What to Watch for During the NBA Preseason

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Are the Warriors a Superteam? 

The Golden State Warriors are coming off of a season in which they won a record 73 games. After overcoming a 3-1 deficit to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals, the Warriors blew a 3-1 series lead to the Cleveland Gladiators in the NBA Finals.

That team had a bunch of superstars such as Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguadola. Now, they have Kevin Durant on the team. Is this team a team of superstars that will be unbeatable? Their performance in the preseason will tell a lot.

New Team, Different Results?

The Miami Heat first lot Dwyane Wade and now have lost Chris Bosh. While the Heat still do have Justice Winslow, Hassan Whiteside and Goran Dragic, there are many doubting the Heat. They will need to show that they can still compete, even without a few big-name players.

The same thing goes for the Los Angeles Lakers. According to one of the players, the Lakers tanked last season for Kobe's farewell tour. If this is true, this season, the Lakers could prove themselves worthy with young talent. They will be able to show that in the preseason.

One-Man Bands

The Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder will have only one superstar on their team. The Rockets will only have James Harden with the loss of Dwight Howard. Howard left for the Atlanta Hawks. 

Harden's other former teammate, Russell Westbrook, will not have his former teammate Kevin Durant with him anymore. Durant left to play for the Golden State Warriors. Westbrook played without Durant in the 2014-2015 season. He led the Thunder to just one game out of the playoff hunt. 

We've seen that Westbrook can lead the Thunder by himself, but can he do it again? 

WNBA Playoffs Semifinals Preview: Los Angeles Sparks vs Chicago Sky

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The number two-seeded Los Angeles Sparks will battle the fourth-seeded Chicago Sky in the semifinals for the right to play in the WNBA Finals. The two teams will be playing a five-game series with the first two games being in Los Angeles, before the next two games will be held in Chicago. If necessary, game five will be hosted by the Sparks. 

The Sparks swept the season series with the Sky, as they won all three games by double digits. The Sparks haven’t played a game in 12 days, while the Sky staved off elimination after defeating the Atlanta Dream, 108-98. Chicago will be at a disadvantage before they even step onto the court, as they will be without reigning MVP Elena Della Donne. Della Donne had thumb surgery two weeks ago, which is why she will be sidelined. 

Chicago is 4-2 without Della Donne, but they will face their biggest challenge yet against a Sparks team that went 26-8 during the regular season. Without Della Donne, Chicago will turn to Courtney Vandersloot and Jessica Breland to lead the offense. Vandersloot scored 21 points, while Breland put up 20 points in Chicago’s victory over Atlanta. Chicago was able to spread the ball around in that victory, as seven players scored at least eight points. 

They will need more of the same as the Sparks post a potent attack that only eight teams were able to stop during the season. Chicago will be tasked with stopping Nneka Ogwumike, this years MVP, and Candace Parker, who has won two MVP’s in her career. Ogwumike averaged 19.7 points and 9.1 rebounds while shooting a league best 66% from the field. 

Parker averaged 15 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game during the regular season. If Chicago is able to neutralize those two, then they have a legitimate chance of pulling off the upset. If they are unable to, like practically every other team in the WNBA, they it might be a long series for the Sky. The game will start at 10 p.m. ET tonight, and it can be watched on ESPN2. 

WNBA Playoffs Semifinals Preview: Minnesota Lynx vs Phoenix Mercury

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The Minnesota Lynx will host the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA Semifinals. Game 1 is set to tip off tomorrow night at 8 p.m. ET in Minnesota.

This is a David vs Goliath type of game. The eighth seeded Mercury have won two single elimination games on the road against the Indiana Fever and the New York Liberty. They have won both games by a combined 18 points. They will be looking to shock the WNBA world by beating the Lynx.

Minnesota finished the regular season with a 26-5 record. That is the best finish in the history of the 20-year women's professional basketball league. They will look to so what their male counterparts in the Golden State did - break the league record for wins in a season and make it to the finals. They will also be looking to do what the Warriors couldn't - win the title.

