With home court advantage, Lynx hope to reach another WNBA Finals
With home court throughout the Western Conference playoffs, the Minnesota Lynx look like a favorite to reach their fourth WNBA Finals in five years.
They'll first have to get through the Los Angeles Sparks, who have enjoyed a historic turnaround to reach the postseason yet again.
They meet Friday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals.
Minnesota secured the West's top seed with a 22-12 record, completing its fifth consecutive 20-win season. The Lynx followed three straight No. 1 finishes in the West with Finals appearances from 2011-13, winning two league titles. They conceded home-court advantage last year, however, and fell to Phoenix in the conference finals.
The Lynx are 13-4 at home this year, and a combined 88-13 there in the regular season and playoffs since 2011. The only postseason loss in that span came in Game 1 of the 2012 Finals against Indiana.
"There's a reason why people work so hard to get home-court advantage in the playoffs," coach Cheryl Reeve told the team's official website. "We just want to be mindful of all the work that we put in and how hard it was to get here."
Minnesota boasts the league's runner-up in MVP voting in Maya Moore, the only player besides Elena Delle Donne to receive a first-place vote. The Lynx should have two other stars back in the fold as well with Lindsay Whalen and Seimone Augustus expected to return.
Whalen and Augustus haven't played since Aug. 30 and Aug. 19, respectively. Whalen, who leads the team with 4.3 assists per game, was bothered by discomfort in her right Achilles tendon, while Augustus, averaging 13.8 points, has been sidelined by a foot injury.
The Sparks (14-20) didn't look the part of a playoff team early in the season, losing their first seven games and 12 of 14, but recovered to become the first club in league history to reach the postseason after such a poor start. Candace Parker has led Los Angeles' turnaround, averaging 19.4 points, 10.1 rebounds and a career-high 6.3 assists after sitting out the first 16 games.
The Sparks are making a league-record 15th playoff appearance and fourth in a row, though they were eliminated in the first round by Phoenix each of the last two years.
Minnesota won three of four meetings this season, including a 72-64 home victory Aug. 9 as it held Los Angeles to a season-low eight first-quarter points. Parker struggled in three matchups, averaging 13.3 points on 38.9 percent shooting.
Each team owns a playoff series victory over the other. Parker averaged 29.0 points and 13.0 rebounds in the 2012 Western Conference finals, but the Sparks were swept in two games.
Game 2 will be played Sunday at the Walter Pyramid on the campus of Long Beach State due to the Emmys taking place at the Microsoft Theater near Staples Center. Game 3, if necessary, will be back at the Target Center on Tuesday.
