2014 WNBA Playoffs predictions: Phoenix Mercury, Chicago Sky the favorites

With the Western Conference Finals beginning today, we make our final predictions of the 2014 WNBA Playoffs.

Our panel with a combination of Swish Appeal and SB Nation-NBA writers remains the same as they were for the first round, which we almost unanimously predicted correctly.

This time around, the only thing we all agree on is that both conference finals series will go three games.

Western Conference Finals: Mercury def. Lynx

I explained my reasoning for this pick yesterday: despite the Phoenix Mercury's considerable talent, the Minnesota Lynx are a significantly better rebounding team at their best (and I think my affinity for the Lynx is well-established at this point). But home court advantage is clearly in the Mercury's favor here, which probably makes that the more reasonable choice.

Eastern Conference Finals: Chicago def. Indiana

Pat previewed this series and explained his pick yesterday, but I'm not entirely convinced that the Chicago Sky have overcome the problems that hurt them the against Indiana Fever last year and with the added benefit of home court advantage for the Fever, I expect Lin Dunn to make one more WNBA Finals appearance.

2014 WNBA Finals predictions: Phoenix wins the title

Ultimately, yes, we all think the Western Conference Finals will produce the champion. And at that point, we appear to think it's almost academic in terms of how many games the East's representative can pull out.

In short, I don't think you could possibly go wrong with any of those combinations - no matter who ends up in the Finals, some of the league's brightest stars will be showcased and that's good for the growth of the league.

For more on the conference finals, check out our 2014 WNBA Playoffs section.