Jonquel Jones returned to the Connecticut Sun lineup for Sunday's victory over the Minnesota Lynx, after being on health and safety protocols. The Sun came out on top, 86-79, and Jones played a total of 15 minutes.
This was the veteran's first game back after being out with COVID-19, having missed three games. Jones was not a part of the starting lineup for the squad like she usually is. The last game she played in was the 93-68 win on July 15 over the Atlanta Dream, where she netted 21 points along with six rebounds.
The reigning WNBA MVP had eight points, four rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block on the short night Sunday. The 6-foot-6 forward played a lot less than she normally does and is easing herself back into the swing of things.
Head coach Curt Miller reflected on Jones' performance in a postgame interview.
"I thought she was productive in her minutes. Mostly worried about conditioning, being out with Covid," Miller said. "We did an individual workout with her yesterday. While we were encouraged, she was concerned about her conditioning and the fatigue that set in. So, we intentionally tried to keep her minutes low. We'll ease her back in."
Miller added, "We don't play again until Thursday. This is one of the longest breaks that we've had on the season and certainly the longest break down the stretch that we'll have. So, we'll work on some conditioning and continue to get her back into game situation and when we pick up with games on Thursday."
Connecticut will hope JJ is well-rested and improves her conditioning over the next few days. The Sun head back home from Minneapolis to Mohegan Sun Arena for Thursday's contest against Breanna Stewart and the Seattle Storm. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET, and you can catch the game on NESN+ to see how Jones and the rest of the Sun squad fare in the matchup.
