The Washington Mystics are playing so well that it is not hard to imagine them snagging home-court advantage in the WNBA playoffs.
The Mystics have won 15 of 21 as they prepare for the finale of the two-game series against the host Phoenix Mercury on Thursday.
But peaking? Do not go there.
“No, no,” coach Sydney Johnson said after the Mystics’ 94-84 victory over the Mercury on Tuesday.
“We don’t want to peak yet. It’s a little too early for that. We do want to play steadily better. We want to keep improving. I’d hate for us to peak at this point right now.”
The Mystics (23-15) qualified for the playoffs earlier on their current six-game road trip and are tied with the New York Liberty (23-15) for sixth place as they jostle for a top-four finish and a home-court edge in the first round.
Washington is 1 1/2 games behind the Indiana Fever (25-14) and two behind fourth-place Atlanta (25-13) with a very favorable schedule remaining. Only one of their final six games is against a team with a winning record: Indiana.
The Mystics again used their height and paint presence on Tuesday to send the Mercury (13-25) to their third consecutive loss and sixth in seven games.
“We just need to raise our level of competitive spirit,” Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said. “Washington is a young team that plays their ass off.”
Kiki Iriafen (6-foot-3) had 18 points and 10 rebounds, Shakira Austin (6-5) had 16 points and six boards and reserve Lauren Betts (6-7) had 10 points and eight rebounds in the win.
The Mystics have outrebounded the Mercury by 16 while winning the first two games of the season series.
“I would say the league is probably going a little bit smaller overall, but you do have some teams like Washington with the double bigs that give teams, not only us, problems because they have legit-size bigs,” Tibbetts said.
Kelsey Plum returned to the Mercury lineup Tuesday and had 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting in 17 minutes off the bench. She had missed the previous three games with a left calf injury.
“Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don’t,” Plum said.
Plum’s return coincided with the departure of veteran forward DeWanna Bonner, who agreed to a contract buyout in hopes of landing a spot on a playoff team.
Natasha Mack, starting in Bonner’s spot, had a career-high 19 points, eight rebounds, three blocked shots and three steals.
–Field Level Media
