After the news broke that Phoenix Mercury forward/guard Rebecca Allen was going to be out indefinitely with a right hamstring injury, head coach Nate Tibbetts and his staff had to get crafty with what to do and who to call upon to start against the Chicago Sky tonight.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Talking pregame to the media, Tibbetts stated that Sophie Cunningham will enter the starting lineup once again, with Natasha Mack seeing some time at power forward.
“Our net rating with Sophie with the starters has been really good,” Tibbetts said. “We have to continue to play the way that we play, and you’ll see Mack at a little bit of four [power forward] throughout the game. She hasn’t played much four, but I think we’re going to try to buy some minutes there and that could help our defensive rebounding also.”
“We have to continue to play the way that we play.”
With Bec Allen injured, Phoenix Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts stated that Sophie Cunningham will start vs. the Chicago Sky and Natasha Mack will get minutes at power forward.#ValleyTogether #WNBA #SkyTown pic.twitter.com/Jvv1hsiKXS
— Burn City Mercury (@BurnCityMercury) August 15, 2024
With injuries to Allen, Diana Taurasi and Natasha Cloud during the season, Cunningham has slotted in at all five positions in the lineup, including center, The 6-foot-1 guard has started eight of the Mercury’s 25 games so far this year, averaging 8.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists. Known for her 3-point shooting, she is firing at a 39.2% clip.
Phoenix Mercury starting lineup vs. Chicago Sky
Natasha Cloud
Diana Taurasi
Sophie Cunningham
Kahleah Copper (First game back in Chicago)
Brittney Griner#ValleyTogether #WNBA #SkyTown— Burn City Mercury (@BurnCityMercury) August 15, 2024
As for Mack, there have been a few instances where she has played power forward but is predominantly a center. While Brittney Griner suffered a major toe fracture on her left foot, Mack was the starting five until BG returned. In her first season back in the WNBA after two seasons away, she has appeared in all 25 games with 3.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.
Ruled out with no timetable of a possible return, Allen is injured again this year after already being in concussion protocol, suffering a lower back injury that kept her in and out of the lineup in July, a hip injury during the preseason and another back injury at the beginning of the regular season.
The Mercury are set to face the Sky in under an hour of publishing as the first tip will be at 4 p.m. PT.
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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers ASU Athletics, the Phoenix Mercury and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
