Six teams, three playoff berths: Handicapping the WNBA playoff race

 Six teams, three playoff berths: Handicapping the WNBA playoff race; At the midpoint of the 2022 WNBA regular season, five clubs have clinched their playoff berths and, in some cases, their title ambitions. Atlanta Dream (ATL), Dallas Wings (DAL), Phoenix Mercury (PHOENIX), New York Liberty (NYL), and Minnesota Lynx are in a tight race (MN). Over the next four weeks, there will be an abundance of exciting games.

This was made clearly clear on Tuesday night, when the Lynx overcame the Mercury in double overtime, resulting in losses for the other four clubs. After this loss, the Lynx were currently 1.5 games out of a playoff spot. In the current WNBA rankings, these six teams are separated by only 1.5 games, with 11 to 13 games remaining until the playoffs are determined.

After scorching starts, the Dream and the Wings have cooled off somewhat. The Liberty and Lynx continue to rank 10th and 11th, respectively. This season, the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns have encountered a number of unanticipated difficulties. If you’re searching for an illustration of this, consider the Sparks’ dismissal of coach Derek Fisher and Tina Charles’ move to the Seattle Storm last month.

The Liberty (10) and Lynx (11) are now deadlocked for tenth place despite being two of the league’s most interesting teams in recent weeks. This season, the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns have had a number of surprising setbacks. If you’re searching for an illustration of this, consider the Sparks’ dismissal of coach Derek Fisher and Tina Charles’ move to the Seattle Storm last month.

Will the Dallas Mavericks and the New York Liberty be able to improve upon their poor postseason performances from the previous year? Will the Dream return to the postseason after missing it last season?

Will Sylvia Fowles, who will be inducted into the Corridor of Fame, be able to extend her season by making a postseason run? Even though they released Charles and Brittney Griner and the Sparks changed coaches, is there a chance that the Mercury will play in late August?

No. 8 The Dallas Wings have also had bad luck.

Sabally, who has appeared in only 11 games this season, is questionable for Thursday’s match against the Lynx. Only the Wings will face the last-place Indiana Fever twice in the future. If Dallas wins these games, their standings position will improve.

Phoenix placed tenth overall. Due to Charles’s departure, the Mercury has the fewest remaining road games, but they still have a very small margin for error. Even though Phoenix has benefited from Sophie Cunningham’s outstanding play, such as her 36-point outing on Tuesday, is this a failsafe formula?

Tuesday night, 36-year-old Candace Parker broke a WNBA record by scoring 30 points and snagging 10 rebounds in Chicago’s 90-75 victory over the Dream. Her three-strike performance yielded three steals and 31 points for the soaring team. Since July of last year, this was their highest-scoring game.

Later that evening, Phoenix welcomed Minnesota in a WNBA game, the first since 2010. Each of Cunningham, Aerial Powers and Skyler Diggins-Smith scored 30 points (32). Powers and Cunningham are the only opposing players to have lost 35 factors in the same game, which Minnesota won 118-107 after two overtimes.

As Charles’ replacement, Cunningham became a mainstay of the Mercury team. For the preceding five games, he was sixth on the fable list. Even still, only around one-third of leagues utilize it.

Lexie Brown and Brittney Sykes have both performed admirably from a fantasy standpoint in recent games for the Sparks. As the Los Angeles Lakers continue their playoff push, streaming choices will have to be evaluated.

When Phoenix and Minnesota played later that night, for the first time since 2010, three players reached 30 points. The three players were Cunningham (36 points), Aerial Powers (35 points), and Skylar Diggins-Smith (30 points) (32). In a tumultuous game that went into double overtime and was won by Minnesota 118-107, Powers and Cunningham were only the third pair of rival players to each lose 35 points in the same game.

Both teams endured a difficult June and early July, making this a potentially intriguing game. On May 31 and June 2, in one of two games played at Mandalay Bay, the Sun prevailed. In order to reverse their current slide, they must win this game. Currently, they are fourth in the standings, behind only the Aces, the Storm, and the Sky.