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Mystics successfully managed Delle Donne's health Elena Delle Donne played 25 of the team's 36 regular-season games and arrives to the playoffs rested and healthy. But if the Storm are going to reach the semifinals after falling short as defending champs last season, that will require beating a dangerous Washington team. We thought when Charles signed with Phoenix before the season, her arrival would create a 'superteam.' It's possible her midseason move to Seattle did that instead.

Storm coach Noelle Quinn said she could 'absolutely' extend the playing time for her starting five during the playoffs. No other lineup with that many minutes had a net rating better than plus-15.8. That unit has outscored opponents by 20.9 points per 100 possessions, according to WNBA Advanced Stats, easily tops among lineups that played more than 100 minutes this season. It's also flown under the radar just how dominant Seattle's starting five with Charles has been.

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As a result, the Storm's point differential has jumped from plus-1.8 PPG before signing Charles to plus-6.4 since - a mark only the Connecticut Sun (plus-8.0) bettered over the full season. Just four of the Storm's 11 wins without Charles were by double digits, as compared to eight of the 11 with her. Seattle's 11-7 record with Charles is identical to the team's mark without her, but those wins came very differently.

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And six Seattle players - all five starters plus Magbegor off the bench - have averaged at least 7 PPG in that span. In 18 games with Charles, the Storm's 107.0 offensive rating ranks fourth in the WNBA while the team has still ranked third in defensive rating. Although it took a while to integrate Charles, beginning with her in a reserve role and continuing as a starter ahead of Magbegor in the season's final 10 games, she lifted Seattle offensively. When Charles joined the Storm, Magbegor (12.6) and Bird (8.6) were the other two Seattle players averaging more than seven points per game. Shortly thereafter, Sue Bird and Ezi Magbegor were sidelined for three games due to health & safety protocols, and Stephanie Talbot the first two of those, during which the Storm went 2-1 but scored just 51 points in a home loss to the Dallas Wings.Įven at full strength, Seattle was relying too heavily on the duo of Stewart and All-Star guard Jewell Loyd for scoring. MVP candidate Breanna Stewart and reserve Epiphanny Prince missed a pair of games early in the season, both losses to Phoenix. In part, Seattle had been affected more by the WNBA's health & safety protocols than any other team. Every other playoff team besides the slow-starting New York Liberty had an offensive rating of 100 or better at that point. When the Storm added Charles on June 28 following a contract divorce with the Phoenix Mercury, Seattle ranked ninth in the WNBA in offensive rating at 98.3 points per 100 possessions, according to WNBA Advanced Stats. WNBA playoff predictions: Our experts answer the biggest first-round questions.

During the first half of the season, however, Seattle was relying on defense to overcome a struggling offense. Storm offense clicking at right timeĭefense has been a constant for both of these teams, who finished first (Mystics) and third (Storm), respectively, in defensive rating. Let's break down the numbers for Seattle and Washington ahead of Thursday's Game 1 (10 p.m. And Washington has naturally been far better with 2019 MVP Elena Delle Donne in the lineup, something we can expect throughout the playoffs after the team carefully managed her schedule in the regular season. Seattle has quietly leveled up since adding former MVP Tina Charles, who led the WNBA in scoring last season while playing for the Mystics. Yet a closer look at the two teams' seasons suggests reason to believe both of them could be better in the postseason.

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The Storm and Mystics, who finished tied for fourth in the WNBA standings at 22-14 - with Seattle earning the right to host the series by winning two of three head-to-head matchups during the regular season - haven't played at the same level over the course of the season as they did while winning championships in 2018 (Storm), 2019 (Washington) and 2020 (Storm again). Could the winner of the 2022 WNBA playoff's most intriguing first-round series between the Seattle Storm and Washington Mystics be more of a threat than its record indicates?