After a three-game tilt on Friday, the 2024 WNBA playoff picture is coming into focus. The Seattle Storm and Las Vegas Aces clinched Friday night with the Atlanta Dream loss.
Brian Fleurantin and Roberta Rodrigues joined me Thursday night on YouTube to preview the Liberty at Storm and the implications for the playoffs.
Here is a clip from our livestream:
The Liberty were the first team to clinch a playoff spot on August 17th after a win over the Aces. This marks the 12th postseason appearance for Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello in as many years as a WNBA head coach.
When asked if it meant more to the team to clinch a berth against Las Vegas– the team that took them down in four games to win their second consecutive title on the Liberty court– New York guard Ionescu said it didn’t.
“No, it doesn’t mean more,” she told media after the 79-67 win earlier this month.
“Obviously, we’re super-excited to clinch a spit in the playoffs. Obviously, our goal isn’t just to make it there, but it’s gonna be continuing to win these games that we have coming up and continuing to get better as a team and focus on ourselves,” Ionescu told reporters postgame.
New York has gone 4-2 since its win over the Aces and looks to enjoy rest and solid practice time before the team plays against the Storm on September 5.
Weathering the Storm
The Storm will advance to their 18th playoffs since joining the league in 2000 despite losing to the Liberty on Friday night. It’s been a see-saw season for the latest “super team” in the WNBA. The Storm has been on the title contenders ' shortlist since signing Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith in the offseason. Adding Gabby Williams no doubt made Seattle better.
However, the teams still need to work on consistency. Diggins-Smith expressed her frustration after an unexpected loss to the Washington Mystics. The veteran took responsibility for her end-of-game decision-making while also keeping it real about Seattle’s lack of focus.
“In this league, if you aren’t ready to play, you’ll get beat every fucking night. They were ready to play, and we weren’t,” Diggins-Smith added.
Head coach Noelle Quinn agreed.
“It doesn’t come down to schemes. It doesn’t come down to actions. It just comes down to, sometimes, playing harder than your opponent. And we’re not doing that right now. And we’re not doing that together right now.”
Current WNBA Standings
The Storm's loss to the New York Liberty at Climate Pledge Arena proved costly. The defending WNBA champions, Las Vegas, jumped into fourth place, overtaking the Storm, which now holds the fifth of eight playoff spots.
Playoff Format
The top eight teams with the highest winning percentage (regardless of conference) will qualify for the playoffs. Teams advancing to the postseason will be seeded ahead of the best-of-three first round. The highest seed will host games 1 and 2 of the series.
If the season were to end today, here would be the first-round matchups:
Chicago Sky (8) at New York Liberty (1)
Phoenix Mercury (7) at Connecticut Sun (2)
Indiana Fever (6) at Minnesota Lynx (3)
Seattle Storm (5) at Las Vegas Aces (4)
The semifinal series would align as follows:
WINNER 1v8 vs. WINNER 4v5
WINNER 2v7 vs. WINNER 3v6
The top seeds will host games 1,2 and 5 of the semifinals and WNBA Finals.
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