Lynx's Napheesa Collier could return as early as this week

Link forward Nafisa Collier was accompanied by daughter Mila and fiance Alex Bazel during the July 6 game against Chicago.

For the first time since giving birth to daughter Mila on May 25, Nafisa Collier took part in full practice with the Lynx on Saturday.

If all goes well in the coming days, there's a very good chance that Collier Fowles will be able to fulfill his desire to take the court with center Sylvia Fowles in his final season. In fact, Collier's debut on Wednesday in Phoenix is ​​an outside possibility.

"He wants to," Lynx coach Sherrill Reeve said of Collier, who worked out with the second unit on Saturday. "And I want to do it for him. But a lot depends on how things go."

Collier's workouts have picked up of late. On the road with the team during a recently completed road trip, Collier ran up the stairs. He worked with head athletic trainer Chuck Barta on a rather tough workout. On Friday, a day off for the team, Collier arrived and engaged in a fierce battle with a group of male players brought in by Lynx.

Collier practiced with the team on Saturday, will participate in Sunday's shootaround before the game against Atlanta at Target Center and then another up-tempo workout with the men's practice players on Monday.

He definitely won't play on Sunday. "No, he's not ready for that," Reeve said. "It's not going to be okay. On Wednesday, if everything goes well, we'll see how his body feels, just see where he's at."

Collier, 25, is the 2019 WNBA Rookie of the Year, a two-time All-Star forward and was Fowles' teammate on the USA team that won Olympic gold in Tokyo last year. He says his goal since birth has been to get back on the floor with his close friend Fowles before Fowles' 15-year career ends.

Napheesa and Mila. Doesn't get cuter than this. Photo: Twitter

The Lynx have four games left on the schedule, two at home. The Lynx host Seattle on Friday at Target Center in Fowles' final regular-season home game.

Here's the point

Point guards are always important to a team's success. Perhaps more so for the link.

Moriah Jefferson has appeared in 26 games for the Lynx since joining the team. (He also played in one game in a May loss to Dallas.) He is shooting 50% overall in 11 wins over the season, hitting 17 of 31 three-pointers (54.8%) and averaging 12.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 5.9 assists in 16 losses overall. 43.5%, 40.5% on threes and averaged 9.9 points and 3.9 assists.

Jefferson really started to heat up - as did Tim - in late June. The team went on a streak winning seven out of 10 games. But Jefferson hyperextended his knee late in that run in a July 6 win over Chicago. In the six games prior to that game, Jefferson averaged 15 points per game. Playing through the pain, he averaged just 5.3 points over the next seven.

Jefferson is almost back to full health. And the lynx needs her. Jefferson scored a combined 36 points in wins at Atlanta and Los Angeles and was six points behind in a loss at Seattle.

The Lynx re-signed backup guard Lindsey Allen to his third consecutive seven-day contract. That will end before the team plays its season finale on Aug. 14 in Connecticut. Since no player can be signed to a fourth consecutive seven-day contract, Allen will officially be signed to a season-of-the-season contract. The end game.