Around the W: The WNBA Finals

Two teams remain: The Chicago Sky and the Phoenix Mercury.

The semifinals shocked everyone after the 6th overall seed, the Chicago Sky, eliminated the top-seeded Connecticut Sun in just four games! That was then followed up by the Phoenix Mercury (5th seed) upsetting the Las Vegas Aces (2nd seed) in Game 5 on the Aces’ homecourt! Phoenix did to Las Vegas what they weren’t able to do to Seattle in 2018. They were more determined. They were better prepared. And Brittney Griner has never played better than she is right now.

With that, the WNBA Finals are set! The Phoenix Mercury will host the Chicago Sky on Sunday. Entering the playoffs these two teams were not expected to reach the championship round. Many believed they wouldn’t get past the semifinals and some expected them to bow out earlier in the second round.

Let’s do a recap of the semifinals and then preview the Finals!

Chicago Sky defeats the Connecticut Sun 3-1

Game 1: Chicago 101 - Connecticut 95 - 2OT
Game 2: Connecticut 79 - Chicago 68
Game 3: Chicago 86 - Connecticut 83
Game 4: Chicago 79 - Connecticut 69

The Connecticut Sun finished this season 26-6 including winning their final 14 regular-season games. So what went wrong? Well, a lot of things actually. Chicago, like Seattle, was a bad matchup for Connecticut because of their ability to score from the paint and beyond the arc. Connecticut’s incredible defense wasn’t quite as good in the playoffs.

The pace of play in Games 1 and 3 favored the Chicago Sky who like to get out in transition, attack the rim, and knock down threes. Game 2, which was the only game that Connecticut won in the series, was really the only game that was played in the style and pace that the Sun want to play with.

Jonquel Jones disappeared in Games 2 and 3. Despite the fact that the Sun won Game 2, it was still extremely concerning to see the league’s MVP put up just four points on 2-9 FG shooting. And while Game 3 was a little better as Jones finished with a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds. The 10 points on 5-11 FG shooting simply isn’t good enough with the season on the line. Especially when the team depends on her to be their primary scoring option. To Jones’ credit, she put up a fight in the final game of the series (Game 4) leading her team with 25 points and 11 rebounds.

DeWanna Bonner also didn’t have her best series. She struggled with her shot a lot in Games 1 and 4 in the series. During Game 1, she shot 5-17 FG and finished with 13 points. During Game 4, she went 1-6 FG for just four points in 35 minutes. She did have a fantastic performance in Game 3 leading the Sun with 22 points on 7-11 FG. But overall, it felt like she didn’t have her best stuff in this series.

Lastly, the decision to bring back Alyssa Thomas and play her heavy minutes in this series after she just returned from a torn Achilles injury this year is probably going to be the biggest issue to second-guess over the offseason. Alyssa Thomas is one of the best WNBA players in the world, especially when fully healthy. Or at least her “normal” self, bad shoulders and all. Frankly, Thomas’s Game 2 performance of 15 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists is a huge reason why Connecticut wasn’t swept in this series. But she did not have a great Game 1 or Game 4 in this series. And her playing time took minutes away from other players, especially Brionna Jones.

Brionna Jones was named the WNBA’s Most Improved Player after averaging nearly 15 PPG and 7.3 RPG. In Game 1, Jones played 37 minutes scoring 22 points and collecting 10 rebounds. Over the remaining three games she played just 24, 19, and 23 minutes per game. In those final three games, she never scored more than 11 points and pulled down three rebounds or less per contest. Her production dipped drastically as her playing time decreased.

Why Coach Curt Miller went away from her the rest of the series is honestly a bit befuddling. The only explanation is that he preferred to give a lot of those minutes to Alyssa Thomas. But the team was rolling to a 26-6 record with Jonquel Jones and Brionna Jones dominating the paint. That didn’t happen in this series because Miller didn’t give them the opportunity and that’s honestly a shame.

With all the discussion on the Connecticut side, I’d be remiss if I didn’t spend a least a little bit of time talking about Chicago and what the Sky were able to accomplish. Candace Parker, Kahleah Copper, Courtney Vandersloot, and the rest of the team put forth an incredible effort.

Parker’s scoring, defense, rebounds, and veteran presence were a huge asset to the Chicago Sky in this series. Her 22 points in Game 1 led the team. She also had a near-triple-double in the closeout game (Game 4) scoring 17 points, with nine rebounds and seven assists.

Courtney Vandersloot did have a triple-double in the first game while also setting the new WNBA Playoff record with 18 assists in a single playoff game. This broke Sue Bird’s record she set in 2020 where she had 16 assists in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals against Las Vegas. To Bird’s credit, she still has the most assists in a game that ended in regulation as Vandersloot had 14 assists at the end of regulation but picked up four more through the two overtime periods. Vandersloot finished Game 1 with 12 points, 18 assists, and 10 rebounds. She also led the team in scoring in the final game of the series with 19 points. Vandersloot will be a major factor if Chicago is able to bring home their first WNBA title.

Kahleah Copper was the difference-maker in Game 3 as the Sky edged out the Sun 86-83. Copper finished that game with 26 points on 9-14 FG shooting. She also came up big with 18 points in the closeout game.

