Mystics Insider Blog
Guest Contributor – Andrew Willett
The Washington Mystics did the job to close out the regular season with two double-digit wins over the Indiana Fever to sweep yet another regular season series. Washington wrapped up a season where it belonged solidly in the short-list of championship contenders from start to finish.
The Mystics finished fifth in the standings and tied record-wise at 22-14 with its eventual playoff opponent the Seattle Storm. After a strong finish to the season – winners in 11 of its last 16 games – Washington will face the Storm in a best-of-three series beginning this Thursday in what the Mystics hope to make Sue Bird’s final playoff series.
Starving the Fever
Washington took two wins by twelve points a piece over the bottom-seeded Indiana Fever, winning the road matchup 82-70 and the home matchup 95-83. The wins moved Washington to 4-0 against the Fever this season, its first sweep of Indiana since 2019. It also equaled the fourth sweep of the Fever in the past six seasons and the sixth series victory over Indiana in the previous seven seasons as the squad holds a 17-2 record over the Fever since the 2017 season.
The Mystics both dominated the Fever and found its rhythm starting with its two-time MVP Elena Delle Donne (EDD). EDD set the tone and kept her minutes low to stay fresh for the postseason by dropping 24 points and seven rebounds on Friday in only 28 minutes before scoring 22 points on 8/13 shooting on Sunday while staying under 25 minutes. Back-to-back 20+ point games brought her total of 20+ point games to 10, the most on the team as she scored double figures in 21 of her 25 appearances.
Aside from EDD’s consistent domination on both ends of the court, every Mystic who played scored at least once in both games except for one player in Sunday’s game. Five Mystics scored eight or more on Friday with nine Mystics hitting 5+ on Sunday. On Friday, starters Ariel Atkins and Alysha Clark each chipped in nine points with Natasha Cloud and Shakira Austin adding six a piece. Off the bench, Elizabeth Williams came through as the second-leading scorer with 10 points in her 17 minutes followed by eight points from Shatori Walker-Kimbrough and six from Tiana Hawkins. In game two, Atkins put up 15 points, Austin pieced together 11 and Cloud dropped 10. The bench mob kept the show going as Walker-Kimbrough and Hawkins scored eight a piece without Myisha Hines-Allen was out for health and safety protocols.
Atkins’ 15 points put her over the top for 2000 career points in her 150th career game and made her just the seventh player and fourth-fastest in team history to reach 2000 points. The outing equaled her career-best 32nd out of 36 appearances reaching double-figure scoring this season. Austin’s 11 points came with six rebounds, equaling her 28th game with 5+ rebounds, leading all rookies and tying Chamique Holdsclaw for the most 5+ rebound games by a Mystics rookie. While Williams led the way off the bench, Walker-Kimbrough is more than deserving of a shoutout as she recorded five steals, the most by a Mystics player all season. Rui Machida also proved valuable with the postseason just around the corner by tallying six assists along with a career-high four steals. Her six assists made for her third 4+ assist game over her last four appearances.
Washington continued the improved offense by scoring 57 points in the first half on its way to 95 points, both season-high marks. The squad recorded 95 points for its most since 6-17-21 against the Atlanta Dream as the team averaged 82.1 points per game (PPG) over its last nine games. The squad did so behind back-to-back 20+ assist games in both outings as Washington assisted on 26 of 31 field goals and 21 of 29 field goals. Of course, the best defense in the league also shined through as the Mystics took away a season-high 14 steals, the most since Washington stole 15 from the New York Liberty on 9-12-20.
Preparing for the Seattle
At 22-14, the Mystics put together its third 20+ win season in its last five and made the playoffs for the ninth time under Head Coach Mike Thibault. As the fifth-seed, the squad will take on the fourth-seed in a best-of-three playoff series with a 2-1 format. The 2-1 format means Washington will need to win one game on the road to earn a home playoff game three. That fourth-seed is the Seattle Storm. So, let’s prepare for the postseason with a breakdown of how these squads compare.
First, the matchups. While each squad finished 22-14, Seattle earned the fourth-seed based on the head-to-head tiebreaker, winning two out of three games over the Mystics. Washington lost the first two games 85-71 and 82-77 before winning 78-75. In each of the first two matchups, the outcome came down to huge fourth-quarter runs by the Storm. The Mystics’ win came in a back-to-back against Seattle. Delle Donne led the way in the first two games and scored 17+ in all three, but Ariel Atkins led all scorers with 23 points in the win over Seattle. Her impact and especially her scoring will stand out as a huge x-factor come this playoff series.
The win-loss totals match up just the same, but these two teams share many similarities in the stats department. Points per game: Washington 80.2, Seattle 82.5. Points per game allowed: Washington 75.9, Seattle 78.4. Field goal percentage: Washington 43.9%, Seattle 44.2%. Three-point percentage: Washington 33.8%, Seattle 36.1%. Rebounds per game: Washington 34.9, Seattle 33.6. Assists per game: Washington 20.3, Seattle 22.6. Turnovers per game: Washington 13.7, Seattle 13.4. Steals per game: Washington 7.6, Seattle 8.3. Plus/Minus (+/-): Washington +4.4, Seattle +4.1.
Advanced metrics and miscellaneous stats tell the same story. Offensive rating: Washington 101.1, Seattle 102.6. Defensive rating: Washington 96, Seattle 97.4. Effective field goal percentage: Washington 49.6%, Seattle 50.9%. Net rating: Washington +5.1, Seattle +5.2. Pace: Washington 94.05, Seattle 96.18. Points off turnovers: Washington 16.6, Seattle 17.3. Second-chance points: Washington 9.1, Seattle 9.9. Fast break points: Washington 6.9, Seattle 12.0. Points in the paint: Washington 34.1, Seattle 32.8.
And the matchups and star power land off the charts as we get to watch Elena Delle Donne and Breanna Stewart square off in a best of three. The point guard battle between WNBA assists leader Natasha Cloud and Sue Bird in her final season should be fun. Scoring guards Ariel Atkins and Jewell Loyd will attempt to cancel the other out. Defensive gems, Alysha Clark and Gabby Williams will match up against the opposing team’s best perimeter player. And the center matchup between the young Shakira Austin and Tina Charles will round out the fun to be had all in one series.
These two teams match up very well together and the basketball also proved tremendous. Seattle consistently out-assists Washington while the Mystics out-rebound the Storm in their matchups which came down to a deficit of 7.3 points and just 4 points in the last two games. With some of the best games of the season from the entire WNBA coming between these two squads, the WNBA world is in for a treat once this series begins Thursday, August 18th at 10 p.m. ET. Game two tips off on Sunday, August 21st at 4 p.m. ET. With each of the first two games happening in Seattle at Climate Pledge Arena, Washington will need to steal a game on the road to earn a game at Entertainment & Sports Arena in front of its home fans which would take place on Wednesday, August 24th.