Did pro coach encourage dirty play on TV?

• Fever coach Lin Dunn was troubled by Cheryl Reeve's message to the Lynx to lead with their elbows
• Two Fever guards suffered concussions during the team's regular-season meeting on Sept. 17
• Indiana faces a critical lack of depth with injuries to Katie Douglas and Jeanette Pohlen

When Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve threw her jacket en route to earning a technical foul during Game 2 of the WNBA Finals Wednesday, it was clear she was trying to send a message: to the referees, her team and the Target Center crowd in Minneapolis.

During halftime, Reeve sent another message to her team, one that didn't sit well with Indiana Fever coach Lin Dunn.

ESPN broadcasted parts of each coach's halftime speech to their teams, including this from Reeve:

"When you go to the basket, I want an elbow out. OK, I want them to collapse their arms on you because you're sticking an elbow in their chest."

Dunn was shocked when she heard that part of the speech following the Lynx's 83-71 victory that evened the WNBA Finals 1-1.

"I've never heard a coach say that publicly before — lead with your elbow, they're not calling it," Dunn said Thursday during media availability.

Reeve's message brought up a flashback for Dunn who recalled that Fever point guard Briann January and shooting guard Shavonte Zellous suffered concussions during Indiana's lone regular-season game at Minnesota on Sept. 17.

"I guess the thing that sticks in my mind now," Dunn said, "is I look back to those two concussions we had in the game up there that we played in the regular season, and it makes me think, 'hey, maybe that was attributed to that because that's how they teach their players to play,' which I consider very dangerous and shouldn't be part of our game."

Dunn was quick to state, however, that neither Reeve's outburst nor Minnesota's elbows cost her team a 2-0 series lead. The Fever were outrebounded 32-20, committed 24 turnovers and let Seimone Augustus score 23 of her 27 points in the second half.

Fever forward Tamika Catchings said she and the team were prepared for a more physical battle in Game 2 and said she thinks Reeve was just trying to fire up her team.

"It seemed like, after (Reeve's technical), they really picked it up as a team, and all of them played more motivated, more physical from that point on," Catchings, the 2011 WNBA MVP, said.

Lynx players weren't made available to the media, but Reeve told USA TODAY Sports Thursday afternoon that she plans to keep her composure better in Game 3 at Indiana on Friday and added jokingly, "I might not wear a jacket this time."

At this point, the Fever have bigger things to worry about than Reeve's jacket with Game 3 set to tip off at 8 p.m. ET in Indianapolis.

Depth will be the main concern for Dunn, Catchings and the entire organization after the Fever sustained another injury Wednesday in Game 2 — one that can't be blamed on the physical nature of the series.

Reserve guard Jeanette Pohlen, one of the Fever's top three-point shooters, injured her knee while making a move in the second quarter and did not return to the game. Dunn said the prognosis didn't look good, making Pohlen extremely doubtful for Friday's game.

This marked the second blow to the Fever backcourt in a week after All-Star Katie Douglas severely sprained her ankle in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals at Connecticut.

Douglas did not travel to Minneapolis for either Game 1 or Game 2, spending her time in Indianapolis getting constant treatments on the ankle. The 33-year-old veteran watched both games from home, communicating with her teammates by phone and text messages.

Douglas said it was difficult not to be with her teammates but thinks the organization — in consultation with her doctors — made the right call.

While neither Douglas nor Dunn would say whether she'd return for Game 3, Douglas said she's improving daily.

"How are my treatments going? Well, they're going and they go long and they go all day.

"Things are going well and things are looking good for me. I don't know what good is, and I don't want to elaborate on 'good', but things are getting better every day."