Lynx vs. Mercury matchups for WNBA playoffs: Schedule, TV information, story lines

WNBA playoffs, first round, best-of-three

Sunday: at Target Center, Minneapolis, 4 p.m. (ESPN)

Wednesday: at Target Center, Minneapolis, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Friday (if necessary): at Footprint Center, Phoenix, TBD (ESPN2, if necessary)

Season series: The Lynx won both games at Target Center and split in Phoenix, losing 81-80 on June 7 in the only close game of the series.

Injuries: Lynx F Dorka Juhasz (right foot) is probable. Mercury G Charisma Osborne (left lower leg) is questionable; G Rebecca Allen (back) is out.

REGULAR-SEASON STATISTICS

(With ranking in WNBA)

Category: Lynx; Mercury

Record: 30-10 (2nd); 19-21 (7th)

Points/game: 82.0 (6th); 81.5 (7th)

Offensive rating: 102.8 (4th); 101.3 (8th)

Field goal %: 44.8 (3rd); 43.9 (7th)

3-point %: 38.0 (1st); 32.6 (7th)

Points allowed: 75.6 (2nd); 84.8 (7th)

Defensive rating: 94.8 (2nd); 105.4 (9th)

Opponent FG %: 41.0 (1st); 43.1 (6th)

Opponent 3pt %: 30.1 (1st); 34.2 (7th)

Pts. off turnovers: 18.1 (2nd); 13.9 (10th)

Pts. vs. TOs: 13.9 (4th); 15.6 (7th)

PLAYERS TO WATCH

LYNX

Napheesa Collier: The Lynx like to credit their success to connected play. But Collier is the glue. She has the best defensive rating in the league on one end of the court. She blocks shots, she deflects passes. Oh, and then offense: 20.4 points, 49.2% shooting, 9.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists. She led the team in scoring 19 times, rebounding 25 times, assists nine times.

Kayla McBride: Another Lynx star as crucial on the defensive end — where she regularly gets the toughest perimeter assignment — as she is on offense. She led the team in scoring 12 times, had 32 games with 10 or more points, six with 20 or more and two with 30 or more. Her 105 three-pointers made are a team record and sixth in the league.

Courtney Williams: She got better as a play-making point guard as the season progressed. Once her injured right (shooting) hand healed during the Olympic break, she shot lights out: She is shooting 51.1% and averages 13.6 points.

PHOENIX

Diana Taurasi: There have been hints this might be the final season for the highest-scoring player in league history. Twenty years, 11 All-Star nods, three WNBA championships, two finals MVP awards, one-time league MVP. She is the No. 1 scorer both overall (10,637) and in the playoffs (1,455). She started and played in 564 games. This season she averaged 15.1 points. Will the possibility of her playing her final postseason spur the Mercury?

Kahleah Copper: The 6-1 Copper — the 2021 WNBA finals MVP for Chicago — hit that corner three at the end of the Mercury’s only victory vs. the Lynx this season. She also had a strong run with Team USA at the Olympics. She leads the Mercury in scoring (21.1) and averaged 19.3 in four games vs. Minnesota.

THREE STORY LINES

Experience

Both teams have a lot of playoff experience, but Mercury players hold more rings. Lynx players have gotten close. Natisha Hiedeman (once) and Williams (twice) have reached the finals with Connecticut and McBride got there with Las Vegas in 2020. But only Myisha Hines-Allen has a ring , won as a member of the Washington Mystics in 2019.

Momentum

Disregarding the regular season finale loss to Los Angeles — a game in which neither Collier nor McBride played — the Lynx are the league’s hottest team entering the playoffs. They won 14 of their last 16 regular season games, including two wins vs. Las Vegas, two wins vs. Indiana and road wins at New York and Connecticut last week. The Mercury enter the postseason having gone 3-7 in their last 10 games.

Home cooking

The Lynx finished the season tied with New York for the best home record in the league (16-4). Among those 16 wins were two vs. Phoenix, which had a losing record (9-11) on the road. Minnesota has won 26 of its last 31 regular season games vs. Phoenix since 2015 and are 6-0 vs. the Mercury in the postseason in that time. This is the seventh time the teams have met in the postseason, with the Lynx holding an 11-2 advantage in 13 games.

Defense, defense

The Lynx have hung their hats on defense all season, and that is especially true with Phoenix. Minnesota held the Mercury under 40% shooting in four games, under 29% on three-pointers. If the Lynx can translate that defense into the playoffs it will be difficult for Phoenix to overcome.