There is a reason games aren’t played on paper.

Going into the semifinals, the No. 1 seed Connecticut Sun and No. 2 Las Vegas Aces gave everyone reasons to believe they were the favourites in their respective matchups. Both teams consistently played dominant basketball all season long, something most teams couldn’t do.

But things change fast as both the Sun and Aces are now on the brink of elimination as the Chicago Sky and Phoenix Mercury head into Game 4 looking to complete the upsets on Wednesday.

Watch the Chicago Sky take on the Connecticut Sun LIVE at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT followed by the Phoenix Mercury facing the Las Vegas Aces at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on TSN4 and streaming on TSN.ca, the TSN App and TSN Direct.

For whatever reason, everything has clicked for the Sky in the playoffs after an up-and-down regular season. After beating the Dallas Wings and the Minnesota in the first and second round elimination games, the Sky have continued to roll against the Sun, who are struggling for the first time all season.

Kahleah Copper has been a star for the Sky in the postseason, averaging 18.2 points per game and five rebounds. Courtney Vandersloot’s playmaking ability has paced the team in this series, averaging 9.6 assists per game and had just the second-ever triple-double in WNBA playoff history in Game 1’s double overtime victory, along with a playoff record 18 assists.

On the other side of the bracket, the Sun has not looked like the team that finished first in the league. Chicago has found ways to break through the vaunted Connecticut defence and have found timely scoring from their players.

Getting 2021 MVP winner Jonquel Jones going will be the key if the Sun are going to come back and win this series. She has struggled at times to play at the dominant level that won her MVP, but she isn’t the only one. The Sun need to rediscover the aggressive defence that got them this far if they want a shot at Game 5.

The Mercury have had a very entertaining postseason run. After they edged the New York Liberty by a single point in the first round, they then took down the reigning champion Seattle Storm in round two.

Diana Taurasi has been dealing with an ankle sprain since early September, but it has not slowed her down. She went off for a playoff career-high 37 points in Game 2 and at 39, is the oldest player to record a 30-plus point game (regular season or playoffs).

Brianna Turner and Kia Nurse complete the starting lineup alongside the ‘Big Three’ of Taurasi, Brittney Griner and Skylar Diggins-Smith and their contributions can’t be overlooked. 

Turner takes on a lot of heavy defensive assignments, but her offence has found a new level in the postseason. Her game-high 23-point, 17-rebound performance in Game 3 keyed Phoenix to victory as she continues to be an important piece.

Nurse has also been relied upon heavily on the defensive end for the Mercury, matching up against the bigs of the Aces. The Canadian began to heat up offensively towards the end of the regular season and she has carried that momentum into the playoffs, where she is shooting 45.5 percent from three.

Much like with Jones and the Sun, the Aces need to find a way to get 2020 MVP winner A’ja Wilson going. She was just 2-for-14 from the field in Sunday’s Game 3 loss and hasn’t had enough moments where she is imposing her will on the game. Las Vegas’ offence has not kept up with the Mercury’s the last two games and they haven’t had an answer defensively.

Connecticut and Las Vegas both have the talent to turn their series around and push them to deciding Game 5s. However, with how dialled in the Sky and Mercury are, they will make it extremely difficult for the Sun and the Aces to complete any potential comebacks.