The Mercury, led by Brittney Griner, will look to advance to the WNBA Finals as an eight-seed.

WNBA Playoffs Preview: Chicago Sky vs Atlanta Dream

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Round 2 of the WNBA Playoffs will take place this weekend, beginning with the New York Liberty hosting the Phoenix Mercury at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, and followed by the Chicago Sky hosting the Atlanta Dream at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.

Chicago (18-16) earned a bye into the second round as the fourth-ranked team heading into the playoffs. New York (21-13) did likewise as the third seed, while the Minnesota Lynx (28-6) and Los Angeles Sparks (26-8) earned byes into the semifinal round as the top two seeds in the WNBA's new and unique playoff format.

To earn the right to face the Sky in the second round, Atlanta had to first get through the first round. Hosting the Seattle Storm, the Dream managed a 94-85 victory behind 37 points (on 14-for-21 shooting) and 7 assists from Angel McCoughtry and 21 points and seven rebounds from Bria Holmes. Other key contributions included Elizabeth Williams' 16 rebounds and three blocked shots, while Layshia Clarendon filled stat categories with 12 points, six rebounds and seven assists and a team-leading +14 while she was on the floor.

Jewell Lloyd and Breanna Stewart had 24 and 19 points, respectively, for the Storm, but it wasn't enough to overcome the field goal percentage discrepancy that saw Atlanta shoot 53% from the field while Atlanta was at just 39%. At one point late in the first half, Seattle held a 43-33 lead. From that point to midway through the fourth quarter, Atlanta went on a 52-28 run to take a 85-71 lead before reaching the final score.

Heading into Round 2, the teams have faced each other three times this season. In all three games, the home team came out victorious. Atlanta mustered margins of six and four points in their victories, while the most recent matchup tilted in Chicago's favor, 90-82. The Sky are normally led by defending-League MVP Elena Delle Donne, but they will be without her services as she underwent surgery on her thumb and is out indefinitely. Cappie Pondexter is shouldering much of that load moving forward, and her recent performance has proved her more than capable. She has scored in double digits in 12 straight games, reaching at least 15 points in six of those games and helping the Sky to a 9-3 record during that stretch.

With Delle Donne out for Chicago, and McCoughtry playing at such a high level, it's hard to envision Atlanta losing this game, even in Chicago. The game will be available on ESPN2. If the Liberty win their matchup, the winner of Chicago/Atlanta will face Minnesota in the Semifinals. If Phoenix pulls off the upset, they will face Minnesota and the Chicago/Atlanta winner will take on Los Angeles. The Semifinals begin on Wednesday, Sept. 28.

WNBA Playoffs Preview: New York Liberty vs Phoenix Mercury

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The eighth-seeded Phoenix Mercury will battle the third-seeded New York Liberty in a second-round playoff matchup starting on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. ET in New York. The win-or-go-home game will be played at Madison Square Garden, where the Liberty are 10-7 this season. The Liberty earned a first round bye, while the Mercury defeated the Indiana Fever, 89-78, in order to clinch a spot in the second round. 

These two squads met three times during the regular season, with the Liberty taking two of those three games. Both of these teams split the two games that were played in New York. The Liberty defeated the Mercury 92-70 in the last meeting between these two on Sept. 3. New York and Phoenix have met only one time in the postseason, and that was in the semifinals in the WNBA’s inaugural season. New York defeated Phoenix 59-41, to advance to the championship back in 1997.

 Despite the fact Phoenix was the last team to clinch a playoff berth, the Mercury have a potent attack that pose a threat to any team. In their win over Indiana, Diana Taurasi scored 20 points, Brittney Griner recorded 18 points, while DeWanna Bonner added 18 points off the bench. New York has skidded into the playoffs, as they enter Saturday’s game with a three-game losing streak. The Liberty were just 3-5 after the WNBA returned from its Olympic break. 

