Phoenix to finish with a flurry
Mercury get busy with 16 games over 41 days
The race to the regular-season finish line begins Tuesday for the Phoenix Mercury, who on average will play one game every three days between now and Sept. 8.
Phoenix and Washington, who meet Tuesday, have played 18 games each, tied for the fewest in the WNBA through All-Star break. Seattle and Indiana have already played 21 apiece.
That leaves precious few days off from now on for the Mercury (10-8), who are seventh in a 12-team league that sends eight to the playoffs. But they are just a half game out of fourth and trail co-leaders Las Vegas and Connecticut by 2.5 in the tightly bunched top eight.
“Starting now, it’s kick-in time,” Mercury center Brittney Griner said after returning from a three-dunk AllStar performance in Las Vegas. “Kick it in or be left at home. We never want to not make playoffs. That would be the worst disaster ever. It’s just working our way up the ladder where we’re going to end. The last couple of years we’ve ended where we’re in singleelimination games. That’s rough. We don’t want to be in that boat.”
The Mercury survived first- and second-round playoff elimination games from 2016-18. They have reached the playoff final four in six consecutive years.
The Mercury will continue with nine available players and rookie Sophie Cunningham in the starting lineup for the foreseeable future. Guards Diana Taurasi (back) and Essence Carson (calf ) and forward Sancho Lyttle (knee) are on the injury shelf with the latter two on a late-season return timetable (if Carson makes it back at all).
Taurasi still is in rehab from April 24 back surgery, playing in just one game for 15 minutes on July 12. Her return is undetermined.
“We just focus on what we have now and Diana will do her work to get back,” Mercury coach Sandy Brondello said. “Hopefully we can get her back sooner than later, but we can’t focus on that. We just need to give Diana the space she needs to heal and when she’s ready
— The Mercury (10-8) and Mystics (12-6) are on three-game win streaks going into their second meeting. Phoenix won 91-68 on July 10, also at Washington. to go, she’s ready to go. I don’t think it will take her long to get into rhythm.”
Griner and fellow All-Star DeWanna Bonner are first and second in WNBA scoring, Nos. 10 and 12 in rebounding and Nos. 5 and 7 in efficiency, respectively.
The Mercury are 8-3 in their last 11 games because, even without Taurasi, they are finding players to complement Griner and Bonner offensively and because they are limiting teams to a league-best 73.4 points.
“I think it comes down to we have great chemistry now,” Brondello said. “It’s just getting used to playing with each other and the right roles. I’ve been really proud of the team. It’s when we fight. Now we’re playing at the level we need to if we want to be in games.”
Nine of the Mercury’s final 16 games are at home. But five of the next six are against teams in first, third or fourth place.
They beat Washington 91-68 on July 10 when the Mystics were without star forward Elena Delle Donne and forward Emma Meesseman while Carson and Lyttle still were healthy.
The teams play again Sunday in Phoenix then the Mystics will go to Las Vegas on Aug. 5 to play the second half of a July 5 game suspended at halftime due to an earthquake.
All-Star feedback
Griner had 16 points and nine rebounds and Bonner 13 points and three assists for Team Delle Donne in a 129-126 loss to Team Wilson at the All-Star Game on Saturday.
“I had a good time,” Griner said. “It was one of the best ones. Where it was at, the party, you didn’t have to go anywhere, it was all right there.
“The only thing I would say is current players and legends, we’ve got to figure out a system so when we have events they’re not standing outside trying to walk in with us and they’re like you can’t come in. If Chris Paul wasn’t an All-Star, you think he’s walking through general admission? No, he’s not. None of them are. We need to figure out something on getting them in.”
Red, white and blue-painted Griner?
Griner is not among eight players, including Taurasi, committed to training with the USA Basketball national team from November 2019-April 2020, leading toward the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. That’s because Griner is returning to Russia in the WNBA offseason to play for EuroLeague champion UMMC Ekaterinburg.
But the 6-foot-9 Griner almost certainly will be on her second Olympic team next year while Taurasi is trying to make a fifth Olympic team.
“If I wasn’t playing overseas, I definitely would be in the mix,” Griner said. “I want to try to go and support a game at one of my breaks. I’ll be the biggest fan. I’ll paint my whole body red, white and blue. You can hold me to it.
“I think it’s what we’re able to do. It came up as a suggestion, and Carol Callan took it to the next stage. We were asked if it was available, would we do it? Well yeah, we would, and they made it happen.”
The eight primary players will earn a six-figure salary for training and exhibitions games against major college teams, a schedule not yet announced. In additional to Taurasi, others in the core group are Delle Donne, Sue Bird, Sylvia Fowles, Nneka Ogwumike, A’ja WIlson, Skylar Diggins-Smith and Chelsea Gray.