Bradenton, FL (August 30, 2020)—The Las Vegas Aces clinched a playoff berth, Saturday, with their 17-point win over New York, but there is no time to relax, as only four games separate the top six teams in the league at the top of the standings heading into Monday night’s play.

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The top two seeds in the postseason receive byes into the WNBA Semifinals, allowing them to skip the first two single-game elimination rounds. Given the condensed 2020 schedule, that rest could be paramount to a team’s success in the playoffs.

The Aces have seven games remaining on the schedule, and at 12-3, they are a half-game back of the first place Seattle Storm (13-3), and tied with the Los Angeles Sparks (12-3). Las Vegas closes out the 2020 regular season with back-to-back games against Los Angeles and Seattle on Saturday, September 12, and Sunday, September 13 respectively.

The Aces can’t look ahead, however, as they have the Phoenix Mercury (9-7) to tangle with this Tuesday, September 1. Tip on MyLVTV and Facebook is slated for 10 pm ET/7 pm PT.

The last time Las Vegas and Phoenix met was back on July 31, when the Aces dug themselves a 23-point first-half hole only to come back and tie the game midway through the third quarter. Las Vegas couldn’t get over the hump, however, eventually falling to the Mercury, 102-95.

That result left both teams at 1-2, but since then, the Aces have won 12 of 13 games, while Phoenix has hovered around the .500 mark going 8-5.

The Mercury have had difficulty fielding their full complement of players over the past few weeks. Diana Taurasi missed three games in mid-August with a hip injury, while Bria Hartley not only missed a pair of games in earlier in the month with an injured foot, but tore her ACL two games ago and is out for the season.

Phoenix suffered its biggest blow to the roster on August 22, when the team announced that center Brittney Griner left the Wubble due to personal reasons. Since then, however, the Merc have gone 3-1, winning a pair of games over the Washington Mystics (4-11), and splitting two with the Minnesota Lynx (10-5).

Despite this roster volatility, Phoenix still has the fourth most efficient offense in the league (105.2). They have the fourth highest effective field goal percentage in the WNBA, and are second only to the Aces in free throw rate.

Defense is another story, as the Mercury allow 102.7 points per 100 possessions. They hold teams to 43.7 percent from the field (4th in the W), but they rank in the bottom half of the association in opponent three-point field goal percentage (.364), defensive rebound percentage (.698), and turnover percentage (.182).

Although she missed most of the 2019 season with a back injury, Taurasi is once again among the league’s elite players averaging 18.2 points (5th), and 5.0 assists (4th) per game. Skylar Diggins Smith, acquired in the offseason as a free agent, has been her usual all-star caliber self, connecting on a career-best 48.2 percent of her shots including 42.9 percent from long range.  Hartley was another critical offseason acquisition for the Mercury, as she was posting career highs in scoring (14.6), assists (4.5), steals (1.2), field goal percentage (.420). and three-point field goal percentage (.385).

Las Vegas now has the second most efficient offense (105.8) and defense (95.1) in the WNBA, both behind the Seattle Storm (106.9. 91.0). The Aces continue to turn the ball over fewer times than any team in the league, while scoring inside the arc more frequently (65.2%) and from the free throw line (22.1%) more than any team in the W.

A’ja Wilson is the only player in the league ranked in the top six in scoring (20.3, 2nd) and rebounding (8.7, 6th), and she is also ranked third in blocks per game (1.73). One of the Aces major free agent acquisitions, Angel McCoughtry, is enjoying one of the most productive seasons in her 11-year career. The five-time All-Star and two-time Olympian is averaging career highs in field goal percentage (.535), three-point field goal percentage (.417) and free throw percentage (.857), while scoring 14.7 points and grabbing 5.2 rebounds per game.

Dearica Hamby is playing even better than she did a year ago when the league tapped her as the WNBA’s Sixth Woman of the year, averaging 12.5 points and 7.0 rebounds, and boasting the fourth highest field goal percentage in the league (.546). She leads a bench contingent that is scoring more points per game (34.0) than any group of WNBA reserves in the league’s 24-year history.

Las Vegas is 37-57 all-time against the Mercury, but the teams have split their most recent six meetings.