Lynx Table for Mercury: Times of the game, where do you see and what you know about the semi -finals

The first seeded Minnesota Linux was the only team that swept the first round chain, and they had to wait until the end of the match on Friday between the Phoenix Mercury and New York Liberty game to find out who will play in the semi -finals.

After an arduous competition, mercury canceled the ruling heroes to advance to the semi -finals for the first time since 2021, which happened to be the last time they were in the finals. They are only three wins from another finishing trip, but they will be upset with the icon, which lost in the finals last season and was the best team throughout the summer.

This is the second consecutive season in which Lynx and Mercury will meet in the post -season and eighth time stage. Lynx, which swept mercury in the first round last season, is 6-1 in the previous seven Play of the Mercury series.

Will the lynse continue in its long hegemony? Or will mercury finally return to this competition? We will discover soon. Game 1 is scheduled to be held one of the five best collections on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.

No. 1 Minnesota Lynx for 4 Phoenix Mercury

• Game 1: Mercury in lynx (-6.5), Sunday, 5 pm Each time-ABC / Foupo (Try for free)
• Game 2: Mercury in Linux, Tuesday, 7:30 pm Easter – ESPN / Foupo (Try for free)
• Game 3: Lynx in Mercury, September 26, TBD – ESPN2 / / Foupo (Try for free)
• Game 4*: Lynx in Mercury, September 28, TBD – TBD
• Game 5*: Mercury in Linux, September 30, TBD – TBD

*If the matter is necessary / the possibilities it provides

Players to watch

Lynx: Naphesa Collier

Koller, who won the MVP final on Friday, has grown to become one of the best players in the world during the past few seasons. She was wandering to her first MVP award before she hurt her ankle in early August, but she is now healthy and ready to lead the lynic to the cup that really concerns. It was very effective in the normal season against mercury, as she shot 54.1 % of the stadium in its three matches, while driving the defensive effort against Alyssa Thomas.

Mercury: Alisa Thomas

Again, this is a clear option, but mercury is defined by Thomas, who also won the MVP final on Friday. It is its offensive engine, the best defender, and an emotional leader, inside and outside the court. Against freedom, her fifth career in the post -season game was recorded in the winner game of all the winner, and its average reached almost a triple in this series. You may need one average actually for mercury to take out the discomfort in this series, but this will not be easy while trying to slow down.

Three keys for this series

Duran battle

LYNX got the best league defense (97.5 defensive classifications) during the normal season, while Mercury ranked fifth (100.4 defensive classifications). A large part of the success of each team on this side of the ball was its ability to impose transformations. The second icon was ranked in the discount rate (19.6 %) and mercury was fourth (18.9 %).

On the other hand, both teams were skillful in caring for the ball. The lynx rotation rate was 16.5 %, which was associated with the third in the league, while Mercury’s 16.9 % was good for fifth place.

During the normal season, the icon was 23-4 when they had fewer transformations and 10-6 otherwise, while mercury was 17-8 when they had fewer transformations and 10-9 otherwise.

Whatever the team that can limit its sessions will have a big leg in this series. The team, which has fewer transformations, will not give themselves more opportunities to register, but will also be limited to the chances of other team’s transfer.

3 points volume for 3 points efficiency

The 3 -sided indicator is the offensive approach to both teams, but Mercury prefers its size while the lymphus prefers efficiency. Below are their splits from the normal season:

Mercury	27.7	the third	34.0 %	Sixth
Ompop for	25.4	7	37.8 %	the first

While Mercury took only about 3 seconds per game of Lynx, the minds of the difference were completely different.

It is worth noting that Mercury had 18 games during the normal season with at least 30 attempts of 3 points, while Lynx had only nine such games. There was another major difference, which emphasizes the issues that mercury could enter with the selection of the shot, external attempts.

Here is another scheme to search for:

Mercury	1,217	305	25 %	29.5 %
Ompop for	1,116	166	14.9 %	38 %

Lynx is likely to have a higher 3 -point in this series. They have more archers and more archers throughout the squad. But can some of the highly estimated mercury style results in some external offers? It is during the normal season and may need again to win this series.

What are the steps supporting up?

You generally know what you will get from Coller and Thomas, who will spend large parts of this series guarding each other. But what about anyone else? What support will lead to an intensification to help their MVP candidate?

In a vacuum, they are Satou Sabally and Kahleah Copper are the third and fourth talented players in this match, but they did not launch the ball well in the first round against freedom. It was noticeably fashionable 2 of 17 performances in game 1 and was 31 % in this series, while copper was 40.5 % and did not score more than 15 points in the game.

The Lynx’s Group group may not be cheerful, but Alanna Smith has been appointed as a co -defense player, and Courtney Williams is an individual creator and Kayla McBridide is one of the most ancient warriors in two reliable directions. As a group, Lynx was at a different level from anyone else throughout the summer.

The group that works better and more consistently during this series is likely to be the group that advances in the finals.

prediction

Mercury is an interesting team. They have a lot of first -class talents like anyone in the league, and it is difficult for any deduction to deal with. There is a path to turmoil here if they can thwart the lynic and make a lot of 3s. Often, though, their crime goes to a great calm, which will punish the lynia. Lynx was the best team in the league, on both sides of the ball, throughout the season, and has a tight feature at home. In the target position this season, they were 20-2 with a plus net classification of 16.8. Mercury will not be easy, but the lown is better. Choose: Lynx in 4