WNBA: six teams in contention for three playoff spots

The GIST: Like an extreme game of musical chairs, six teams are still in contention for three playoff spots, with less than a week to go in the WNBA regular season. Let the games begin.

Who’s clinched: The defending champion Chicago Sky, Commissioner’s Cup–winning Las Vegas Aces, Connecticut Sun, Seattle Storm and Washington Mystics have already punched their postseason tickets, accounting for five of the eight berths. Show offs.

On the bubble: With the Indiana Fever eliminated, the Dallas Wings, Atlanta Dream, Phoenix Mercury, NY Liberty, Minnesota Lynx (including Napheesa Collier, who returned to the court yesterday, less than three months after giving birth) andLA Sparks are left to battle it out.

• And this race is close. The 11th-place Sparks are just 1 game behind the eighth-place Mercury.

Key matchups: Needless to say, there’s a lot riding on tonight’s 8 p.m. ET tilt between the No. 6 Wings and No. 9 Liberty. Dallas can clinch with a dub, but maybe NY superstar Sabrina Ionescu (pronounced yo-NESS-coo) will make more history?

• Meanwhile, the squads who’ve clinched are still jockeying for crucial playoff seeding. The No. 1 Sky will look to retain their top spot cushion when they host the No. 4 Storm tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET. This one’s shaping up to be a true force of nature.