The Liberty lost the one player they couldn't afford to lose - star rookie guard Sabrina Ionescu. The Liberty is extremely young with seven rookies. Their offense totally was geared for Ionescu. They are rudderless without her. It doesn't help either that they are playing a very strong defensive opponent. Minnesota gives up the second-fewest points per game in the WNBA.
The Lynx are not an up-tempo team. They are strong defensively, weak offensively. So they'll look to just grind things out in their usual style.