Yes, as expected, Monday's film review of Game 1 of the WNBA finals was what you might have expected it to be for the Lynx.
"Yeah, she chewed us out,'' center Sylvia Fowles said.
Fowles said this after Tuesday's rather rousing morning shootaround, which Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve described as having "good energy.''
In Game 1 Sunday the Lynx fell behind the L.A. Sparks 28-2 in the first 7½ minutes of the game. The Lynx spent the final three quarters rallying, even taking one-point leads twice in the final minute before Chelsea Gray's 14-foot jumper with 2 seconds left gave the Sparks the win.
On Monday Reeve made a point of questioning her team's edge, energy and wondered aloud if her team – in its sixth WNBA finals in seven seasons – was taking things for granted.
That set the stage for a pretty intense film review.
Cathartic? "I didn't necessarily feel any better, because I had to watch the game again,'' Reeve said. "It's not until you come in today and take the floor again that you flush it, and you move on.''
Describing her coach as "salty,'' Fowles said the players understood, and expected, what Reeve had to say.
"Coach had her rights to be mad and upset,'' she said. "Because she saw a lot on the game film, things we didn't do that we normally get done. She was kind of salty. But, at the same time, our professionalism kicks in. She knows what we're capable of, and she had faith in us we can get it done.''
So the next step? Move on.
"Everybody was upset and on edge yesterday,'' Lindsay Whalen said. "That's why it felt so good to come out this morning, put it behind us and work up a sweat.''
Because Game 1 was a matinee, there was no morning shoot, so it was hard to get a gauge of where her team was leading up to game time.
But Tuesday's workout was a good one, Reeve said. Whether that translates into a victory in tonight's Game 2 at Williams Arena? Time will tell. "I know I got a message through,'' Reeve said. "I don't yet know what that means. We have an understanding of what we have to do. I thought our energy was good. I thought our focus was good, for the most part.''
After Monday's film session, all that focus is on what's ahead, not what happened Sunday.
"It's time, it's time,'' Seimone Augustus said. "We had 24 hours to soak it in, bask in it, talk about it and everything else. Now it's time to lace 'em up. We saw what we could do better, we saw what we did better in the second through fourth quarters. Now we just need to go out and play.''
Sunday marked the fourth time in six finals appearances that the Lynx have dropped Game 1. But take heart, fans, the Lynx have never lost a Game 2.
"It says a lot about the fight we have inside of us, to be able to bounce back when the pressure is on us,'' Augustus said. "We can't go down 0-2. I'm still confident when it comes to us going out there and competing.''
--Whalen, meanwhile, personally paid for 300 tickets to tonight's 7 p.m. game, tickets that will be distributed among several local organizations that work with children.
"I think we want to make sure our game is spreading to a lot of different kids,'' Whalen said. "It's the next generation of athletes and leaders. Obviously, these are interesting times we're living in. I think the more we can bring positivity, maybe bring kids into a game, it's a good thing.''