The Mercury were just 5-12 on the road this season, but they were able to go into Indianapolis and defeat the Fever. Tina Charles for New York and Griner for Phoenix will be two players who will most certainly impact the game. Charles is a legitimate WNBA MVP candidate after becoming the third player in WNBA history to lead the league in points and rebounds. 

Lauren Jackson and Chamique Holdsclaw were the two other players to accomplish that feat. Charles has averaged 21 points and nine rebounds this season, and she has the second highest usage rate in the league (30.7%). Griner has averaged 17 points and seven rebounds since coming back from the Olympic break. The game can be watched on NBATV.

WNBA Playoffs Preview: Fever vs Mercury

The first round of the WNBA playoffs tip off this Wednesday at 6 PM ET between The Phoenix Mercury and Indiana Fever. With both teams falling short of their high expectations this year, they now have a chance to redeem themselves in a win-or-go-home matchup.

This series will be featuring two of the top three scorers in WNBA playoff history in Tamika Catchings and Diana Taurasi. Both Taurasi and Catchings have been their team's respective leaders and a major reason both have been so successful for the past ten years. Tamika Catchings in particular hopes to make yet another impressive playoff run, as she is retiring after this post-season.

The Phoenix Mercury feature a top seven scorer in Taurasi as well as two top fifteen scorers in 6'8 Brittany Griner and 6'4 DeWanna Bonner. For The Mercury to have success, Griner has to be dominant in the paint. She averaged 13 points 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in their regular season matchup. Look for Griner to crash the boards as well as Diana Taurasi looking to get hot from behind the arc. Wednesday's game will be played at The Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

WNBA Playoffs Preview: Dream vs Storm

The first round of the 2016 WNBA playoffs begin on Wednesday, Sept. 21. The second of the two games will see the #7 seed Seattle Storm travel to the southeast to take on the #6 seed Atlanta Dream.

In the WNBA's new playoff format, the first round matchups are a one game, win-or-go-home scenario. The second round is identical, with the winners moving on to the semifinals in a best-of-five series, followed by another best-of-five series for the finals.

The Storm (16-18) are led by Breanna Stewart, Sue Bird, and Jewell Lloyd. The 6'4" Stewart averaged 18 points, nine rebounds and two blocks per game during her rookie season, more than living up to her potential as the first overall pick in the 2016 draft out of the University of Connecticut. The 35-year old Bird is in her 14th season in the league, all with Seattle, and led the league with 5.8 assists per game to go with her 12 points per game. Lloyd is in her second year in the league and averaged 16 points per game while shooting almost 50% from the field and 90% from the free throw line.

The Dream (17-17) are led by top scoreres Angel McCoughtry (19.5 points per game) and Tiffany Hayes (15 ppg), while Elizabeth Williams was among the league leaders in rebounds per game (8.1) and blocked shots per game (2.3).

Seattle and Atlanta faced each other three times during the regular season, with Seattle coming away with two victories. The Storm won a tight first matchup (the only one in Seattle) in late June, 84-81. Atlanta managed a 13-point margin in their 77-64 victory just one week later. In the rubber match on Sept. 4, the Storm won 91-82. Atlanta will look to even the score (and then some) on their home floor in attempting to advance to the second round.

The future opponent for the winner of this matchup will be determined by the outcome of the other first-round game. If the #5 seed Indiana Fever win, they will travel to Chicago to take on the #4 seed Sky while the Seattle/Atlanta winner will go to New York to battle the #3 seed Liberty. If the #8 seed Phoenix Mercury win, then the destinations will be flip-flopped. As the 1-seed and 2-seed, the Minnesota Lynx and Los Angeles Sparks, respectively, received byes straight into the semifinals.

Tip off for Atlanta and Seattle is at 8 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on ESPNews and can be live-streamed on ESPN.com or on the Watch ESPN app.