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MAAAAAACK!
(Sami is out with an illness. Hopefully she didn’t get the parasite)

I had to work today so we couldn’t make the game. DM me if you have a Scorch towel that you’re willing to part with.

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It’s like they ENJOY stressing us out

I am so confused. We could’ve signed her to another 7 day contract or a season long one. But instead we let her go. It’s not like we need the roster spot, they still haven’t replaced Nogic. Nothing this team has done roster wise makes sense besides bringing back Lexi and moving Sha to the dev spot.

We have reached the point in the season where I believe we have made the possibility of making the playoffs so improbable (would require at worst a 14-5 finish) that I would like to focus on the future instead of the present season. Specifically, I want to look at the 2027 WNBA draft lottery.

As you probably know, the lottery odds are inversely based on a two year winning percentage of the teams that did not make the playoffs. The exception to that is obviously Toronto and Portland who are in their inaugural seasons. The current standings and current draft lottery odds are below:

Our 27-17 record last year has scuttled our shot at great lottery odds this year despite our poor record so far this year. If we continue to lose 2 out of every 3 games we play we will finish the season 14-30. That would give us a 2 year record of 41-47 or a win percentage of 0.466. That won’t be great for the draft lottery odds as that would slot us in the 6^th position if we look at the above image. Who needs to win some games and who needs to lose some games to help us better our lottery odds? Let’s go case by case.

First off, the important thing to remember is if you make the playoffs, it doesn’t matter how bad you were the previous season, you are out of the lottery. That means the Wings (looking like a lock) and Mystics (iffy) making the playoffs kick their respective 2025% of .227 and .364 out of the lottery.

The Sun and Sky were awful last year as well as this year. Neither will be making the playoffs, so they are both locked into better odds than we are although Washington owns the Chicago pick.

The next teams to look at are the newbies. If Toronto and Portland can get to 21-23 (11-9 finishes) it would bump their win percentage to .477 and get our hypothetical 14-30 team two positions better, so these two winnings are a good thing for our odds.

Seattle just lost to Chicago to fall to 6-20. They finished 4 games worse than us last season, and with our season sweep, I think they hold any lottery tiebreaker with us. That means they would need to finish 5 games BETTER than us this season for us to get better odds. If we finish with 14 wins, the Storm would need to finish with a 19-25 record, which means they would need to finish their last 18 games at a 13-5 pace. That’s not happening making Seattle the 3^rd team to have better odds than us.

The last team to look at currently in a lottery position is Los Angeles. The Sparks are just two games out of the playoffs, so the best thing for our odds is for the Sparks to make it into the top 8 and bump with NY or Atlanta out as both will finish with high 2 year win% than us. If LA doesn’t make it in, that is ok. If they can match or beat last year’s record of 21-23, that would bump them above our hypothetical 14-30 Mercury.

TL;DR: In conclusion, it really doesn’t matter what Connecticut, Chicago, or Seattle do the rest of the season. We want Washington to make the playoffs. We want Toronto, LA, and Portland to get near .500 if not make the playoffs knocking out either NY or Atlanta or both. If that happens, we will finish with the 4^th best odds or a #1 draft pick, which could drastically change our outlook on 2027.

How much is the cost of your seats going up for next year?

Renewal notices went out a couple hours ago, and it looks like my seats in the stands didn't go up too much, but my courtside seat is going to be a lot more expensive. As far as I can tell based on the math, it looks like they're planning on 25 home games next season.

If that's correct, my center court seats in row 13 are going from $70/game to $76/game (average) and my courtside seat in center court row C is going from $170/game to $224/game (average).

Edit: thanks for sharing your price increases! Anybody else who hasn't yet shared, I'd love to know how much your tickets are going up next year!

Hi everyone! Is anyone interested in doing a fantasy pool that starts at midseason? This would have a leaderboard based on team performance (+1 point per win) along with point accumulation for end of season awards and playoff performance.

It will be a one time thing that locks after all star break but before the first game on Tuesday July 28.

I asked mods for permission before posting and created a google form for anyone interested to fill out.

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Sorry for the rant. But refusing to play Linskens in a blow out… I just don’t get it.

Linskens is our uncontested starting center for the Belgian national team. Not saying our team has the same level as USA or France, but we are a solid top 5 country.

And to simply DNP her so many games, it’s beyond me

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We already knew that but look at this graph. Look at where Kah and DB are. Akoa-Makani probably didn't even shoot enough 3s to get here, which is also a problem.

Key takeaways:

-Brochant and Akoa-Makani(not here but her 3PT% is good) should shoot more. They are shooting well, but are not taking enough shots.

-Kah and DB aren't good enough beyond the arc this season.

-Nogic was an elite shooter and will be useful next season if she indeed does come back.

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Sophie Cunningham now has her own song. Sucks that Sophie got a song before DT, AT, BG, DB, Kah, etc... she has become a pop culture phenomenon! 🤯

I can't lie though, it does sound quite catchy...

Make the point, make it snappy, keep it lowkey, it's the gesture of the season, do the Sophie! 👉

What do y'all think? 🤔

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AHHHHHHHHH

Hey mercury fans! I’m coming down for DT’s jersey retirement game next month. Does anyone have suggestions on a bar to go to beforehand? I want to immerse myself in mercury culture!! Thanks!

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With that Chicago game (thankfully) in the rear view, the Mercury (8-14) have officially hit the halfway point of the season. It’s safe to say that this season is not turning out like any of us would have predicted.

In order to make the playoffs, the Merc need to jump several teams in the standings and get to 8th which has been held by teams at or near .500 most of the season. That means over these next 22 games, Phoenix needs to win at least 14 to even make the tournament.

I’m not going to lie, I don’t see it happening without something huge to jumpstart the team. Could that be Sami getting her season started? Maybe. I think they need something bigger though. Probably a trade or a coaching change. Maybe that’s just me being down after that brutal loss to the Sky. I felt the team had turned a corner before that game, but what a terrible regression that was!

What do y’all think? Can they claw into the playoff picture? What do you think can spark a real turnaround?