How can Angel Reese and Chicago Sky secure the final WNBA playoff berth? All permutations explored

The Chicago Sky lost their seventh consecutive game on Tuesday night. The Las Vegas Aces dominated them 90-71, worsening their crisis as the 2024 WNBA regular season approaches its end.

The Sky's downfall has been dramatic, especially knowing they looked like a clear playoff candidate before the Olympic break.

Although they keep the eighth spot in the league standings (11-22), the Atlanta Dream (11-22), Washington Mystics (10-23) and Dallas Wings (9-24) are lurking. If the Sky don't get things back on track soon, those three teams could steal that last playoff berth and send Angel Reese and company home.

Then again, the Sky remain hopeful to make it to the postseason and this is how they can stay in the playoff picture and clinch a berth.

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Chicago Sky playoff-clinching scenarios and remaining schedule

The Chicago Sky still has seven games left to play. These duels won't be easy, as the team will play three playoff-bound teams and the three opponents trying to eliminate them.

Date	Opponent	Time
Friday, Sept. 6	vs. LA Sparks	9:30 p.m. (ET)
Sunday, Sept. 8	vs. Dallas Wings	6 p.m. (ET)
Wednesday, Sept. 11	vs. Washington Mystics	8 p.m. (ET)
Friday, Sept. 13	at Minnesota Lynx	7:30 p.m. (ET)
Sunday, Sept. 15	vs. Phoenix Mercury	6 p.m. (ET)
Tuesday, Sept. 17	at Atlanta Dream	7:30 p.m. (ET)
Thursday, Sept. 19	at Connecticut Sun	7 p.m. (ET)

The Sky have the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Dream (2-1) and Wings (2-1), but they have a losing record against the Mystics (1-2).

They can secure the regular-season series against the first two teams and tie the series against the Mystics, which will put them in the best position to advance to the postseason.

Besides the head-to-head record, the WNBA has four more playoff seeding tiebreakers. These are: The winning percentage within own conference; the better winning percentage against all teams with .500 or better record; the better point differential in head-to-head games; and probably the most painful one, a coin toss.

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Who would the Chicago Sky face if the season ended today?

If the 2024 WNBA season ended today, the Chicago Sky would get the eighth seed in the league, meaning they would face the New York Liberty in the first round of the playoffs. The best-of-three series would be an uphill battle for the struggling Sky.

For starters, the Liberty took the regular-season series 3-1 with a combined difference of 42 points. The Sky pulled off the upset in the first game of the season, but once the Liberty took off, the Sky didn't stand a chance.

The second game was a 13-point win for New York, 88-75. It followed with a 91-76 victory and they closed it out with an 81-67 win right before the All-Star break.

The Sky still has time to secure their playoff seed, but it must start delivering quickly if they intend to drift away from the Dream, Mystics and Wings.