On Tuesday, the Minnesota Lynx led the Phoenix Mercury 1-0 in the WNBA Semi-Finals, fresh off the best season in franchise history. Since then, they’ve dropped two straight games, blowing a 20-point lead in Game 2 and subsequently losing Game 3 on Friday night.
To make matters worse, Napheesa Collier exited the game in visible pain with 22 seconds to play, seemingly injuring her ankle on the final play. The situation for the Lynx worsened on Saturday, as it was announced that head coach Cheryl Reeve will be suspended for Sunday’s must-win Game 4 against the Mercury.
### Cheryl Reeve Suspended for Conduct After Game 3
The WNBA suspended Reeve due to her conduct and comments following Game 3. This included aggressively pursuing and verbally abusing a game official on the court, failure to leave the court promptly upon her ejection, making inappropriate comments to fans while exiting, and remarks made during a post-game press conference.
In addition, assistant coaches Eric Thibault and Rebekkah Brunson were each fined by the league.
### What Led to Cheryl Reeve’s Suspension?
Reeve’s outburst occurred after Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas stole the ball from Collier, a play that gave the Mercury a 6-point lead with 22 seconds remaining and saw Collier fall to the ground in visible pain.
The NBA’s official refereeing account later stated that the play was not a foul and that the no-call was correct. Following this, Reeve immediately confronted officials, resulting in her ejection. She was seen swearing at Mercury fans as she left the court and continued her profanities during the press conference.
“The officiating crew that we had tonight — for the leadership to deem those three people semi-finals playoff worthy — is fucking malpractice,” Reeve said at the podium. She spoke for nearly two minutes without taking questions.
After the game, Reeve expressed concern that Collier might have a fracture, though she did not specify the injury’s extent. The Lynx have not yet revealed Collier’s availability for Game 4.
### Call for Change in League Leadership
“If this is what our league wants, okay. Then, I want to call for a change of leadership at the league level when it comes to officiating,” Reeve said on Friday night. “It’s bad for the game.”
Given the circumstances, this could potentially be Reeve’s last post-game press conference of the season, as the Lynx face a critical Game 4 needing a win to stay alive in the playoffs.
https://www.sbnation.com/womens-sports/1082291/minnesota-lynx-cheryl-reeve-suspended-wnba-playoffs
