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00:00We got to see where the odds and lines lie for the upcoming title because we are this
00:07much closer to having some postseason WNBA.
00:12When we are talking about the title now, you got the Liberty to continue to sit at the
00:15top.
00:16If you see the numbers here on the graphic, plus 110, then right below is the Las Vegas
00:22Aces.
00:23We're not surprised by this.
00:25Their defensive struggles have started to clean up a little bit.
00:27They might not be the strongest top three teams in the WNBA, but they are still getting
00:32up there to have their reprise, their rematch for a championship title.
00:36Minnesota Lynx, you guys already heard me go on a spiel about this.
00:39They're probably one of my favorite teams in the mix here.
00:42I think they're one of the most deserving teams to potentially walk away with a championship.
00:46And if you caught those numbers early, it was worthwhile to at least throw a sprinkle
00:50on that.
00:51After the Lynx, you got the Sun.
00:53After the Sun, you got the Storm.
00:55And then followed by the Fever, who have just tremendously stepped up their performance
00:58since the Olympic break.
01:01But these odds and titles mean nothing until we get into playoffs and we see who's going
01:05to be battling out to be the lone standing team at the top.
01:09So we got to talk about this playoff picture because it's being molded day by day and week
01:13by week.
01:14And we are that much closer to seeing what the playoff action is going to be.
01:18To paint the picture for anyone new to watching the WNBA or anyone just now getting up to
01:22date.
01:23Top eight teams, regardless of conference affiliation, will make the playoffs for the
01:27WNBA under the playoff format of the number one seed playing the number eight seed, the
01:32number two playing the seven and so on and so forth.
01:35That's how the brackets will line up when it comes to playoffs.
01:38In that first round, you've got best of three.
01:41But once you get to the semis and forward, it is best of five for the WNBA to march towards
01:45that championship title.
01:47So where do we stand now?
01:49Last week, we talked about teams that have clenched their playoff position.
01:52We talked about some tiebreakers and some crucial games coming down the pipeline.
01:56And a few figures have changed around, but honestly, not much when it comes to the top
02:00teams who have already clenched their playoff spot.
02:03So let's see where they stand now.
02:04New York Liberty were already sitting at the top as the lone wolf.
02:09They are now successfully sitting at 31 wins, and they were the first team to grab 30 wins
02:15on the season on Tuesday after powering past a Wings team that is struggling to get into
02:19the mix.
02:20They have a 31-6 record, as you see here.
02:23Now, last week, if you joined us on WNBA Today here on SportsGrid TV, there was a bit of
02:29a duel going on between the Minnesota Lynx and the Connecticut Sun.
02:32But the Minnesota Lynx have been on streak after streak after streak.
02:36Each aspect of their game is starting to fall into order, and they're probably one of the
02:39most consistent teams out there right now.
02:41No, it's not a biased opinion, and the record will show forth, because last week when we
02:45were talking about ties, they're not sitting at a tie currently.
02:48Minnesota at 27 wins, just nine losses, thanks to an extended win streak of four games as
02:53of Tuesday, beating out the Dream.
02:56Not to mention, they're 10-1 since the Olympic break.
02:59I said consistency, I meant consistency.
03:02Key games that they have coming up, Liberty on September 15th, and then the Sun on September
03:0717th.
03:08And then, speaking of the Sun, they're just one behind, so they're still nipping at the
03:12heels of the Minnesota Lynx, 26-10 their current record, holding down that number three spot.
03:18As for Connecticut and their playoff positioning, Sun grabbed a win over the Sparks on Tuesday,
03:24adding to their winnings, but most importantly, they are still chasing the Lynx, and their
03:27key games coming up the pipeline is Aces on September 15th, and Lynx on September 17th.
03:32So we're going to see some key games going on on Sunday, as well as Tuesday in the WNBA
03:36that can cause some leapfrogging, but it's the Lynx with the biggest leapfrog thus far.
03:41Jumping down to Las Vegas, Aces, and obviously their ace on the roster.
03:47We know that she's going to do everything possible to put them in the best seed positioning.
03:51They're starting to get more consistent.
03:52I mentioned that defense that has gotten cleaned up, and of course, Wilson being a huge asset
03:57in all of those conversations.
03:59They are still leading the storm when it comes to holding down that fourth slot.
04:03Not only that, Wilson has been battling injuries, so that's something else.
04:07They have to figure out at this moment how much they need her to have these skyrocketing
04:11performances and how much they kind of need to maintain and focus on her health to make
04:15sure that she can carry her team and propel them throughout the playoff conversation.
04:19You can't do that with a banged up player that's throwing her entire team on her back
04:23over and over and over again.
04:24So if we start seeing some kind of rest ups, if they're getting productive leads heading
04:28into halftime, then we might not see as much big numbers from Wilson down the stretch here.
04:33After you break that record, you've got to focus on the health of your player so that
04:36she can help you successfully grab another title.
04:40Key games coming down the pipeline for the Aces, Sunday, September 15th versus the Sun,
04:45and then you've got the Storm on the 17th.
04:46Again, back to that hole, 15th, 17th are the top major games.
04:49Seattle Storm tangoing for that fourth spot, trying hard.
04:53We're seeing inconsistency in this level of play.
04:56Storm haven't had the most appealing performances.
04:59They finally grabbed a back-to-back win since the Olympic break.
05:02One key game on the docket here versus the Aces on the 17th, and then, of course, one
05:06of the most important teams to talk about right now.
05:09It's going to be the Indiana Fever.
05:11You've got them sitting at a 1918 record down here, and outside of Kaitlyn Clark, outside
05:17of Kelsey Mitchell, who I always mention every segment here on WNBA Today, this team is starting
05:23to kind of waver a little bit, but not too much.
05:26Fever sit one and a half games behind the Mercury in the race for the sixth slot, but
05:31they own the tiebreaker.
05:33They get into a little bit of a rhythm here.
05:35It's theirs for the taking, and not only do they have one of the top rookies on their
05:38roster, but we're seeing some versatility and where their offense can kind of compete
05:42versus the other teams, and as for the team that they own the tiebreaker on, you got the
05:47Phoenix Mercury up here for the seventh slot, 1719 being their current record, and it's
05:53looking more likely for the Mercury to secure the seventh seed, so if you remember that
05:57bracket that we mentioned at the top of the segment, then you can kind of get a picture
06:01of the competition that Mercury are going to have to get through in order to stick through
06:05any kind of playoff tango.
06:07Three teams that are in the biggest battle to get into the playoffs.
06:11It's going to be the Chicago Sky, Atlanta Dream, and Washington Mystic.