The playoff push will be the priority for three of the four Unrivaled clubs in action on Saturday night. While third-place Mist already has clinched their spot, Breeze, Vinyl and Lunar Owls need to improve or extend their playoff hopes.
Although they currently occupy a playoff spot, both Breeze and Vinyl will be looking to strengthen their positions by winning their head-to-head battle (8 p.m. ET, truTV), while Lunar Owls will aim to upset Mist to keep their playoff chances alive (9:15 p.m. ET, truTV).
Breeze and Vinyl enter their matchup scuffling, with both sides having lost two-straight games. The two clubs are also trying to optimize the new players they received in the three-player trade, when Courtney Williams was moved from Vinyl to Breeze and Saniya Rivers joined Vinyl from Hive.
Even though Breeze lost Williams’ debut, she enjoyed her best game of the season in her new pink and purple threads.
A bench player for Vinyl who saw limited minutes due to head coach Teresa Weatherspoon’s preference for bigger lineups, Williams slotted into a starting role with Breeze, establishing quick chemistry with Dominique Malonga. She also balanced her dimes to Dom with efficient scoring, helping her finish with a season-high 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting to go with her seven assists and five boards.
Williams could be poised to put together a similar performance in her revenge game.
Recently, Breeze opponents have prioritized playing high-pressure defense on Paige Bueckers. Defenders are deployed to prevent her from getting the ball, and if she does get the ball, a defender is in her jersey, defending with physicality and making it difficult for Paige to get to her spots.
All that attention on Bueckers opens opportunities for Williams to take advantage of, just as she did on Tuesday. While Paige should remain option No. 1 for Breeze, a Williams-Malonga two-player game is not a bad back up, especially if it sets up Dom for her promised dunk on Vinyl.
Despite providing a positive burst of play, Rivers received scant minutes in her Vinyl debut, a loss to Phantom. She hit both of her shots, one of which was a 3, to finish with five points. She also swatted a shot, and on Saturday night, Niya rising up to block Dom might be better bet than Dom dunking on Niya.
After banking more practices with her new club, hopefully Rivers has earned more trust from Weatherspoon so that she can have the opportunity to make a game-changing impact. As Vinyl is prone to sluggish stretches, Rivers’ athleticism and energy can provide needed jolt. In particular, she could be the perfect player for Vinyl to put on Bueckers, as she has the length and quickness to stall out even Paige’s most clever on-ball stylings.
This should be close one, with the club that gets better minutes from their inconsistent big possibly determining the outcome. For Breeze, that means a few jumpers and blocked shots from Cameron Brink, while Vinyl will hope to see decisive post finishes, plus a couple of blocks, from Brittney Griner.
Last matchup, an 81-66 Vinyl win, Griner delivered her best performance of the season, with 17 points, seven boards and two blocks, while Brink had seven points on seven shots to go with her pair of blocks.
Can Lunar Owls, driven by Skylar Diggins, keep their playoff chances alive?
After Hive won on Friday night, the pressure is on Lunar Owls to keep pace.
Because Owls won their first matchup against Hive and Vinyl, they’re not in a terrible position in terms making a late playoff push, despite their last-place status. As long as they beat Mist. (Breeze beating Vinyl would also be a boon for Owls.)
Considering the way the season started for Lunar Owls, that a playoff berth is still possible is quite the achievement. A club that looked sure to be stomped by most opponents has become highly-competitive. Since Skylar Diggins is involved, maybe that shouldn’t be too surprising.
Diggins began the season sidelined with an injury, returned to minutes-limited reserve role and then, for the past four games, assumed a starting spot. When Diggins starts, Owls are 2-2, with a positive point differential of +1. Essentially, they’re a middle-of-the-pack, playoff-caliber team, a status achieved due to the combination of Diggins’ composed point guard play and incomparable competitive fire.
The first matchup between Lunar Owls and Mist was Diggins’ first game of the season, when she scored just five points on 2-for-8 shooting. Most recently, when Owls beat Breeze on Tuesday, Diggins had her most impactful game of the season, scoring 23 points on better than 58 percent shooting from the field, while adding five assists and five steals.
The full Diggins experience should make it much more difficult for Mist to again win by 14 points.
As Mist lost both of their games to Phantom, they’re all-but-officially prevented from finishing the season in first place, but because they split their season series with Laces, second place, and bye to the semifinals in Breanna Stewart’s home arena, Barclays Center, remains in reach.
That lure should ensure that Mist comes out ready to match Owls’ motivation.
