Aces have a clear path to the WNBA’s No. 1 seed
Everything is within grasp for the Aces in the final week of the regular season in terms of seeding.
With a win Tuesday over Indiana, they clinched no worse than the No. 4 seed and a first-round bye in the WNBA playoffs. If they get past Minnesota on Thursday, they’ll finish no worse than third. Add a win over Los Angeles on Saturday, and they’ll earn at least the No. 2 seed and a double bye to the semifinals.
Win out, including Sunday against Seattle, and the top seed is theirs.
“I didn’t expect us to be where we’re at right now,” Aces coach Bill Laimbeer said. “I thought we’d be in the middle of the pack, but kudos to our coaching staff and players, especially A’ja Wilson, who has played phenomenally all season. We know if we win out, we’ve got the No. 1 seed. That’s our task.”
The top two seeds in the playoffs will have a double bye to the best-of-five semifinals. The No. 3 and 4 teams will avoid playing in the first round but will face one-game playoffs in the second round. The 5-8 seeds will play one-game first-round playoffs.
Here is a quick rundown of where each team stands.
Seattle (17-3): The Storm has been the league’s best team for most of the season and can finish no worse than third. It can clinch at least the No. 2 seed with a win over Phoenix or the Aces and will be the No. 1 seed if it wins out.
Aces (15-4): The Aces can finish anywhere from first to fourth, but the road to the top seed won’t be easy. They meet fourth-place Minnesota, third-place Los Angeles and first-place Seattle to close the season. The Aces won the first meeting with all those teams this season.
Los Angeles (15-5): The Sparks can reach as high as the No. 2 seed and will clinch at least third with a win or a Minnesota loss in either of the respective teams’ final two games. They will face Washington on Thursday and Aces on Saturday.
Minnesota (13-7): The Lynx can finish no higher than third or lower than sixth. It will meet the Aces on Thursday and Indiana on Saturday.
Phoenix (13-8): The Mercury can finish no higher than fourth and no lower than fifth. It closes with Seattle on Friday.
Chicago (11-10): The Sky can finish no higher than sixth and no lower than sixth. It faces Dallas on Friday.
Connecticut (10-11): The Sun can finish no better than sixth and no worse than eighth. It will meet Atlanta on Friday.
Dallas (7-13): The Wings can finish no better than eighth. It will finish with Seattle on Wednesday, Chicago on Friday and New York on Sunday.
Washington (6-13): The Mystics can finish no better than eighth. They close with Los Angeles on Thursday, New York on Saturday and Atlanta on Sunday.
Atlanta (6-14): The Dream can finish no better than eighth. It would be eliminated with one more loss and Dallas win. It closes with Connecticut on Friday and Washington on Sunday.
Indiana (5-15) and New York (2-18): The Fever and Liberty are eliminated from playoff contention.
Contact Jason Orts at jorts@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2936. Follow @SportsWithOrts on Twitter.
Aces game day
What: Aces (15-4) vs. Minnesota Lynx (13-7)
When: 5 p.m. Thursday
Where: IMG Academy, Bradenton, Florida
TV: ESPN2
About the Aces: They close with a gauntlet in fourth-place Minnesota on Thursday, third-place Los Angeles on Saturday and first-place Seattle on Sunday. A'ja Wilson is hoping to make one last MVP push and has 20.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots per game. She also leads the league in getting to the free-throw line with nearly seven attempts per game and makes 79.7 percent of them.
About the Lynx: It has dropped its last two and is hoping to avoid slipping from the No. 4 seed and a first-round bye. Rookie of the Year candidate Crystal Dangerfield leads Minnesota with 15.9 points and 3.6 assists per game. Napheesa Collier, last year's Rookie of the Year, is right behind her with 15.8 points, and she's second in the league with 9.0 rebounds per game.
Jason Orts Review-Journal
