Storm Cannot Clinch Playoffs Tonight

Delay the playoff clinching celebration a little bit. Via WNBA PR, Elias Sports Bureau communicated this morning that there are scenarios, like a three-way tie between the Storm, Minnesota and San Antonio, that would leave the Storm on the outside of the postseason looking in even if the Lynx lose tonight.

It's a semi-annual tradition to try to figure out how the WNBA breaks multi-team ties, and the current interpretation leaves the Storm more vulnerable. Still, the magic number against Houston is one and two against Minnesota, so the Storm could clinch as soon as Thursday with a win in Chicago and a Lynx loss.

Here's the latest playoff picture.

Team           W   L    GB  Storm  Conf   H/A  500+
---------------------------------------------------
San Antonio   19  10    -    1-2    8-10  3/2   5/0
Seattle       19  10    -          12-5   2/3   3/2
Los Angeles   18  12   1.5   1-1   10-7   2/2   2/2
Sacramento    16  13   3.0   3-0    7-8   2/3   3/2
Minnesota     14  14   4.5   2-0    8-8   2/4   2/4
Houston       14  15   5.0   2-1    9-8   3/2   3/2
Phoenix       12  16   6.5   3-1    4-12  3/3   4/2

Note that San Antonio holds the tiebreaker with the Storm, which is why the Silver Stars are still atop the Western Conference though the two teams have identical records.