The reigning champions, Chicago Sky are guaranteed one of two top spots in the W.N.B.A. playoffs. The rebuilding Indiana Fever are currently the only team in contention. All other teams are up for grabs.
The final week of the W.N.B.A.’s regular season should be a showcase of the parity and chaos the league has seen all season. Six of the league’s 12 teams are battling for the final three playoff spots, and the teams that have already clinched are still jockeying for seeding.
The Sky are currently at the top of standings with 25-8 and a two-game advantage in the race to be the No. 1 seed. Chicago cannot fall further than No. 2 seed after a win Sunday over the Connecticut Sun, but it will still need to hold off the Las Vegas Aces, who spoiled Sue Bird’s final regular-season game at Climate Pledge Arena with a win over the Seattle Storm. In their final regular-season meeting, Chicago and Las Vegas will meet Thursday.
Although the Sun are currently in third place, they could still surpass the Aces for No. 2 seed. There is a bigger battle below them as Seattle and Washington Mystics compete for home-court advantage in what is almost certain to be the playoff matchup of the No. 4 and 5 seeds. 5 seeds. The Storm are in a scheduling disadvantage with games against Chicago and Las Vegas on the road. They will be traveling to Minneapolis for their final game. The Mystics finish their regular season with two games against Fever, and then play at home against their last opponent.
The Dallas Wings are among the top teams that hope to secure one of the final playoff spots. They hold a 16-16 record with four games remaining — all against teams that sit below them in the standings. Dallas could secure a berth if it wins in either its two games this week against Liberty. The first was scheduled for Monday night.
The race for the Wings is wide open, however. The Atlanta Dream and Phoenix Mercury are tied at 19 with three games remaining. However, the Dream hold the tiebreaker. With four games remaining, the Liberty are at 13-19. The Minnesota Lynx is at 13-20. The Los Angeles Sparks and Minnesota Lynx are still at 13-20.
Both the Mercury as well as the Dream have been without key players in the last few games: Atlanta’s guard Tiffany Hayes was out of action for three games after sustaining an ankle injury. Phoenix was also without Skylar D. Smith and Diana Taurasi during Saturday’s win over New York. The Liberty was finally feeling better after Betnijah Laney returned two months ago to action, but forward Natasha Howard was forced to retire. an ankle injury.
The injury could be a deciding factor for the 10th place Lynx. They have the season tiebreakers over Phoenix, the Liberty, and they face the Mercury in a must win game Wednesday. But the rest of Minnesota’s schedule is daunting, with games at home against Seattle and on the road against Connecticut. The return of Napheesa Kollier, who returned Sunday to play after a short time and less than three weeks after giving birth, is a positive for the team. (She was motivated by the chance to play with Sylvia Fowles again, who will be retiring at the conclusion of the season.
For reasons both on and off the court, the Sparks could face the most difficult path to a playoff spot. Los Angeles was in position to win the No. After a July 21 victory over the Dream, Los Angeles was in position to be the No. The drama erupted when Liz Cambage, the four-time All Star, left the team. The Sparks lost six consecutive games to fall to 11th.
They kept their hopes alive with a win against Mystics on Sunday. They must play back to back games against the Sun, who is in third place, before facing the surging Wings. The Sparks got caught in a travel nightmare as they tried to leave Washington.
After their flight was delayed and then canceled, some members of the Sparks spent the night in the airport when there weren’t enough hotel rooms for all players. Nneka Oluwumike, a former league M.V.P. said in a video posted on Twitter, “It’s the first time in my 11 seasons that I’ve ever had to sleep in the airport.”
Read the full article here
