What happened: Las Vegas reached the semifinal round by surviving a winner-take-all first-round Game 3. The defending champions return to the floor Oct. 4 with their postseason run back in a national broadcast window.

Why it matters: The turnaround matters because the No. 2 seed had to spend the full first round just to advance. Las Vegas is chasing a fourth WNBA title in five years, so the semifinal opener is the next pressure point in that run.

What to watch: Sunday's opener will show how quickly the Aces reset after the short turnaround from the decider. The rest of the semifinal schedule is the next key marker once Game 1 is underway.