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Shock-Lynx Preview

Jun 17, 2010 - 5:47 PM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

Tulsa (3-6) at Minnesota (2-9), 8:00 p.m. EDT

The Minnesota Lynx and Tulsa Shock have already met three times this season. They're about to get even better acquainted this weekend.

The Lynx have lost four straight and Shock three in a row entering a home-and-home set that begins Friday night at the Target Center.

Minnesota (2-9) and Tulsa (3-6) are two of the worst teams in the WNBA, and it's not difficult to see why.

The Lynx have played four games without leading scorer Candice Wiggins, two without Seimone Augustus and have seen newcomer Lindsay Whalen struggle in her return to her hometown. Minnesota is the worst shooting team in the league at 38.9 percent.

The Shock, meanwhile, may have excellent fan support in their new home after relocating from Detroit, but they have not adjusted well to coach Nolan Richardson's famed '40 minutes of hell' style of play. Tulsa has fallen by an average of 23.0 points during a three-game road skid.

This will be the first game for Augustus against Tulsa. She looked rusty in averaging 14.5 points in two losses on the road last week in her first action in a year after recovering from a torn ACL and abdominal surgery.

Tulsa's up-tempo style has had some impact against Minnesota, if not against other opponents. The Shock have won two of three meetings, forcing an average of 22.3 turnovers.

Taking care of the ball is clearly a point of emphasis for the Lynx.

"In terms of the way that they play, our transition defense against them has hurt us," coach Cheryl Reeve told the Lynx's official website. "Our execution against their zone is something that we know we have to do and that is knocking down shots, and taking care of the ball."

The Shock have had plenty of time to determine what went wrong in a 116-84 loss at Phoenix on Saturday. Tulsa has been blown out twice in second halves of back-to-backs.

"We had a back-to-back last week and we're learning how to overcome that and come back from that night before," guard Shanna Crossley said. "It goes a lot deeper than just fatigue and being tired from the game before."

The Shock bolstered their frontcourt by swapping forwards with New York on Monday, acquiring Tiffany Jackson and getting rid of Plenette Pierson. Only two players remain from last year's roster in Detroit.

Despite the teams' poor records, there's still a major opportunity for both to reach the postseason in the mediocre Western Conference.

"We are treating these two games like playoff games," Reeve said. "We know that we really need these two."