Lynx vs. Mercury schedule: Game times, where to watch and what to know about WNBA playoff semifinals

The Minnesota Lynx, seeded, was the only team to sweep their series in the first round, and had to wait for the conclusion of match 3 of Friday winner between the Phoenix Mercury and New York Liberty to find out who they would play in the semi-finals.

After a hard competition, the Mercury eliminated the champions in title to qualify for the first time since 2021, which is also the last time they were in the final. It is only three victories of another trip to the final, but will have to succeed in an upheaval against the Lynx, who lost in the final last season and was the best team all summer.

WNBA qualifiers bracket, where to watch: calendar, scores, television channel as Mercury defeated Liberty to go to the semi-finals

Isabel Gonzalez

This is the second consecutive season that the lynx and the mercury will meet in the playoffs and the eighth time. The lynx, which swept the mercury in the first round last season, has a 6-1 file in their series of seven previous series against Mercury.

Will the lynx continue to dominate the season? Or will Mercury finally take up this rivalry? We will discover it soon. The first match of this five best set is scheduled for Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.

N ° 1 minnesota Lynx vs n ° 4 Phoenix Mercure

• Game 1: Mercury in Lynx (-6.5), Sunday, 5 p.m. HE – ABC / FUBO (Try for free)
• Game 2: Mercury in Lynx, Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. He – ESPN / FUBO (Try for free)
• Game 3: Lynx in Mercury, September 26, TBD – ESPN2 / FUBO (Try for free)
• 4 *game: Lynx in Mercury, September 28, TBD – TBD
• 5 *game: Mercury in Lynx, September 30, TBD – TBD

* If necessary / dimensions provided by Fanduel

Players to watch

Lynx: Napheesa Collier

Necklace, which was appointed MVP finalist on Friday, has become one of the best players in the world in recent seasons. She was going through her first MVP prize before hurting herself at the ankle in early August, but is now in good health and ready to lead the Lynx to the trophy that really counts. It was extremely effective in the regular season against Mercury, pulling 54.1% on the field in their three games, also leading the defensive effort against Alyssa Thomas.

Mercury: Alyssa Thomas

Again, this is an obvious choice, but the mercury is defined by Thomas, who was also appointed finalist MVP on Friday. It is their offensive engine and the best defender, and an emotional leader, on and off the field. Against The Liberty, she recorded her fifth triple-double in a career playoff series in the 3-take-all-all match, and has almost an average of a triple-double for the series. She might need to make an average of average for Mercury to make the upheaval in this series, but it will not be easy while trying to slow down collar.

Three keys to the series

The Battle of turnover

The Lynx had the best defense of the League (97.5 defensive note) during the regular season, while the Mercury finished fifth (100.4 defensive note). An important part of the success of each team on this side of the ball was their ability to force reversals. The lynx finished second in the rate of rotation of adversaries (19.6%) and the mercury was fourth (18.9%).

On the other hand, the two teams were able to take care of the ball. The lynx rolling rate was 16.5%, which was tied in the third place in the league, while the Mercury was 16.9% and good for the fifth.

During the regular season, the lynx was 23-4 when they had fewer turnarounds and 10-6 otherwise, while the mercury had 17-8 when they had less reversals and 10-9 otherwise.

Whatever the team that can limit its reversals will have a long length in this series. Not only will the team with less reversals occur more likely to score, but they will also limit the transitional opportunities for the other team.

3 -point 3 -point volume at 3 points

The 3 points is a key aspect of the offensive approach to the two teams, but the Mercury promotes volume while the Lynx promotes efficiency. Here are their regular season divisions:

While the Mercury only took two more 3 per game than the lynx, the mentalities of the teams were completely different.

In particular, the Mercury played 18 games during the regular season with at least 30 attempts of 3 points, while the Lynx had only nine games of this type. Another key difference, and which emphasizes the problems in which Mercury can present itself with the selection of shots, was attempts without trips.

Here is another table to go:

Lynxs are much more likely to have a percentage of 3 points higher in this series. They have more shooters and better shooters throughout their range. But could Mercury’s upper variance style produce aberrant performance? He has during the regular season and may again need to win this series.

What support is to go up?

You generally know what you will get from necklace and Thomas, which will pass large parts of this series that keep each other. But what about everyone? What support cast will intensify to help their MVP candidate?

In an emptiness, Sutou Sabally and Kahleah Copper are the third and fourth talented players in this match, but none has drawn the ball in the first round against freedom. Sabally notably experienced a performance of 2 out of 17 in match 1 and was 31% for the series, while Copper was 40.5% and did not score more than 15 points in a match.

The lynx group may not be so flashy, but Alanna Smith has been appointed co-player of the co-defensive year, Courtney Williams is an individual elite shooting creator and Kayla McBride is one of the most reliable two-way veterans. As a collective, the lynx was at a different level from everyone for the whole summer.

The group that works better and more regularly throughout this series will probably be the one that advances in the final.

Prediction

Mercury is an interesting team. They have as many high level talents as anyone in the league, and their tenacity and their physique are difficult to manage for an opponent. There is a path to an upheaval here for them if they can frustrate the lynx and make a lot of 3. Too often, however, their offense enters the main lulls, that the lynx will be punished. The Lynxs were the best team in the League, on both sides of the ball, all season, and have an advantage at home. In the target center this season, they were 20-2 with a net rating no longer 16.8. Mercury will not be easy, but the lynx is simply better. Pick: Lynx in 4