It's the first round of the 2017 WNBA Playoffs on Wednesday night with two matchups on the schedule. In the second of the first round matchups, Sue Bird and the Seattle storm meet Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury. During the past season, each of these WNBA All-Star players has achieved league history. Now tonight, the two stars will each try to lead their team to the next round. Here's the latest WNBA playoff game preview including matchup odds, game time, channel, and Storm vs. Mercury live streaming options.

Playoff game preview

As the No.

8 seed in the playoffs, the Seattle Storm became the final team to qualify for the postseason. Led by the new all-time assists leader Sue Bird as well as center Breanna Stewart, the team finished at 15-19 overall and 5-12 on the road this season. The Storm were able to defeat the Mercury twice out of their three meetings this past season, with one of the wins coming on August 12th by a final of 98-89 in Phoenix.

The Phoenix Mercury are led by Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner. During the regular season, Taurasi became the new all-time points leader in WNBA history. She earned another All-Star starting spot, as did Griner, but the Phoenix center was sidelined due to injury. With Griner now back, the Mercury are primed for a run in the postseason.

They finished 18-16 overall and 9-8 at home and will be the No. 5 seed in the playoffs, looking to make a run towards the semifinals as they did last postseason.

The home team has the role of favorites in this matchup tonight, with Phoenix favored to win by 4.5 points on the spread. The moneyline has Phoenix as a -190 to -200 favorite while the visiting Storm are +185 underdogs.

Tonight's over/under total is set at 163 or 164 points for the game depending on the sportsbook. The winner of this game will play either the Connecticut Sun or New York Liberty next week, depending on who wins the other first-round playoff game tonight.

How to watch it live

The Seattle Storm vs. Phoenix Mercury playoff game on Wednesday night gets started at 10 p.m.

Eastern Time. Live television coverage arrives through the ESPN2 channel around the United States. There is a live stream available through the WatchESPN website or mobile apps for cable and satellite customers who have ESPN2 as part of their television channel lineup.

In addition, the SlingTV channel streaming service also offers ESPN2 on the basic channel package called "Sling Orange." Anyone with a hi-speed internet connection can sign up for a one-week free trial of Sling and begin watching ESPN, ESPN2, and other channels live streaming online. See more details at Sling.com to sign up and begin enjoying the service.
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