The goal for the Mystics is to ensure that the Atlanta Dream finishes in the lottery while not being “better” than the Chicago Sky.
The Washington Mystics are 10th place the 2024 WNBA regular season standings. With five games left to go in the regular season, they are also technically still able to finish with a playoff berth while also having the benefit of having one lottery pick by having the 9th place Atlanta Dream’s pick. The Dallas Wings and Los Angeles Sparks have already been eliminated from the 2024 WNBA Playoffs.
Washington is two games behind the Chicago Sky for the 8th seed.
Ultimately, the Mystics have to thread a needle between being competitive while also hoping to maximize their number of lottery tickets for the top picks in the 2025 WNBA Draft.
The Mystics need to ensure that the Dream make the lottery
The Mystics have an opportunity to play the Dream twice in the next week. Since Atlanta doesn’t have their own first round draft pick due to trading it indirectly to Washington, they have NO INCENTIVE to tank. But the Mystics want to make sure that the Dream’s chances of overtaking the Sky, who have lost 7 of their last 10 games, are as low as possible.
Ideally. Washington needs to win one of those games, not both, because they don’t want to overtake the Sky.
The Mystics also need to remain worse than the Sky to prevent a playoff berth
The Mystics still have to play the Sky tomorrow night on the road where they need to lose to them to give themselves some distance from the team with the 8th seed. Without forward Angel Reese, who is out for the rest of the season due to an injury, that task will be more difficult. In other words, the Mystics have a better chance of winning.
The Sky also have a tough remaining schedule with games against the Liberty and Fever, so it wouldn’t be out of the question to see them somehow sneak into the lottery.
In other words, buckle up!
The Mystics’ remaining games this season will be a bit stressful for fans to watch. On the one hand, the team will play as hard as they can. But they also don’t want to hurt their long term chances either.