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Sparks, Lynx are even more dangerous than they were in 2016
Odyssey Sims of the Los Angeles Sparks handles the ball against Renee Montgomery  of the Minnesota Lynx during a WNBA basketball game at Staples Center on August 27, 2017.  Leon Bennett/Getty Images

The Sparks and the Lynx are even more dangerous than they were in 2016

There have been plenty of surprises this WNBA season, but the two teams at the top of the standing have not been among them.

The top-seeded Minnesota Lynx and the defending champion Los Angeles Sparks both earned a double bye straight into the semifinals thanks to their great regular-season performances. When the Washington Mystics travel to Minneapolis and the Phoenix Mercury head out to L.A. on Tuesday night, the road teams are likely in for a rude awakening – it turns out, the Lynx and the Sparks are still pretty good. In fact, both teams have actually improved since their battle royale in the 2016 finals.

After losing in a nail-bitingly close Game 5 last year, the Lynx came back to the WNBA ready for business. They won the first nine games of the season, and finished the year with a league-best 27-7 record. They come into the playoffs hot, on a three-game winning streak, and with home-court advantage.

As a team, they once again lead the league in offensive rating and defensive rating, though notably both ratings have improved since last year. But while most of the Lynx's stats are eerily similar year-to-year, the team's most radical change has come from the three-point line – this year, the Lynx made a concentrated effort to spread the floor more. In 2016, they were averaging four made three-pointers a game, while this season that's improved to six. Their conversion rate has gone up as well, from 33.7 percent from beyond the arch in 2016, to 37 percent this season.


Rebekkah Brunson of the Minnesota Lynx handles the ball against the Los Angeles Sparks during a WNBA basketball game at Staples Center on August 27, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. Improvement to her three-point shot helped both her and the Lynx this season.  Leon Bennett/Getty Images 

The biggest reason for this improvement has been Rebekkah Brunson, who added the three-point shot to her arsenal in the 13th year of her career. Yes, you heard that right – head coach Cheryl Reeves saw the potential there for Brunson, and pushed her to develop that part of her game in the offseason. Brunson delivered. This year, Brunson took 66 shots from outside, 62 more than she'd attempted any other season of her career. She made 23 of them, for a respectable 34.7 percent.

As a team, the Lynx went from attempting 406 three pointers last year to 548 this year; that doesn't make them one of the top teams in the league or anything, but it is a significant increase. In addition to Brunson, point guard Lindsay Whalen has tripled her attempts from three-point land, while the team's best shooters Maya Moore and Renee Montgomery have created plenty of fireworks from outside, just like they always do.

Additionally, Seimone Augustus is having one of the most efficient seasons in her 12-year career, while Sylvia Fowles, the front-runner for league MVP, is averaging 18.9 points per game, a staggering five more points per game than she averaged last season, while shooting 65.5 percent from the field, and nabbing 10.4 rebounds per game. The biggest question mark the Lynx are facing right now is Whalen, who missed the last 12 games of the season with a broken hand, but is back to commandeer the offense for the postseason. Whalen's teammates struggled without her for a stretch, but adversity-tested teams tend to do best in the playoffs, so its significant that Reeves' squad did adjust and figure out how to win without the winningest player in WNBA history on the floor. Plus, Whalen's injury provided both Montgomery and rookie point guard Alexis Jones an opportunity to get more minutes, which might come in handy during the playoffs.

After all, the Lynx are going to need everyone on the team to step up if they're going to reclaim their crown, because the defending champions certainly have not been resting on their laurels. The Sparks, too, have improved.


2016 MVP Nneka Ogwumike of the Los Angeles may not have reached last year's pace, but she's still impressed for the Sparks. Leon Bennett/Getty Images 

Well, okay, Nneka Ogwumike did come a bit closer down to earth following her out-of-this-world MVP campaign in 2016, but it's not like she became mortal or anything; Ogwumike still averaged 18.8 points, 7.7 boards, and 2.1 assists per game, while shooting 56.1 percent from the field. That's a manageable drop-off, particularly when you have former MVP Candace Parker on the floor too, averaging 16.9 points, 8.4 boards, 1.7 blocks, and 4.3 assists per game.

But not only do the Sparks have two MVPs, they also have the most solid group of starters in the league. Alana Beard is a huge part of that, and the fact that she is even better this year than she was last year is a big reason why the Sparks are taking steps forward. Beard is having one of the best years of her career, and is the frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year, an award that hardly ever goes to a guard. Defensive statistics are hard to quantify for a guard, but Beard's agreesive game speaks for itself – she stifles the opponents' leading scorers on a game in, game out basis, and also has the capability of coming up with big shots under pressure, as she proved last year during the finals.

Unlike the Lynx, the Sparks starting five looks a bit different last year. Guard Kristi Toliver departed for the Washington Mystics in free agency last year, but thankfully, the Sparks didn't have to look far to find another starter – the team simply moved Chelsea Gray from the bench to the front row. Gray hasn't merely stepped up, she's literally had an All-Star year, averaging 14.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game, all bigger numbers than Toliver had in 2016. The Sparks also brought in Odyssey Sims during the offseason, who is much more of a true ball-distributing, floor-general point guard than Toliver was. Sims ended up supplanting Essence Carson in the lineup when Carson was injured midseason, and she hasn't relinquished it. In the 14 games she's started, Sims has scored double digits in 11 games, scored more than 20 points in three games, and thrown more than five assists in seven games. She's a huge reason why the Sparks finished the season on a seven-game winning streak. Conversely, Carson only had more than five assists in one game all season, and only scored in double digits three times, so Sims is a definite upgrade.


Maya Moore #23 of the Minnesota Lynx handles the ball against Essence Carson #17 of the Los Angeles Sparks during a WNBA basketball game at Staples Center on August 27, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.  Leon Bennett/Getty Images

But Carson is healthy now, which gives the Sparks a starting-caliber guard coming off the bench, along with guards Riquina Williams and rookie Sydney Weise. And, of course, the reserves are anchored by last year's WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year, center Jantel Lavender. Ultimately, that leaves the Sparks with a better starting five and a deeper bench than it had last year, which certainly helps make up for the loss of Toliver's three-point prowess. All credit has to go to Reeves and Sparks head coach Brian Agler for keeping these superteams in tact, motivated, and improving, even late in their careers. The Mystics and the Mercury will try and play spoilers in the semifinals, and both teams certainly have a fighting chance; but knocking out the WNBA's two best teams is a tall task, one that's getting taller every day.

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