Sun dial up ‘special season’
Lynx next step on team’s ’19 mission
The Connecticut Sun hadn’t made the playoffs in three seasons — finishing last in the Eastern Conference each year — when Curt Miller became their coach in 2016, but the franchise had a plan.
Simply, the Sun were building for this season.
“When I took over in 2016, this was one of the years that was circled on the calendar,” Miller said. “We wanted to build with a core group and allow them to grow and mature and get better together. The front office allowed me to do that. It was our version of the process.”
Through trades and development of one of the youngest teams in the WNBA, Miller’s project has shown signs of fruition over the last two seasons, but it’s all starting to come together this year. As the season nears the halfway point, the Sun sit in second place in the East after starting a franchisebest 9-1.
Miller, who also serves as the general manager, can be given most of the credit for making the right moves and pushing the right buttons. The Sun made back-to-back playoff appearances in 2017 and 2018, but were one and done in both. They’re clearly eyeing bigger things this season, and it’s shown so far.
“We didn’t shy away from talking about this year of being a year that’s been circled on the calendar, that this is the year that we have built for and wanted to really look forward to,” Miller said. “The start really energized us, the start really gave us a little bit of confidence. I’m not sure we expected to be 9-1 in the pro game, but there’s a chip on their shoulder. This is a year that the players really believe could be a special year.”
Jonquel Jones has been a big reason for that. The fourth-year center is averaging team highs in points (16.3) and rebounds (10.7) per game to lead that core group Miller mentioned that has developed chemistry over the years, and that has been critical as the Sun’s bench has experienced some early-season injuries.
Jones played on a team in Russia in the offseason that featured Brittney Griner, and Miller said that helped her get better. That plus the offseason trade of Chiney Ogwumike, who led the Sun in scoring last season, has opened things up for Jones as she continues to gain confidence.
“If we’re going to be a championship team and talk about championships, J.J. is going to be a centerpiece of what we do,” Miller said. “J.J. is in a situation now, she doesn’t look over her shoulder. She’s allowed to play through mistakes. Her leash is longer. We don’t have another All-Star like Chiney on the roster in that position now, so the unintended consequence of a big trade in the offseason has just allowed J.J. to flourish because of that, and she knows she’s going to get the minutes on the court.”
Despite their strong start, the Sun (9-4) are a half-game back of first place in the Eastern Conference after a three-game road trip ended winless last week with a blowout loss to the firstplace Washington Mystics on national TV. Miller admitted the swing was humbling.
“It shook us a little bit,” Miller said. “It shook our confidence. The adversity was certainly nothing that we had experienced early in the season.”
The good news for the Sun is that they’ll return home to Mohegan Sun Arena for tomorrow afternoon’s game against the Minnesota Lynx. The Sun have won their last 13 games at home and are ready to get back on track against the Lynx, one of the WNBA’s signature franchises.
“Our kids are hungry,” Miller said. “We’ve won five in a row against them and it’s been a developing rivalry. It should be really fun, and I think our players are hungry to get back to our successful ways.”