WNBA Single elimination playoffs

[Aluminny69]

WNBA’s single-elimination playoff format was perfect until the 2018 season happened

Thoughts?

 

[CocoHusky]

When " Several of the league’s flagship stars and franchises including Maya Moore, Liz Cambage, Skylar Diggins-Smith and Sylvia Fowles went out in night one." can't be a good thing for the league .
Why play an elimination game during the week when many fans are scrambling to get kids ready to go back to school or last week for vacations. These games could/should have been easily moved to the weekend prior.
Attendance was 4976 in Phoenix and 8598 in LA=Pitiful!
WNBA Attendance - Regular Season
For Phoenix that was about 1/2 of the regular season attendance. For LA is was about 2000 below average.

 

[UConnCat]

When " Several of the league’s flagship stars and franchises including Maya Moore, Liz Cambage, Skylar Diggins-Smith and Sylvia Fowles went out in night one." can't be a good thing for the league .
Why play an elimination game during the week when many fans are scrambling to get kids ready to go back to school or last week for vacations. These games could/should have been easily moved to the weekend prior.
Attendance was 4976 in Phoenix and 8598 in LA=Pitiful!
WNBA Attendance - Regular Season
For Phoenix that was about 1/2 of the regular season attendance. For LA is was about 2000 below average.

The Wings/Mercury game was played at ASU's arena in Tempe which may have impacted attendance.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

Maya has been looking tired for much of the season. She did score 18 ppg, which was higher than last season, but lower than several other years. Her assists and blocks per game were among the lowest of her career, while her shooting percentage was the lowest of her career.

Wonder if this period of rest isn't just what she needs....

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

WNBA’s single-elimination playoff format was perfect until the 2018 season happened

Thoughts?

The frustration of playing a 34-game season over four months, only to have it end with a single a night, is a clear concern to many players

As opposed to baseball's wild card game, which takes place after a season over six months and 162 games, only to have it end in a single night? The format rewards the regular season's top finishers.

Honestly, it would be easier if the league only had 6 teams in the playoffs. Single elimination games between 3 and 6 and 4 and 5; winners face 1 and 2 in a five game series.

 

[EricLA]

The frustration of playing a 34-game season over four months, only to have it end with a single a night, is a clear concern to many players

As opposed to baseball's wild card game, which takes place after a season over six months and 162 games, only to have it end in a single night? The format rewards the regular season's top finishers.

Honestly, it would be easier if the league only had 6 teams in the playoffs. Single elimination games between 3 and 6 and 4 and 5; winners face 1 and 2 in a five game series.

Or have the first round best 2 out of 3. I don't like the single elimination thing. Would rather see at least 2 out of 3 and 3 out of 5...

 

[Bigboote]

The frustration of playing a 34-game season over four months, only to have it end with a single a night, is a clear concern to many players

As opposed to baseball's wild card game, which takes place after a season over six months and 162 games, only to have it end in a single night? The format rewards the regular season's top finishers.

Honestly, it would be easier if the league only had 6 teams in the playoffs. Single elimination games between 3 and 6 and 4 and 5; winners face 1 and 2 in a five game series.

I'm with you. I thought the baseball play-in game was stupid till the W went to their new format. There are twelve teams in the league, why on earth do they need 2/3 of them making the playoffs? Have two teams with a single bye and four playing 2 out of 3. It wouldn't need to make the playoffs any longer.

The Yankees may very well finish with the second-best record in the majors and have to win a one-game playoff. In baseball especially you can lose to an inferior opponent that has a single good pitcher ready for the play-in game. I don't like it, and I'm a lifelong Red Sox fan.

 

[Shades]

Or have the first round best 2 out of 3. I don't like the single elimination thing. Would rather see at least 2 out of 3 and 3 out of 5...

That sounds like what they used to do.

With this new way, they can still include 8 teams in the playoffs, but the ones that strive to put up the best records will have a distinct advantage. I don’t see anything wrong with that.

