coverage on the WNBA Finals, check out the storystream on the right sidebar of this page.

Taj McWilliams-Franklin focused on doing what the Lynx normally do

After spending a couple of days looking at how the Indiana Fever won Game One of the 2012 WNBA Finals, today we look at the defending champion Minnesota Lynx who will try to even the series at one apiece before heading to Indianapolis for Games Three & Four.

For more on the WNBA Finals, check out the storystream menu on the right of this page.

Why is Indiana able to win without Katie Douglas in the lineup?

Injured Indiana Fever guard Katie Douglas remains doubtful for Game Two of the 2012 WNBA Finals after missing Game One after going down early in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Finals. But how is it that the Fever have been able to win consecutive games on the road against two of the best teams in the league without one of their star players? There are a few plausible theories - some of which have already been discussed - but we might be able to narrow it down to a couple. For more on the WNBA Finals, check out the storystream menu bar to the right.

San Antonio Silver Stars roster picks Minnesota to win 2012 WNBA Finals in four games

After the Indiana Fever beat the Minnesota Lynx in Game One of the 2012 WNBA Finals people have to think they'll be able to win another game.

Right?

Well, in an anonymous poll of San Antonio Silver Stars players after Indiana's win on Sunday, the verdict was still Lynx in 4, essentially meaning that they think the Fever won't win another game.

Click here to read the full article with a scouting report on the series from Silver Stars assistant Vickie Johnson.

Erlana Larkins' record-tying rebounding powers Indiana over Minnesota in Game One of WNBA Finals

Indiana Fever forward Erlana Larkins tied the record for second-most rebounds in a WNBA Finals game in a surprising Game One win against the Minnesota Lynx. However, it's another rebounding record that she tied, which was even more significant to the Fever stealing home court advantage from the defending champion Lynx.

Indiana Fever upset the Minnesota Lynx in Game One of the 2012 WNBA Finals

#Fever take GM#1 of the #WNBAFinals 76-70, outscoring #loslynx 20-12 in the 4Q & holding MIN to 2 for 17 FG.

— Alan Horton (@LynxRadio) October 15, 2012

Given that the Indiana Fever got to the 2012 WNBA Finals by beating the Connecticut Sun in Connecticut without Katie Douglas, it was impossible to count them out against the defending champion Minnesota Lynx.

But still, how many people imagined the Fever stealing Game One against the Lynx in Minneapolis?

What this #Fever team is doing ... IS DOWNRIGHT REMARKABLE ----- #FeverFinals

— Kevin Messenger (@kmess65) October 15, 2012

We'll go through a full analysis later, but the big story here is that with the win the Fever have stolen home court advantage from the Lynx without Douglas. We already discussed the possibility of the Ewing Theory at work for the Fever in our game thread, but regardless of how you attempt to explain what happened tonight (or in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Finals) this is a pretty remarkable development for the Fever.

Some serious Ewing Theory at play with Katie Douglas. (Not seriously. I don't think?) #WNBAFinals

— Kevin Pelton (@kpeltonWBB) October 15, 2012

Sunday WNBA Open Thread: Game 1 of the 2012 Finals is at 8:00 PM EDT on ESPN 2

We now are hitting the championship round between the best of the Eastern and Western Conferences, the Indiana Fever and Minnesota Lynx respectively. Game is on at 8 PM EDT on ESPN 2. Will the Lynx win their second championship in the last couple years? Or will Tamika Catchings finally get that elusive championship? We won't find out tonight, but we will find out what these two teams are made of over the course of this series.

2012 WNBA Finals preview: Minnesota Lynx vs. Indiana Fever

The Minnesota Lynx enter the 2012 WNBA Finals trying to become the third team in WNBA history to win back-to-back championships. In their way is the Indiana Fever, a franchise that is trying to win their first WNBA title after taking part in one of the most competitive Finals series in WNBA history in 2009. Having already looked back at the paths that both the Fever (click here) and the Lynx (click here) took to the WNBA Finals, we now look at the matchup itself. For more on the WNBA Finals, visit our storystream by using the menu to the right.

WNBA Finals Schedule: Minnesota Lynx vs. Indiana Fever

The nationally-televised WNBA Finals best-of-five is set to begin Sunday, Oct. 14.

For more on the WNBA Finals, check out the storystream with the menu bar to the right.

How the Indiana Fever got to the 2012 WNBA Finals

The Indiana Fever have advanced to the 2012 WNBA Finals after escaping a pair of a three-game series in the Eastern Conference Playoffs, despite making a change to their starting lineup and losing star guard Katie Douglas in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals. How did they do it?

For more on the WNBA Finals, check out the storystream with the menu bar to the right.

How Minnesota escaped the Western Conference playoffs and returned to the WNBA Finals

The Minnesota Lynx' path to the 2012 WNBA Finals hasn't been without a couple of close calls: they were a Lauren Jackson jumper away from being knocked out in the first round.

But the very fact that they've been able to survive the best shots that their Western Conference opponents could muster says quite a bit about this team statistically.

For more on the WNBA Finals, check out the storystream with the menu bar to the right.