Round two, day one

Today's result:

Lead by Diana Taurasi, the Mercury eliminated the Liberty, 101-94.

Liberty thoughts:

New York seems to choke at crunch moments. It might be time to let Katie Smith take the reins.

Playoff thoughts:

This new one-and-done format feels like a ripoff. By tomorrow two playoff rounds will be over after a total of four games. The WNBA is trying to get more eyes on the teams, yet they're cutting the playoffs down. It doesn't make sense.

If the NBA playoffs can continue for two months, the WNBA playoffs can go on for three weeks.

I don't believe the NBA is looking at the WNBA playoffs as a test drive. They make way too much money during the two months of playoffs to make any cuts.

Tomorrow's game:

The Sky's goal is to stop Angel McCoughtry.

Anthem Watch:

I guess we have Anthem Watch now: Liberty players and coaches locked arms during the Anthem tonight, and two Mercury players sat.