WNBA playoffs 2022 - Why Seattle Storm-Washington Mystics winner could be primed for postseason run

Could the winner of the 2022 WNBA playoff's most intriguing first-round series between the Seattle Storm and Washington Mystics be more of a threat than its record indicates?

The Storm and Mystics, who finished tied for fourth in the WNBA standings at 22-14 — with Seattle earning the right to host the series by winning two of three head-to-head matchups during the regular season — haven't played at the same level over the course of the season as they did while winning championships in 2018 (Storm), 2019 (Washington) and 2020 (Storm again).

Yet a closer look at the two teams' seasons suggests reason to believe both of them could be better in the postseason. Seattle has quietly leveled up since adding former MVP Tina Charles, who led the WNBA in scoring last season while playing for the Mystics. And Washington has naturally been far better with 2019 MVP Elena Delle Donne in the lineup, something we can expect throughout the playoffs after the team carefully managed her schedule in the regular season.

Let's break down the numbers for Seattle and Washington ahead of Thursday's Game 1 (10 p.m. ET, ESPN2).

Defense has been a constant for both of these teams, who finished first (Mystics) and third (Storm), respectively, in defensive rating. During the first half of the season, however, Seattle was relying on defense to overcome a struggling offense.

When the Storm added Charles on June 28 following a contract divorce with the Phoenix Mercury, Seattle ranked ninth in the WNBA in offensive rating at 98.3 points per 100 possessions, according to WNBA Advanced Stats. Every other playoff team besides the slow-starting New York Liberty had an offensive rating of 100 or better at that point.

In part, Seattle had been affected more by