 

[Bigboote]

The Wings/Mercury game was played at ASU's arena in Tempe which may have impacted attendance.

And the Mystics will be playing at the George Washington arena, which I think holds about 5000.

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

Or have the first round best 2 out of 3. I don't like the single elimination thing. Would rather see at least 2 out of 3 and 3 out of 5...

@EricLA , if eight team are going to be in the playoffs, it is nearly impossible to have at least 2 of 3. Remember, the season is only 34 games long. Presumably, having "best of three" in the first and second rounds could mean 16 total playoff games for a WNBA champion - nearly half the games of the entire season. Plus, given all of the travel issues that the WNBA has dealt with this season, having even more games with more back and forth would create even more logistical problems.

To me, there are a few options:

1) Have six teams make the playoffs. 3 vs.6 and 4 vs. 5 for a single-elimination contest. Winners play 1 and 2 in a "best of five" semis, with the semifinal winners meeting in a "best of five" finals. This eliminates a bit of the extra time off for the top two teams in the regular season and makes the playoffs more exclusive -- 6 teams (50 percent of the league) make the playoffs instead of 8 teams (66.7 percent).

2) Have eight teams in the playoffs, but do not have protections for seeds 1 and 2. Have single elimination contests for the first round - 1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, 3 vs. 6, followed by "best of five" for the semis and finals. This option eliminates the "reward" for the top two teams in the regular season.

3) Keep the playoffs as they are, recognizing that the top two teams in the regular season will be rewarded for performance/record and will have one week of rest (without having to travel) between the end of the regular season and their first playoff games.

 

[Justavisitor]

I have no problem with the first round being single elimination, but the 2nd round should not be single elimination. A 3rd and 4th place team that worked their butts off for good positioning deserve better.

However, I am more concerned with the 1 day in between the 1st and 2nd round. Tonight, 2 teams played their hearts out to advance and then must fly across the country and play again. This is definitely not fair to Phoenix and LA. It's also not fair to the fans. If it's going to be a single game, I'd prefer to see 2 teams playing at their peak performance. Watching tired players perform is not good for the game.

In addition to the above, there needs to be more than 1 day after the regular season ends before the next game. LA spent about 4 hours on a bus and another 5 on the plane on the 1 day between games. Players deserve better.

 

[MSSportsGuy]

@EricLA

1) Have six teams make the playoffs. 3 vs.6 and 4 vs. 5 for a single-elimination contest. Winners play 1 and 2 in a "best of five" semis, with the semifinal winners meeting in a "best of five" finals. This eliminates a bit of the extra time off for the top two teams in the regular season and makes the playoffs more exclusive -- 6 teams (50 percent of the league) make the playoffs instead of 8 teams (66.7 percent).

I actually think that's a great idea. If the league continues to stand with just 12 teams (and hopefully all of them will stick around) then having 6 in the playoffs makes a lot of sense and it still gives the top teams an incentive to earn a bye.

 

[ctkaiser]

All I know is I watched a terrific Phx vs Sun game which could have been a great 2 of 3 series. It's always something impacting WNBA playoffs. FIBA, Olympic games. Makes it that much harder to build a credible league.

 

[Alydar]

The frustration of playing a 34-game season over four months, only to have it end with a single a night, is a clear concern to many players

As opposed to baseball's wild card game, which takes place after a season over six months and 162 games, only to have it end in a single night? The format rewards the regular season's top finishers.

Honestly, it would be easier if the league only had 6 teams in the playoffs. Single elimination games between 3 and 6 and 4 and 5; winners face 1 and 2 in a five game series.

Let's not forget that the wcbb championship is decided after a six round single elimination tournament. Wouldn't it be fairer to pick 12 teams, give 4 a 1st round bye and then play a double elimination tournament?

 

[VaConnFan11]

They should all be single elimination games played over a 1 week period (Friday & Sunday, then Friday & Sunday) at a predetermined facility.