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The Mystics have clinched a berth in the 2014 WNBA Playoffs

The Washington Mystics defeated the Connecticut Sun Friday, and are in the postseason for the second straight year.

By Albert Lee
Photo courtesy of Stewart W. Small

The Washington Mystics defeated the Connecticut Sun, 71-67 on the road, and have clinched a berth in the 2014 WNBA Playoffs. It also is the second time that the franchise has clinched consecutive playoff berths. The last time they did so was in the 2009 and 2010 seasons.

The Mystics are currently second place in the Eastern Conference with a 16-17 record, and will finish the regular season against at home against the New York Liberty Saturday. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.

Once the regular season ends Sunday, Washington could finish anywhere from second to fourth in the East, depending on how the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky do in their last two games. Indy and Chicago currently have identical 15-17 records, but hold tiebreakers against the Mystics, so the second seed is far from a guarantee.

The Atlanta Dream is the only Eastern Conference team with a record above .500 (19-14), and have clinched the number one seed.

We have talked about the team in an earlier piece, as it pertains to the Mystics hypothetically drafting UConn junior forward Breanna Stewart in the 2016 WNBA Draft. In that piece, I noted that the Mystics don't have enough talent to seriously contend for a championship. To put things in perspective, the WNBA's Eastern Conference is mediocre from top to bottom, where five of six teams are below .500.

It's not much better in the Western Conference either, where four of six teams are also below .500. The Phoenix Mercury and the Minnesota Lynx are the two Western teams above .500 and are juggernauts. They will likely be in the Western Conference Finals, and whoever wins that match will probably win the WNBA Finals. So overall, I do have reservations on what the Mystics could gain from making the playoffs.

But now, things have been settled. Like how things were for the Wizards last April, let's shelve the concerns that the Mystics have, and wish them the best once the Playoffs begin next week.

With the Mystics in the playoffs, we are wondering what you would like us to do in regards to covering their team here on Bullets Forever. Some other SB Nation NBA sites, including Peachtree Hoops, Bright Side of the Sun, and Canis Hoopus, cover the WNBA teams in their cities on at least a semi-regular basis during the summer.

As you may know, I also write on Swish Appeal, SB Nation's women's basketball site. To this point, I have left Mystics posts there as a matter of choice.

That said, we are open to having more Mystics posts during the NBA offseason, and some of you have expressed interest in their games.  So here are some things we can do:

  • We can give you a general preview and recap on each playoff game as it occurs, almost like the way we do game operations during the NBA season when the Wizards are playing.
  • We can lay out posts from Swish Appeal here on Mystics games as they happen.
  • Some combination of the above.

So community, how would you like BF to cover the Washington Mystics basketball team as they head for the postseason? Feel free to share your thoughts below.

Congratulations to the Mystics for making it to the postseason.