Pick and Roll: Playoff preview, first-round matchups and championship picks

The 2024 WNBA postseason has arrived, which means Brianne Spiker and I are back to another edition of Pick and Roll presented by FanDuel. 

If you’ve been sleeping under a rock all summer and are just tuning into the WNBA, first of all, welcome. Second, you’ve missed a lot. 

Spiker and I have been monitoring key storylines all season while also trying to find a few winners along the way. 

Who can forget the all-star game when Brianne pointed to the sky and called her shot with the WNBA All-Stars to beat Team USA as +205 underdogs? 

With the regular season wrapping up let’s recap a few futures given out in the column.

 I went 1-1, cashing on the Los Angeles Sparks team total going under 9.5 wins (7-32) and losing the Chicago Sky team total, over which we tipped at 15.5 (13-26). 

As for futures, I currently have two championship wagers pending: Seattle at 12-1 and Indiana at 40-1.

Join Brianne and I this week as we preview the four opening-round playoff series and stick around at the end to find out which series Spiker thinks this year's WNBA Champion could emerge from.

After falling short in the 2023 Final, the New York Liberty tip off their 2024 postseason as the favourites to win the team’s first WNBA Championship.  

New York won the first three meetings between these two teams, winning both games in Atlanta by more than 15 points.

The Liberty swept the Washington Mystics last year in the opening round on their way to an appearance in the final for the first time since 2002. 

The Dream are looking for their first playoff win since 2018, despite making the playoffs last year. 

Spiker’s Take: Liberty in two (-390)

No.2 Minnesota Lynx vs. No. 7 Phoenix Mercury 

The two-seed Minnesota Lynx are heavy favourites to take