2016 WNBA Playoffs cast complete


The 2016 WNBA season is down to its final eight teams as the Atlanta Dream's win last Thursday completed the playoff cast.

The Dream knocked off the Washington Mystics from playoff contention with a 94-91 win behind 31 points, seven rebounds, five assists, two steals, and two blocks from Angel McCoughtry. The victory means the Phoenix Mercury, WNBA champions in 2014, will advance to the playoffs.

The defending WNBA champions, Minnesota Lynx, are assured of homecourt advantage throughout the post-season, thanks to their league-best 26-6 record. The Los Angeles Sparks are in second place with a 25-8 record. Both the Lynx and Sparks are assured of double-round byes, which means they won't be seeing action until the league is down to its semi-finals or last four squads.



The New York Liberty (21-12) are in third place and have already clinched one of two first-round byes. The fourth seed though, is still up for grabs.


The Chicago Sky are still in fourth spot with a 17-15 record. The Dream are just half a game behind as of Friday with a 17-16 record. The Indiana Fever are 16-16 but they have two games left so they can still contend for the fourth spot.



Following the Mercury's win over the Seattle Storm on Thursday, both sides are now tied from seventh to eighth with 15-18 cards. If the playoffs started today, the Storm are the seventh seed due to a better head-to-head record but the Mercury can still overtake the Storm.

Here's a look at the playoff picture right now.

FIRST ROUND


5. Atlanta Dream vs. 8. Phoenix Mercury


6. Indiana Fever vs. 7. Seattle Storm

SECOND ROUND

3. New York Liberty vs (lowest-seeded first round winner)

4. Chicago Sky vs (other first round winner)

SEMI-FINALS

1. Minnesota Lynx vs (lowest-seeded team remaining)

2. Los Angeles Sparks vs (other semi-finalist).

As the WNBA approved earlier this year, the playoff format has changed. The first two rounds are single-elimination, with the fifth and sixth seeds getting homecourt advantage against the eighth and seventh seeds, respectively in the opening round.

Winners advance to the second round, with the third seeded group facing the lowest-seeded team remaining. The fourth seed hosts the other remaining squad. Both the third and fourth seeds have the homecourt edge.

The same procedure shall be used to determine the pairings in the semi-finals. The top-seeded team will take on the lowest-seeded team left, while the second seed battles the other semi-finalist. The semi-finals series are best-of-five with the first and second seeds getting the homecourt advantage.

The winners advance to the finals, which is also best-of-five.

Playoff participants' remaining games:

Lynx - @ Fever, vs Dream
Sparks - vs San Antonio Stars
Liberty - @ Sky
Sky - vs Liberty, @ Storm
Dream - @ Lynx
Fever - vs Lynx, vs Dallas Wings
Storm - vs Fever
Mercury - @ Stars

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