Before the Lynx locked up the No. 2 seed for the WNBA playoffs with a win at Connecticut on Tuesday, coach Cheryl Reeve answered a question she's heard a lot on the road this season:

Some variation of, "Are you surprised you're this good?"

For the 100th time, no. Reeve and the players have talked since training camp about how well this team went together. If analysts had the Lynx just fighting for a playoff spot, analytics were telling Reeve the team could be good.

And, of course, they are. Their 78-76 victory over the Sun — Bridget Carleton's 34-foot three with 3.4 seconds left was the final dagger — was Minnesota's seventh in a row, their 14th in 15 games. They have the No. 2 seed locked up with Thursday's regular-season finale vs. Los Angeles yet to be played. They will open the playoffs at home. And, if they reach the second round, that series will open at Target Center, too.

"We have hefty goals," guard Kayla McBride said after the game. "But I think the way we came out of the Olympic break, it's just a testament battling through everything. This is a good league, it's hard to win every night."

The Lynx are the WNBA's hottest team at the most important time. And with a roster led by Napheesa Collier and a close band of talented players, the team plays consistent defense and consistently has different players step up to support Collier on a night-by-night basis.

A victory over Los Angeles would give the Lynx at least a tie for the league's best home record (17-4) and, at 31-9 overall, give them a .775 winning percentage for the regular season, which would be higher than two of the Lynx's four WNBA championship teams.

With the first-round seeding set and the No. 2 seed locked in, Reeve will give McBride and Collier the night off.

"It's the WNBA," she said. "The roster size is 11. What are you going to do, rest four people? I think it's safe to say we're not going to run these people into the ground. But we'd like to finish up with a home win."

With playoff placement on the line, many Lynx players got big minutes Tuesday. Collier (who had 25 points) played 39 of 40 minutes. McBride played 38, Carleton 34, Courtney Williams 32.

With a day off for travel, the Lynx will play Thursday. Then the playoffs begin Sunday. Rest will be important.

This promises to be the most-watched WNBA playoffs ever, with increasing viewership and the fact that probable rookie of the year winner Caitlin Clark led the Indiana Fever into the No. 6 playoff spot.

The league is growing literally, too. The league announced Wednesday that Portland will get an expansion franchise starting in the 2026 season, one for which the organization claims to have presold 17000 season ticket packages. The Golden State Valkyries will join the league next season. Previously announced Toronto will enter the league along with Portland a year later.

The Lynx, however, are focused on the present. And there are, as McBride said, hefty expectations.