• Mechelle Voepel, espnW.com
For a WNBA season that began with a lot of negativity, the league heads into the playoffs on a very positive note. This looks to be a more open race to the title -- with less of a clear favorite -- than has been the case most of the last several years.
One might even argue, perhaps, that it's the most open it has been since 2008, when San Antonio came into the playoffs with the best record, but multiple teams seemed capable of winning the championship. Every playoff series went the distance that season up until the WNBA Finals, when the Stars ran out of gas and were swept by the then-Detroit Shock.
In 2009, Phoenix and Indiana fulfilled their role as favorites, then met in an exciting five-game WNBA Finals won by the Mercury. Seattle was clearly the best team start to finish in the 2010 season, and the same with Minnesota in 2011. The 2012 playoffs seemed to belong to the favorite Lynx, until Indiana turned the tables on them in the WNBA Finals and won.
The Lynx had the edge throughout 2013, reaffirming that in the postseason for a second title. And last year, favorite Phoenix's only serious challenger proved to be the Lynx, whom the Mercury beat in the Western Conference finals before sweeping Chicago for the franchise's third title.
Hopes for the Mercury repeating in 2015, however, took a hit when star guard Diana Taurasi announced in February that she would sit out this season to rest. Phoenix forward Penny Taylor also skipped the season. And center Brittney Griner, after a domestic violence incident in April with then-fiancée Glory Johnson of the Tulsa Shock, ended up being suspended the first seven games. The Griner-Johnson saga became tabloid fodder with a 28-day marriage, Johnson revealing her pregnancy, and then Griner's announcement that she was seeking an annulment. (That was denied, and their divorce process is ongoing.)
Add to that the surprising news in May that Isiah Thomas had been named New York Liberty president -- despite being at the center of a sexual harassment suit that Liberty owner MSG paid $11 million to settle in 2007.
The off-the-court controversies overshadowed the start of this WNBA season. Yet here we are in mid-September with the focus instead on outstanding individual play that will now be on display in the postseason and also a sense that we can't really be sure just what we're going to see over the next few weeks.
That's a good thing, giving the start of the playoffs a sense of possibility for all the participants.
Admittedly, there are still favorites, of course. Minnesota, the preseason pick by many to win the title, remains one of the strongest contenders, having finished with the best record (22-12) in the Western Conference.
The Lynx obtained center Sylvia Fowles via trade at the end of July, but injuries to guards Seimone Augustus and Lindsay Whalen have left Minnesota out of sync at times. And some uncharacteristic performances have made the Lynx appear vulnerable; they were 4-6 in their last 10 games.
Minnesota struggled on the road, going 9-8 as opposed to 13-4 at home. The good news for the Lynx is they might be closer to fully healthy for the playoffs, and that they will have home-court advantage in their opening series against No. 4 seed Los Angeles, as well as in the conference finals if they advance that far.
The Sparks have been sort of a feast-or-famine team, winning just three games before the late-July return of post player Candace Parker, who had been resting. The Sparks with Parker have at times looked like they were as good as anybody, but they've also had lapses. Some don't think Parker merits first-team All-WNBA status because she played in just 16 games. But her double-double prowess -- she averaged 19.4 points and 10.1 rebounds -- and the impact her presence has on her teammates have overcome her playing just over half of the regular season.
The other West series is between the No. 2 seed Mercury, who've been led by Griner, DeWanna Bonner and Candice Dupree, against a Shock team that finally made the playoffs in its last season in Tulsa. It was announced in July that the Shock would move to Dallas for 2016, leaving the players and their loyal fans with a long and bittersweet goodbye. They'd like to make it last a little longer, though, with an upset of the Mercury.
In the Eastern Conference, the Liberty have the league's best defense and enough offensive options around center Tina Charles and guard Epiphanny Prince to take them far. All the way to the WNBA Finals? It could happen, which would be the first time for the Liberty since 2002.
Top-seeded New York's opening opponent wasn't decided until Sunday, the last day of the regular season, when Washington's loss to Atlanta pushed the Mystics to the No. 4 seed. New York lost its last two games of the regular season. But the Liberty limited their starters' minutes since they already had the league's best record -- 23-11 -- wrapped up, and there really was nothing to play for.
Last year's East finalist, Chicago, has the player many expect to be named the league's MVP, Elena Delle Donne. But the No. 2 seed Sky's success is also attributed to Cappie Pondexter -- obtained in a trade with New York for Prince -- skillfully filling her role alongside Delle Donne. Center Erika de Souza, a key player in Atlanta for the past eight seasons, went via the Fowles trade to the Sky, and de Souza brings her considerable playoff experience to Chicago.
The Sky swept their playoff opponent, No. 3 seed Indiana, during the regular season. The Fever have been a rather streaky team, as evidenced by winning six games in a row and then losing three straight to close out August.
But none of the teams have more playoff experience than Indiana, as the Fever are in the postseason for a record 11th year in a row. It's Tamika Catchings' penultimate season in the WNBA. And Stephanie White, in her first year as Indiana head coach after taking over for the retired Lin Dunn, would love to give the franchise's signature player another crack at the championship.
If we end up with a New York-Minnesota matchup in the WNBA Finals, some might shake their heads and say, "See, this wasn't that open after all." But the bottom line is right now, on the eve of the playoffs, it seems like a lot of scenarios could play out.
And especially in a season that didn't start very well, that's a really good way to finish.