The World Cup in Berlin ended on 13 September: the USA took a fifth straight title, beating China 83-64 in the final, Napheesa Collier named MVP. Four days later the WNBA switched the calendar back on. Four days remain in the regular season — it ends on Thursday, and on Sunday 27 September the playoffs begin. Every game now is not about the table. It is about choosing an opponent for the whole of October.
Lynx one step from first place
Minnesota need one win from their final two games to lock the No. 1 seed — and meet the eighth team in the first round instead of the mid-table meat grinder. The Lynx have 33 wins and five straight victories since Collier returned from Berlin. Their coach says a seed "only decides the first game", but the last five years say otherwise: No. 1 seeds reached the semi-finals in eight of ten cases.
The race for the fourth seed
The main storyline of the finish is the middle of the table. Clark's Fever trail fourth place by one win but have the softer schedule: Dream at home, Mystics away. The Liberty, by contrast, go to Las Vegas. Fourth place means a home game in the best-of-three first round, and in the WNBA that is close to a guarantee: home teams take Game 1s in 64 percent of series. Since Berlin, Clark is averaging 19 points a game — down from before the break, but enough for Indiana. So far.
Who is already in the playoffs and what comes next
The eight is set: Minnesota, Golden State, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Indiana, New York, Washington and Dallas. Chicago, with Angel Reese, are done for the season — out of the playoff zone, as are the Sparks, Mercury and debutants Toronto. The first round is best of three, 1-1-1; the semi-finals best of five; the Finals best of seven. The gap between the regular-season finish and the playoffs is two days. Good for legs, bad for scouting staffs: coaches will assemble their files on the run. Thursday is the last night of the regular season. On Sunday it all starts again.
