Photo by Catalina Fragoso/NBAE via Getty Images
The league’s top three teams — the New York Liberty, Minnesota Lynx, and Connecticut Sun — are all in action on Tuesday night, as the regular season nears a close.
Good morning, WNBA fans. After a game-free Monday night, we’ve got a three-game slate on Tuesday — including two games with major playoff implication (Lynx-Dream and Sun-Sparks), given that the Lynx and Sun are in a tight race for the highly-coveted #2 seed.
Here’s what the league has in store for tonight:
The Minnesota Lynx vs the Atlanta Dream at 7:30pm ET
The Lynx have been the WNBA’s best team since the Olympic break, and now hold a one-game lead over the Connecticut Sun for the #2 seed. That means that if the playoffs were to start today, they’d face the Phoenix Mercury — an outcome that currently seems far more favorable than playing the Indiana Fever, who sit in sixth and are positioned to face the #3 team. (The Fever are 8-2 in their last 10 games, while the Mercury are 3-7). For the Lynx, Napheesa Collier has been playing at an MVP level, and has helped lead Minnesota to 10 win in 11 games.
The Dream, meanwhile, sit at ninth overall but are tied with the Chicago Sky with a 12-23 record. Atlanta is fresh off of an overtime loss to the Fever, in which they led by double-digits but ultimately succumbed to a 30-point Aliyah Boston outing. Rhyne Howard has been on a tear as of late — she’s scored 31, 33, and 36 points in each of her last three games — and Atlanta will need her to continue her hot shooting if they are to overtake Chicago for the final playoff spot.
The New York Liberty vs the Dallas Wings at 8pm ET
This game likely doesn’t have any real seeding implications for either team. With five games left in the regular season, the Liberty have a comfortable three-game lead for the #1 seed in the WNBA standings, while the Wings have already been eliminated from playoff contention.
Still, there’s a couple things to look out for, the first being whether the Liberty look like the dominant team that took a 20-point lead over the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday afternoon — or whether they look like the team that nearly blew that lead in the fourth quarter of that game. New York still came out victorious, but Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones weren’t particularly thrilled with how things played out despite the final outcome. Also of note: Betnijah Laney-Hamilton injured her knee after colliding into Jonquel Jones in that one. It looked pretty gnarly at first, but she appears to have avoided serious injury and is listed as questionable for this game.
Whole Liberty team is crowded around Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, who appears to have hurt her knee but is walking on her own. She got a massive ovation after getting up pic.twitter.com/Rj567k3Vok
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) September 8, 2024
The Connecticut Sun vs the Los Angeles Sparks at 10am ET
The Sun narrowly defeated the Sparks on Saturday night, and the two teams will face off again on Tuesday in a game with significantly more implications for Connecticut than Los Angeles. The Sun are currently a game behind the Lynx in the standings, and if they move up to the #2 seed, they be able to avoid playing the Fever. DiJonai Carrington, a leading Most Improved Player candidate, was crucial in the Sun’s win on Saturday, scoring 19 points on 9-14 shooting and posting 5 steals.
Like the Wings, the Sparks have already been eliminated from playoff contention, so this game has no real implications. It is an opportunity, however, for Rickea Jackson to continue showcasing she’s one of the top players in this stacked rookie class. Jackson exploded for 23 points when the two teams last faced off, and will look to repeat that performance tonight.
Updated WNBA Standings
New York Liberty (29-6)
Minnesota Lynx (26-9)
Connecticut Sun (25-10)
Las Vegas Aces (22-13)
Seattle Storm (21-14)
Indiana Fever (19-17)
Phoenix Mercury (17-19)
Chicago Sky (12-23)
Atlanta Dream (12-23)
Washington Mystics (11-24)
Dallas Wings (9-26)
Los Angeles Sparks (7-28)
