Seattle Storm vs. Washington Mystics First-Round Recap: What You Need To Know
Seattle Storm vs. Washington Mystics First-Round Recap: What You Need To Know: In the last few weeks, the battle for No. 4 seed between the Seattle Storm and Washington Mystics was one of the tightest and most dramatic playoff races. Though a No. 4 seed no longer gets a first-round bye under the new format, it does mean home-court advantage in Round 1.
But the Storm, who finished with a 22-14 record earned fourth place in the regular season and two wins against the Knights could prove decisive in what should be a thrilling first round series.
Breanna Stewart has been fully healthy and is still a dominant player in the league. She won her scoring title, averaged 21.8 points per game, 7.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.6 steals for the Storm this season. She’s still available for MVP and DPOY consideration and could win both awards that she is typically among the leading candidates for.
After missing the last two seasons due to various health issues, Elena Delle Donne returned to a limited basis this season. The Mystics were cautious with her workload, and she often skipped road trips for mental and physical health reasons. Though the plan may have led to a lower seeding, it did make a difference–Delle Donne averaged 17.2 points per game and shot 46 percent from behind the arc in just 138 minutes when she played. Elena will be ready to go for Game 1.
It has been announced that the new playoff format is to test how it works. Prior to the season, its first two rounds have been eliminated in favor of a traditional postseason bracket. The first-round series will be best-of-three and the semifinals and Finals will be best-of straight.
The first round of the new College Basketball Playoff Committee’s tournament has a new twist compared to their previous system. In the first round, the higher-seeded team will host games one and two and the lower seeded team will host game three if need be. This gives the higher seed a chance to sweep the series at home, but leaves open the possibility for a stunning upset by the lower seeded team in that winner takes all contest.
In lopsided series, such as between the Aces and Mercury on Saturday afternoon, it will be easier for the higher seed to advance. In more competitive matchups, such as this one between the Storm and Mystics on Saturday night, it could be harder to move forward – if not easier – after two wins.
The current format incentivizes a power-two team to win the first map, ideally this would be a best-of-five match as it offers more competitive balance.
The Mystics’ main priority is to keep Elena Delle Donne healthy this season. She’s on a comprehensive load management plan that includes skipping multiple road trips and limiting her minutes in games where she does play. In total, she played 25 games and averaged 27.8 minutes.
While it did cause a hiccup in the seed, Delle Donne playing in these games staved off potential, long-term injury. This was her first season since 2019 without missing significant time due to an injury and she is healthy for the postseason — a full season after that championship with the Mystics.
With the arrival of Delle Donne in town, the Washington Mystics are an up and coming team that could be a dark horse title contender. Although she won’t win any player of the year awards because of her lack of games for this season, she is still one of the best players in the league, and recorded a plus-12.3 net rating when she was on the floor.
It is unclear whether the Washington Mystics’ star player, Elena Delle Donne, can endure the rigors of playing in a short series. With only four days off since finishing the regular season, Delle Donne should be ready for the first round of the playoffs, regardless. The 2-1 format and extended schedule will benefit Delle Donne as it generally plays out over three games in seven days on one flight.
The Mystics closed the regular season as the best-rated defense in the league, allowing opponents just 96 points per 100 possessions. They had three defenders on the roster that were potential first team All-Defensive selections.
When the game begins later this week, Jewell Loyd, Seattle’s All-Star guard, will be slowed down by them. Loyd’s second leading scorer on the season had an average of 16.3 points per game and shot 38.5 percent from 3-point land in the season. She was inconsistent at times and inefficient inside of the arc where she shot her career low 40.3 percent from 2-point range this season.
While both teams enter the playoffs with identical statistics, this match is of particular interest to the Storm because their success will heavily depend on Loyd. The Storm need a consistent number of points from Loyd in order to be successful, making a victory for them highly unlikely unless she has a few big games and gets loose. If Loyd is unable to score, then the advantage should swing towards the deeper Mystics.
The Storm has had a former MVP lead each game this season, the defense is elite and all signs point to Seattle being able to win the series. It’s very difficult to pick between these two teams, especially because of how much could be decided by Game 3 in Washington. Given how close it is, we’re going with the team with the best player, which is Seattle.