After starting the 2019 WNBA playoffs with a double-bye, the No. 2-seeded Connecticut Sun are ready for some postseason action.
This is the first time the Sun have played in the semifinals since 2012 when they fell to the Indiana Fever in just three games. This time, the Sun (23-11) will take on the Los Angeles Sparks (22-12) in the third round of playoffs come Tuesday evening.
Connecticut and Los Angeles have squared off three times this season, with the Sparks owning the season series 2-1. Both of the Sun’s losses to the Sparks this season, however, came on the road.
But Connecticut has homecourt advantage on its side, which could prove pivotal the longer the series goes. Connecticut racked up a dominant 15-2 record at home this season while going just 8-9 on the road.
Both teams currently play under two of the top coaches in the league, as well.
Since joining the Sun in 2016, coach Curt Miller has helped lead Connecticut back to the playoffs after a three-season drought under Anne Donovan from 2013 to 2015. Although the Sun missed the postseason his first year with the team, Miller brought the Sun to the second single-elimination round two years in a row, only to be ousted by the Phoenix Mercury in back-to-back seasons.
This year, Miller and the Sun locked up their first double-bye since the new playoff structure was implemented in 2016. He also passed Cheryl Miller earlier this season to become the 19th-winningest coach in WNBA history.
Sparks coach Derek Fisher also has put together an impressive coaching resume. After being fired by the Knicks after less than one season as New York’s head coach, Fisher made his way to the Sparks in Dec. 2018, leading Los Angeles back to the semifinals in his first season in the WNBA.
The biggest storyline, however, will be the reunion between the Sun and former forward Chiney Ogwumike, who was traded to the Sparks nearly a month before the 2019 season. Although her time in Connecticut was marred by injury, Ogwumike averaged 14.2 points and 7.5 rebounds in three seasons with the Sun.
Since joining sister Nneka on the Sparks, Chiney has averaged 9.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.
The Sun also have youth on their side as the youngest team (based on mean average age), according to the Hartford Courant’s Alexa Philippou. Seven of the team’s 12 players have been with the team since June 2016.
While the downtime has been nice for the Sun, Jasmine Thomas is ready to get back on the court in a game setting.
“It is nice to have the rest and have some downtime after a long season,” Thomas said on the most recent episode of “SunCast” hosted by David Siegel. “But the downside to that is trying to keep our intensity up in practice, keep our conditioning up, stay sharp and competitive in practices.”
The Sun may not be statistical underdogs heading into the postseason, but they certainly aren’t the favorites to win it all. But that doesn’t seem to bother Connecticut one bit heading into the semifinals.
“I just feel like every year, nobody is usually favoring us and we’re still accomplishing more and more every year,” Thomas said.” So it’s not having an effect on me and I honestly don’t think it’s having an effect on the team. … It doesn’t really matter what anybody thinks about us. When we get on that court, none of that is going to help us win or lose.”
Los Angeles, on the other hand, has a lot to live up to as on the of the fan favorites to win it all this season. And it knows just what it has to do to get an early edge on the Sun.
“Hit first,” Sparks guard Riquina Williams told reporters after the Sparks’ 92-69 victory Sunday over the Seattle Storm. “We’ve got to jump them first and deflate the building. If they have the crowd rocking, it’ll be a little bit more tougher for us because they’ll get momentum and they’ll build from that. So if we hit first and deflate all the energy out the building, we’ll be okay.”
“It’s playoffs, so the sense of urgency is there,” fellow Sparks guard Sydney Wiese told reporters after Sunday’s game. “And we know what we want to do, and that is win a championship, and the four teams that are going to be left, that’s what everybody wants. So we just have to take care of our bodies when we travel, stay hydrated, and know that it’s a quick turnaround. And come Tuesday, we’ve got to be ready to go.”
Games 1 and 2 of the series will be played at Mohegan Sun Arena on Tuesday (Sept. 17) and Thursday (Sept. 19). The series then moves out west to Staples Center where Games 3 and 4 will be played on Sunday (Sept. 22) and the following Tuesday (Sept. 24). Game 5, should it be needed, will be played back in Connecticut on the coming Thursday (Sept. 26).
The winner of this series will take on the winner of the upcoming battle between the Washington Mystics and Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA finals.
Tip-off for Game 1 of the Sun-Sparks series is set for 6:30 p.m. ET.