Phoenix Mercury defeats the Las Vegas Aces 3-2

Game 1: Las Vegas 96 - Phoenix 90
Game 2: Phoenix 117 - Las Vegas 91
Game 3: Phoenix 87 - Las Vegas 60
Game 4: Las Vegas 93 - Phoenix 76
Game 5: Phoenix 87 - Las Vegas 84

The Phoenix Mercury eliminating the Las Vegas Aces from the playoffs is certainly the more shocking of the two outcomes that led us to the Finals. This despite the fact that Chicago was the lowest seed and Connecticut the highest of the final four.

On paper, no team was more talented than the 2021 Las Vegas Aces. They had the 2020 league MVP, A’ja Wilson. Four number one overall picks on the team including Wilson, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young, and the injured Angel McCoughtry. Four-time WNBA All-Star Liz Cambage returned after taking the 2020 season off due to medical reasons and COVID concerns. Plum returned from a torn Achilles injury and had the best season of her pro career which ultimately led to being named the 6th Player of the Year. They already had two-time 6th Player of the Year on the roster in Dearica Hamby. They also added four-time WNBA All-Star point guard Chelsea Gray. The team was legit stacked.

And really their talent certainly wasn’t just on paper. The Aces dominated most of the regular season. They had a 107.1 OFF RTG which was best in the WNBA. Their defensive rating of 96.0 - was the second-best in the league. Las Vegas had more 20-point blowout victories than any other team this season (nine). By comparison, the number one team the Connecticut Sun had just six games where their margin of victory was 20 points or higher.

Getting back to the series between Las Vegas and Phoenix, the first four games in the series were mostly blowouts. Only Game 1 was relatively close and even the final score (96-90) was much closer than the game truly was. The Aces held a double-digit lead during parts of that game.

Games 2 and 3 were completely dominated by Brittney Griner and the Phoenix Mercury. Phoenix won Game 2 by 26 points and Game 3 by 27 points! And they did it in different ways. Game 2 was an explosion of offense setting a new franchise record for most points in a playoff game with 117. Game 3 was the incredible defense of Brianna Turner and Brittney Griner which held the Aces to just 60 points total.

Game 4 was a close game through the first half before the Aces went on a 24-0 run in the third quarter. That performance was what we had seen from Las Vegas often during the regular season. And it was enough to extend the series and force a Game 5 back home.

The fifth and final game in the series was the only game that was really close. Both teams led by no more than 10 points and neither team was able to put the other away. It was a two-point game at halftime but the Aces once again used a large run in the third quarter to take control of the game. Ultimately, outscoring the Mercury 24-14. But they couldn’t close the deal. Dianna Taurasi got angry and started hitting shots in the 4th period. And with the game on the line, I don’t think there’s a better player in this league than Brittney Griner when you need to get a basket on a single possession. Griner finished with 28 points, Taurasi finished with 24. But it was Griner’s block on A’ja Wilson in the final seconds that sealed the Aces’ fate. Phoenix outscored Las Vegas 29-18 in the final quarter. The veterans took care of business.

Finals Preview

Phoenix swept the season series 3-0.

Game 1: Phoenix 84 - Chicago 83
Game 2: Phoenix 77 - Chicago 74 OT
Game 3: Phoenix 103 - Chicago 83

It should be noted that despite the fact that Phoenix did sweep the series 3-0 the first two games were played when Candace Parker was out injured. Another huge factor is that Kia Nurse had big games in all three of these contests averaging nearly 18.0 PPG against Chicago this season. Nurse will miss the entire WNBA Finals with a torn ACL that she suffered during the opening seconds of Game 4 of the semifinals. There’s also the question of Sophie Cunningham’s health. She missed the last two games of the playoffs due to a calf injury. With the short turnaround to the Finals, it’s difficult to know whether or not she will be available.

That is going to be the biggest question heading into these Finals. The Phoenix Mercury are so top-heavy with their Big 3 of Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner, and Skylar Diggins-Smith. Their bench and depth have always been the team’s weakness over the past couple of seasons. The injuries to Nurse and Cunningham only further that concern.

Whereas Chicago doesn’t quite have the dominant players like Griner and Taurasi what they do have is incredible depth. Candace Parker, Azura Stevens, Courtney Vandersloot, Allie Quigley, Kahleah Copper, Diamond DeShields, and Stefanie Dolson can all have really strong games for the Sky.

Phoenix will be the favorites to win their 4th WNBA title in this series because they have homecourt advantage and because Brittney Griner is playing better than any other player in this league right now. But their depth will be put into question and if Chicago can take advantage of that and steal at least one game in Phoenix, the Sky will have a fantastic opportunity to win their first-ever WNBA Championship. With Candace Parker returning to her home in Chicago during this past offseason, what a final chapter that would be in this fantastic 2021 WNBA season!

WNBA Finals Schedule

Game 1: Chicago at Phoenix - Sunday, October 10th - 12:00 PM on ABC
Game 2: Chicago at Phoenix - Wednesday, October 13th - 6:00 PM on ESPN
Game 3: Phoenix at Chicago - Friday, October 15th - 6:00 PM on ESPN2
Game 4*: Phoenix at Chicago - Sunday, October 17th - 12:00 PM on ESPN
Game 5*: Chicago at Phoenix - Tuesday, October 19th - 6:00 PM on ESPN2

*Games 4 and 5 only if necessary

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