Unrivaled playoff preview: Can anyone take down the Lunar Owls?

Unrivaled playoffs are set to tip off on Sunday, with the Laces and Rose slated to tip off at 7:30 pm, and the Vinyl and Lunar Owls at 8:30 pm. The winners of each Sunday match-up will face off in a championship game on Monday night, with the winners coming away as the inaugural Unrivaled champions.

The Lunar Owls (13-1) enter the postseason as the heavy favorites to win it all. They’ve outscored opponents by 170 points across 14 games and dropped just a single game — to the Roses — all season.

The Owls have been led by Napheesa Collier, who was named to the All-Unrivaled First Team on Thursday, on both ends. She averaged a league-best 25.7 points per game alongside 10.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2 steals, and 1.4 blocks across 14 regular season games, while also securing the 1v1 championship.

Allisha Gray is the team’s second-leading scorer, averaging 19.1 points per game, while Skylar Diggins-Smith has also been hugely impactful for the Owls, averaging 17.9 points per game and 4.8 assists. Courtney Williams has been effective in a backup point guard role, while Shakira Austin has elevated her game, averaging 8.4 points in 9.2 minutes. The Owls have also been uniquely healthy this season; while other clubs have won had to largely rely on relief contract players as they’ve juggled various injuries, the Lunar Owls had perfect availability across their five players this season.

If anyone can beat the Lunar Owls, the Rose Club seems to have the best chance — because they’ve done it before. The Rose finished with the league’s second-best record at 8-6, winning 6 of their last 8 games. They beat the Lunar Owls on Feb. 21, led by Angel Reese (22 points, 13 rebounds), Chelsea Gray (26 points), and Brittney Sykes (16 points). Gray has been the team’s most dominant player, and as such, she was named to the All-Univaled First Team, while Reese was named to the All-Univaled Second Team.

However, Reese’s availability is in question entering the weekend after she seemingly re-injured her right wrist, which she broke this past fall. No official update has been provided, but she missed the second half of the final regular season contest of the season. For the Rose to have the best chance at upsetting the Owls, Reese will likely need to not only be available but also her usual dominant self — especially how instrumental she was when the two teams last faced off.

Sykes was also an X-factor the last time the two teams faced off; she shot 6-8 from the field, tallying 16 points and 4 assists in 17 minutes. But, she’s also had several performances this season in which she’s scored just a basket or two — and the Rose will need everyone to be on their A game in this one.

There’s also the reality that Gray has been perhaps Unrivaled’s best player in the final weeks of the season; if she can maintain her hot play, she’s been able to lift the Rose to several unlikely wins in the seasons’ close.

Since the Rose have done it before, they seem better-positioned to overthrow the Owls. But, the Laces are the healthiest they’ve been in a while — Alyssa Thomas and Tiffany Hayes are both back in the lineup after missing time with injuries — and Jackie Young closed the regular season with her best game of the year, exploding for 27 points on 10-17 shooting alongside 4 assists and 4 boards.

The Laces’ prospective success relies on how dominant Kayla McBride, who was recently named to the All-Unrivaled First Team, can be. McBride has been Unrivaled’s second-leading scorer, averaging 22.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, but has struggled a bit from the field since her return from injury. She’ll need to be on her A-game if the Laces are to overpower the Owls.

But, Thomas, Hayes, and Young all have the potential to be one of the team’s most game players at any given moment, and if everything clicks, they should have the firepower to withstand a Lunar Owls’ onslaught.

The Vinyl were the last team to secure a playoff berth, and they’ll face the Owls in the first round of the playoffs. Anything can happen in the game of basketball, but based on their regular season performance, the Vinyl Club appears least-positioned to overthrow the 13-1 Owls.

The three times the Vinyl and Lunar Owls faced off this year, the Owls won — 67-57 on Jan. 27, 85-68 on Feb. 3, and 78-72 on March 1. The key to the Vinyl’s relative success in the final game was Dearica Hamby; she exploded for 31 points on 13-18 in that one. Hamby will need to play at an MVP level — and Rhyne Howard and Jordin Canada will need to have effective performances — for the Vinyl to have a good shot at an upset. Aliyah Boston and Rae Burrell will both need to maximize their productivity of the bench.

The Phantom were the first team to be eliminated from playoff contention after a season that saw them go 4-10 en route to the league’s worst record. The team, led by Sabrina Ionescu, Marina Mabrey, Natasha Cloud, Katie Lou Samuelson, Satou Sabally, and Brittney Griner was outscored by a league-worst 137 points this season. Ionescu only appeared in 9 games due to prior commitments, and Mabrey missed all but three games with a calf injury she suffered at training camp. Griner had a strong season, averaging 16.7 points per game, while Sabally added 15.9 points per game. Samuelson averaged 7.1 points per game.

The Mist were eliminated from the playoff race after closing the season with a 34-point defeat to the Lunar Owls. Breanna Stewart was the squad’s most consistent player — averaging 19.1 points, 11 rebounds and 3.1 assists — while Rickea Jackson stood out, averaging 13.6 points in 12.9 minutes per game. Jewell Loyd struggled offensively for much of the season.