Five must-watch WNBA games as the playoff race takes shape

Remember: In the WNBA playoffs, the top eight teams in the league get in. The playoffs are four rounds in total, but the first two rounds are sudden-death, winner-takes-all games. The top two seeds get a bye to the semifinals, which are best-of-five like the finals. The third and fourth seeds get a bye to the second round, and the teams are reseeded after every round. So there's no time to take a game off these next 19 days.

Still, we've pinpointed five games that you're going to want to schedule around in the next few weeks. Here are the games you simply can't miss:

1. Minnesota Lynx (15-10) vs. Los Angeles Sparks (15-11) — Aug. 2, 10 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Does it get any better than this? The two teams that have dominated the WNBA in the last two years, splitting championships and facing off in back-to-back finals, will kick off this last stretch of the season by facing off against each other on national television. It’s hard to say who needs this one more considering how tight the standings are, but I’d give a slight edge to the Lynx since they’ve lost two of the three games they’ve played against the Sparks this season. With the standings so tight, series head-to-heads will play a big part in tiebreakers.

The Lynx will need a shooter other than Maya Moore to step up, and they have to keep Candace Parker in check — after a slow start to the season by her standards, she’s been on fire lately. The biggest question for the Sparks: Will Nneka Ogwumike be back? She’s missed the last few games, plus the All-Star, with a mysterious illness, and she’s been terribly missed.

2. Las Vegas Aces (12-13) vs. Connecticut Sun (14-12) — Aug. 5, 3 p.m. ET, WNBA League Pass

The Las Vegas Aces are proof of how quickly things can change in the WNBA. Last year, way back when they were the San Antonio Stars, this team was at the bottom of the league. Then A’ja Wilson came along.

This game against Connecticut will be huge. Right now — and again, things are changing rapidly — the Sun are in the eighth and final spot in the playoffs, while the Aces have clawed their way back up to No. 9 in the standings after a slow start to the season. The only way for the Aces to make up ground and take control of their playoff destiny is to beat the teams ranked directly ahead of them. The battle between Chiney Ogwumike and Wilson in the post will be a blast to watch. The last time the two met, on July 7, Wilson won that battle with 34 points and 14 boards, and the Aces came away with the 94-90 victory in a thriller. This time, though, the Sun will likely have a healthy Alyssa Thomas, which could change everything.

3. Dallas Wings (14-12) vs. Washington Mystics (15-11) — Aug. 12, 3 p.m. ET, NBA TV

OK, so this is a bit of a cheat because the Wings and Mystics actually face off twice in the next two weeks, and both games will be must-watches. (Their first game will be Aug. 5 in Dallas.) Both of these teams are fighting for a playoff bye or two. They have two of the most in-form players in the league right now in Liz Cambage and Elena Delle Donne, and they are similar in that they've battled inconsistency all season but have extremely high ceilings — like, I'm talking championship-level high.

But there's another layer of intrigue to this matchup: Right before the All-Star break, these two were involved in a blockbuster trade. (By the WNBA's standards at least; this league doesn't trade midseason often.) Tayler Hill, who was drafted fourth overall by the Mystics in 2013, was traded to the Wings for forward Aerial Powers. Both players will likely be extra-motivated to come off the bench and make an impact against their former squads.

4. Atlanta Dream (16-10) vs. Phoenix Mercury (15-12) — Aug. 17, 10 p.m. ET, WNBA League Pass

Honestly, I have no clue what to make of these two teams, and predicting where they're going to be in the standings two weeks from today is a fool's game. However, I know that no matter what, this game will be a must-watch. That's because these teams tend to play scrappy, low-scoring games, and when the playoffs and byes are on the line, that is a recipe for pure drama.

I also love the individual matchups in this faceoff. You have Diana Taurasi against Tiffany Hayes, DeWanna Bonner against Angel McCoughtry, and down low, two of the best shot blockers in the game facing off in Brittney Griner and Elizabeth Williams. For this match to live up to the hype, the Mercury need to find their positioning in the paint, something they haven't been able to do since Sancho Lyttle was lost for the season. Meanwhile, the Dream need to find the momentum they had before the All-Star break.

5. Dallas Wings (14-12) vs. Seattle Storm (20-7)  —  Aug. 19, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN3

This is the last game of the regular season, and I fully expect the Seattle Storm to have a double bye locked up by this point. So why am I putting this game on the list? Well, because right now the race for MVP is between the Storm's Breanna Stewart and the Wings' Liz Cambage. (With Delle Donne of the Mystics still within striking distance, it must be said.)

This means, the final regular-season game of the year has a chance to be a battle for the MVP. Who wouldn't want to see that? The Storm, fighting to solidify a No. 1 overall seed and home-crowd advantage throughout the playoffs, the Wings likely fighting for a bye, and the two best player in the league fighting for supremacy? Sign me up, please.