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WNBA Playoff Preview: Top Teams & Key Matchups Down the Stretch
SportsGrid
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9/18/2024
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00:00
We got to see where the odds and lines lie for the upcoming title because we are this
00:07
much closer to having some postseason WNBA.
00:12
When we are talking about the title now, you got the Liberty to continue to sit at the
00:15
top.
00:16
If you see the numbers here on the graphic, plus 110, then right below is the Las Vegas
00:22
Aces.
00:23
We're not surprised by this.
00:25
Their defensive struggles have started to clean up a little bit.
00:27
They might not be the strongest top three teams in the WNBA, but they are still getting
00:32
up there to have their reprise, their rematch for a championship title.
00:36
Minnesota Lynx, you guys already heard me go on a spiel about this.
00:39
They're probably one of my favorite teams in the mix here.
00:42
I think they're one of the most deserving teams to potentially walk away with a championship.
00:46
And if you caught those numbers early, it was worthwhile to at least throw a sprinkle
00:50
on that.
00:51
After the Lynx, you got the Sun.
00:53
After the Sun, you got the Storm.
00:55
And then followed by the Fever, who have just tremendously stepped up their performance
00:58
since the Olympic break.
01:01
But these odds and titles mean nothing until we get into playoffs and we see who's going
01:05
to be battling out to be the lone standing team at the top.
01:09
So we got to talk about this playoff picture because it's being molded day by day and week
01:13
by week.
01:14
And we are that much closer to seeing what the playoff action is going to be.
01:18
To paint the picture for anyone new to watching the WNBA or anyone just now getting up to
01:22
date.
01:23
Top eight teams, regardless of conference affiliation, will make the playoffs for the
01:27
WNBA under the playoff format of the number one seed playing the number eight seed, the
01:32
number two playing the seven and so on and so forth.
01:35
That's how the brackets will line up when it comes to playoffs.
01:38
In that first round, you've got best of three.
01:41
But once you get to the semis and forward, it is best of five for the WNBA to march towards
01:45
that championship title.
01:47
So where do we stand now?
01:49
Last week, we talked about teams that have clenched their playoff position.
01:52
We talked about some tiebreakers and some crucial games coming down the pipeline.
01:56
And a few figures have changed around, but honestly, not much when it comes to the top
02:00
teams who have already clenched their playoff spot.
02:03
So let's see where they stand now.
02:04
New York Liberty were already sitting at the top as the lone wolf.
02:09
They are now successfully sitting at 31 wins, and they were the first team to grab 30 wins
02:15
on the season on Tuesday after powering past a Wings team that is struggling to get into
02:19
the mix.
02:20
They have a 31-6 record, as you see here.
02:23
Now, last week, if you joined us on WNBA Today here on SportsGrid TV, there was a bit of
02:29
a duel going on between the Minnesota Lynx and the Connecticut Sun.
02:32
But the Minnesota Lynx have been on streak after streak after streak.
02:36
Each aspect of their game is starting to fall into order, and they're probably one of the
02:39
most consistent teams out there right now.
02:41
No, it's not a biased opinion, and the record will show forth, because last week when we
02:45
were talking about ties, they're not sitting at a tie currently.
02:48
Minnesota at 27 wins, just nine losses, thanks to an extended win streak of four games as
02:53
of Tuesday, beating out the Dream.
02:56
Not to mention, they're 10-1 since the Olympic break.
02:59
I said consistency, I meant consistency.
03:02
Key games that they have coming up, Liberty on September 15th, and then the Sun on September
03:07
17th.
03:08
And then, speaking of the Sun, they're just one behind, so they're still nipping at the
03:12
heels of the Minnesota Lynx, 26-10 their current record, holding down that number three spot.
03:18
As for Connecticut and their playoff positioning, Sun grabbed a win over the Sparks on Tuesday,
03:24
adding to their winnings, but most importantly, they are still chasing the Lynx, and their
03:27
key games coming up the pipeline is Aces on September 15th, and Lynx on September 17th.
03:32
So we're going to see some key games going on on Sunday, as well as Tuesday in the WNBA
03:36
that can cause some leapfrogging, but it's the Lynx with the biggest leapfrog thus far.
03:41
Jumping down to Las Vegas, Aces, and obviously their ace on the roster.
03:47
We know that she's going to do everything possible to put them in the best seed positioning.
03:51
They're starting to get more consistent.
03:52
I mentioned that defense that has gotten cleaned up, and of course, Wilson being a huge asset
03:57
in all of those conversations.
03:59
They are still leading the storm when it comes to holding down that fourth slot.
04:03
Not only that, Wilson has been battling injuries, so that's something else.
04:07
They have to figure out at this moment how much they need her to have these skyrocketing
04:11
performances and how much they kind of need to maintain and focus on her health to make
04:15
sure that she can carry her team and propel them throughout the playoff conversation.
04:19
You can't do that with a banged up player that's throwing her entire team on her back
04:23
over and over and over again.
04:24
So if we start seeing some kind of rest ups, if they're getting productive leads heading
04:28
into halftime, then we might not see as much big numbers from Wilson down the stretch here.
04:33
After you break that record, you've got to focus on the health of your player so that
04:36
she can help you successfully grab another title.
04:40
Key games coming down the pipeline for the Aces, Sunday, September 15th versus the Sun,
04:45
and then you've got the Storm on the 17th.
04:46
Again, back to that hole, 15th, 17th are the top major games.
04:49
Seattle Storm tangoing for that fourth spot, trying hard.
04:53
We're seeing inconsistency in this level of play.
04:56
Storm haven't had the most appealing performances.
04:59
They finally grabbed a back-to-back win since the Olympic break.
05:02
One key game on the docket here versus the Aces on the 17th, and then, of course, one
05:06
of the most important teams to talk about right now.
05:09
It's going to be the Indiana Fever.
05:11
You've got them sitting at a 1918 record down here, and outside of Kaitlyn Clark, outside
05:17
of Kelsey Mitchell, who I always mention every segment here on WNBA Today, this team is starting
05:23
to kind of waver a little bit, but not too much.
05:26
Fever sit one and a half games behind the Mercury in the race for the sixth slot, but
05:31
they own the tiebreaker.
05:33
They get into a little bit of a rhythm here.
05:35
It's theirs for the taking, and not only do they have one of the top rookies on their
05:38
roster, but we're seeing some versatility and where their offense can kind of compete
05:42
versus the other teams, and as for the team that they own the tiebreaker on, you got the
05:47
Phoenix Mercury up here for the seventh slot, 1719 being their current record, and it's
05:53
looking more likely for the Mercury to secure the seventh seed, so if you remember that
05:57
bracket that we mentioned at the top of the segment, then you can kind of get a picture
06:01
of the competition that Mercury are going to have to get through in order to stick through
06:05
any kind of playoff tango.
06:07
Three teams that are in the biggest battle to get into the playoffs.
06:11
It's going to be the Chicago Sky, Atlanta Dream, and Washington Mystic.
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