The Phoenix Mercury earned a much-needed win on Sunday against the Los Angeles Sparks at home, snapping their four-game losing streak in the process.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!“Tonight we stepped up,” Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts said on the defense. “We were competitive. The fact that this was a Commissioners Cup game and we lost four in a row coming back home, I was extremely proud.”
A little over 48 hours later, and the Mercury find themselves in Seattle with a storm brewing on Tuesday night.
Phoenix has been up-and-down through its first nine games. The season started with a loss to the back-to-back champions in Las Vegas. Phoenix then went on to win three-games in a row, before losing four-straight and then winning on Sunday.
Phoenix, 4-5, has experienced many highs and lows thus far. The services of Brittney Griner have been severely missed, even with the emergence of Natasha Mack at the five. Mack, 26, has been impressive as a rim-protector while being effective as a screener and passer. Her two blocks per game are good for fourth in the WNBA, tied with Alanna Smith and Elizabeth Williams towards the top.
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Despite Mack’s sudden emergence, Phoenix has certainly been flawed without Griner. The 6-foot-9 center provides extra size, and changes the way Phoenix plays on both ends of the floor.
Offensively, Phoenix would be able to slow the game down a bit more with Griner in the lineup. An elite inside presence, Tibbetts would be able to change looks more with Griner’s back-to-the-basket game and play-finishing.
Based off their roster construction, the Mercury severely rely on Griner’s size. The Mercury currently rank eighth in rebounding percentage among the league’s 12 teams — something that will inevitably increase with Griner back in the rotation. Facing off against Seattle — the league’s second best rebounding team — the Mercury will be forced to attack the glass relentlessly.
Phoenix has to rely on its perimeter centric offense, but Griner’s added rim pressure provides an extra layer offensively. The Mercury have to remain engaged on both ends of the floor, while substituting their current lack of size with gritty defensive play.
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“I thought that we were more engaged, more pop to us,” Tibbetts said on Sunday. “We were flying around, we need that activity especially with Bec [Rebecca Allen] and BG [Brittney Griner] out. I thought everyone that played tonight played extremely hard.”
Although Mack is a strong rim-protector, she has yet to show promise as a straight up, one-on-one defender. With the small-ball lineup Phoenix likes to go to one-through-four, it’ll certainly struggle against the Storm’s frontcourt tandem of Nneka Ogwumike and Ezi Magbegor.
Phoenix needs to rely on its grit — especially against a bigger, blazing hot Seattle team. Luckily for the Mercury, point guard Natasha Clouds embodies grit.
Cloud has seemingly become the leader of the Mercury this season, and has seen an increased load defensively without Griner. Cloud, 5-foot-10, has exhibited her defensive versatility early this season, and has surely stepped up to the task.
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“That’s just who we’re gonna be, starts with me on the defensive end,” Cloud said. “I turn the ball over, the least I can do is put her to the free throw line like you ain’t gonna get anything easy. That’s who we got to be going forward, having toughness and grit… Those little plays end up being big plays when you are talking about trying to set a standard for a championship.”
“She has guarded the best player on the other team every, single night,” Diana Taurasi said when asked about Cloud. “And we still ask her to bring the ball up to make plays for everyone on the other end. It is a huge load and she loves it.”
It’ll be interesting to see which assignment Cloud takes against Seattle. Ogwumike is a bit bigger than Cloud, but her tenacity and ability to play straight-up has allowed her to guard bigger players this season. Jewell Loyd has been Seattle’s leading scorer this season, averaging 19.8 points per game. Cloud may be put onto Loyd to help Phoenix get off to a hot start.
Or, Cloud could guard Skylar Diggins-Smith — but we all know Taurasi might want that matchup for herself.
Overall, Seattle will prove to be a tall task for Phoenix. The Storm’s depth at nearly every position has been on full display as of late, so Phoenix will need contributions from everyone across the depth chart. Seattle’s size advantage may be the deciding factor — but for Phoenix, it comes down to fight.
Diana Taurasi discusses how Phoenix will carry its momentum into Seattle
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Justin LaCertosa covers Phoenix Sports News for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @LaCertosaSports
