Friday 23 August 2019 08:26, UK
While there are still a few weeks left before the end of the regular season, the playoff picture is finally starting to take some shape. And while the weekly WNBA Report Card will continue to look at teams in and out of the hunt, this week is an all-playoff-contender special.
Considering the ways in which the Mercury's season could have spiralled out of control after the August 10 fight between Brittney Griner and the Dallas Wings' Kristine Anigwe, Phoenix have done well to hold their position in the playoff race.
The Mercury team survived Griner's three-game suspension and will receive an additional boost this Sunday when Diana Taurasi will return after recovering from an injury that has kept her out most of this season and serving a one-game ban for her involvement in the Griner-Anigwe fracas.
While Phoenix lost that game to the Wings and then lost a tough game against one of the league's best - the Connecticut Sun - the Mercury got hot against the teams they were supposed to beat.
Blowing out the Atlanta Dream and outlasting the New York Liberty were not guaranteed with Phoenix's top players unavailable (not to mention the raft of injuries the team is battling).
Griner returned and the Mercury managed to force overtime against a Las Vegas Aces squad that was pumped up after the recent return of A'ja Wilson. It goes to show the potential of this Phoenix squad when fully healthy Griner and DeWanna Bonner both scored a game-high 24 points and Leilani Mitchell chipped in 14 to as the Mercury forced overtime only to fall 84-79 in the extra session.
With a few more weeks for their players to get healthy and for Taurasi to get locked in, Phoenix could still be dangerous. They have proven multiple times in recent seasons that the team does not need a high seeding in the playoffs to cause serious damage, so even if they stumble in as the bottom seed, do not count them out.
The Las Vegas Aces burst onto the WNBA scene last season with a bold new brand, an ambitious marketing strategy for the team, and a plan to win a championship within three years.
The franchise has been rightly lauded since moving from San Antonio, and in recent weeks it showed a new way of handling mental health, by allowing Liz Cambage time off for what was called 'DNP - Rest', but was later clarified by the Aces center, who said it should have been 'DNP - Mental Health'.
While people are discussing how the Aces handle their business off the court, the team is also on the tips of everyone's tongues for what they are doing on the court: winning.
But it's also how they are going about it. When Las Vegas took on Chicago this past week, 50 fouls were called, there were several technical fouls, including one on Cambage for barking "All day!" at Stef Dolson after hitting a hook shot over the Sky center.
It got dirty at times, which is why there is a minus next to their A grade this week, but you can bet that the players won't receive a telling off from head coach, former Detroit Pistons 'Bad Boy era' big man Bill Laimbeer.
The Aces are riding a four-game win streak and have just got Wilson back in the line-up after Dearica Hamby filled in so well while the reigning Rookie of the Year was injured.
In Wilson's absence, the team hardly missed a beat. Las Vegas are probably the biggest threat to the Washington Mystics' title ambitions. They showed why this week, fighting through tough situations and coming away with plenty of victories.
For reasons just discussed, there is no shame in losing to the Las Vegas Aces. And give credit to Chicago, the Aces had to work really hard to beat them, despite the eventual 100-85 scoreline.
A few days earlier the Chicago Sky handed a loss to the surging Los Angeles Sparks and this week James Wade's team also took care of business against an Atlanta Dream team that did not want to lose (but did).
Chicago are 7-3 over their last 10 games and Courtney Vandersloot is not being spoken of enough in the MVP conversation. Mystics star Elena Delle Donne already has her name etched onto the winner's trophy but Vandersloot should be a genuine contender for the runner-up spot.
Wade said at the start of the season that Vandersloot will only be considered as the league's top point guard when she is on a winning team. With strong support from Diamond DeShields and Allie Quigley, this trio of perfect-passing sharp shooters has led Chicago to a 16-11 record and their first playoff berth in several years.
People are slowly starting to take notice.
There is enough talent here. Maybe not enough to win a championship this season, but Chicago can certainly be proud of their basketball again.
While it's unlikely we will see Minnesota drop out of the playoffs entirely this season, it has been rough going for the Lynx. They are fighting hard, as you would expect from a Cheryl Reeve squad, but just can't string together win streaks and enough strong performances to contend for much more than that.
That's what happens when you build a whole new offense and roster, compared to bringing back a championship core year after year.
Perhaps a sign of ageing, Sylvia Fowles goes from looking like the best big in the league in one game to barely grabbing a rebound in the next. Seimone Augustus has just returned from injury, but at 35 it is taking her a while to find a rhythm.
Meanwhile, Napheesa Collier, Temi Fagbenle and Lexie Brown are looking like a young trio to build around sooner rather than later. Perhaps signing Bridget Carleton this week will offer some short-term help but things have not gone well for Minnesota as of late.
Thankfully, a win against the Dallas Wings ended a three-game losing streak and kept a chasing pack of playoff hopefuls at bay.
But the struggles of the Lynx this week have plagued the team all season, and it is unlikely to get any easier if and when they enter a single-game elimination against one of the best teams in the league.
