The 2019 WNBA Playoffs have officially begun! Today is the first day of what will be an exciting playoffs. The festivities start with a game between the Phoenix Mercury and the Chicago Sky.
The 2019 playoffs begin today (Sept.11) and will potentially go on until Oct.10. Today’s games will be single elimination, which means either the Sky or Mercury will go home, and the later game, between the Storm or Lynx will have one of them go home as well. So, this is a must-win situation for these four teams.
The first game of the playoffs is the matchup between the Mercury and Sky. The Sky are the fifth seed of the playoffs as they finished the regular season with a record of 20-14. The Mercury are the eighth seed as they finished the season 15-19.
In the regular season, the Sky won their season series against the Mercury 3-0. In their first matchup, they beat the Mercury 82-75 in Chicago. Then, in August, the Sky beat the Mercury 94-86. Their final matchup took place this month, as the Sky beat the Mercury in a blowout win. They beat them 105-78.
All-Star Diamond Deshields has had a standout year for the Sky as she led the team in scoring with 16.2 points. Deshields played well throughout the season and had help from other players such as Allie Quigley, who averaged 13.8 points and shot 39 percent from deep. If Chicago plays like they did in the regular season, there is a good chance that they advance to the next round. However, we cannot count out the Mercury.
While the Mercury lost their last four games in the season, they are still a threat. They are led by veteran players Brittney Griner and DeWanna Bonner, both of which were on the Mercury’s Championship team in 2014. Griner was the league leader in scoring with 20.7 points. Bonner wasn’t too far behind as she was fifth in scoring with 17.2 points. Even though Griner averaged 20 points in the Seattle series this season and Bonner averaged 19.3 points both will have to put up even more points in this game if the Mercury want to pull out the win.
The Phoenix Mercury are ready to go (Photo Courtesy of Lorie Shaull)
While the Mercury have dealt with injuries (such as Diana Taurasi, who is doubtful in this game), they are not a team to take lightly. If they play well, they can give the Sky a challenge.
The WNBA playoffs are already off to a good start. These two teams want to win and have what it takes to get to the next round and anything can happen in postseason.
Tip-off is set for 8:00 pm ET over on ESPN 2.