Tough way to open season
The Phoenix Mercury face troublesome rival the Minnesota Lynx, who are ahead 14-2 in the regularseason series, as the 2021 season opens today.
The Phoenix Mercury’s 2020 season ended against the Minnesota Lynx, and there is more than symmetry in the Mercury opening against the Lynx on Friday.
No opponent is more of a headache for the Mercury than the Lynx, ahead 14-2 in the regular-season series and 6-0 in the playoffs since late August 2015.
For the Mercury to meet their ultimate 2021 goal of winning a fourth WNBA championship or important incremental goals in the league’s 25th season, they have to have success against not only Minnesota but a Western Conference that includes defending champion Seattle, preseason title favorite Las Vegas and rival Los Angeles.
Conference affiliation matters more this season than it has since the playoff structure was changed in 2016 because of the new Commissioner’s Cup. Ten conference games per team (one at home, one on the road) played before the Olympic break will determine a West and East team to play Aug. 12 at Phoenix Suns
Arena for the Commissioner’s Cup title.
The Mercury, who hosted the WNBA All-Star Game in 2000 and 2014, have ample reason to fight for what would be a significant Commissioner’s Cup homecourt advantage. Players on the winning team will earn $30,000 apiece from a $500,000 prize purse, meaningful even given recent salary improvements from a new collective bargaining agreement given the super max salary this season is $221,450.
Also, the Mercury have had to go the long way in the playoffs since 2016, playing in first- and second-round singleelimination games to have a chance of reaching a best-of-five semifinal series. To avoid the one-and-done rounds, they must finish in the top four of the entire league after a 32-game regular season ending Sept. 19. Teams are playing three games each against 10 opponents and two against one other, that being Washington for the Mercury. So in most cases, there will be a head-to-head advantage between teams when it comes playoff seeding tiebreakers.
The Mercury split two regular season games with Minnesota last year during a bubble season played in Bradenton, Florida, then lost 80-79 to the Lynx in a second-round playoff game.
Both teams, of course, have made personnel changes since then with the Mercury trading for Kia Vaughn and Megan Walker and the Lynx adding Kayla McBride, Aerial Powers and Natalie Achonwa during free agency.
The Mercury starting lineup will include 6-9 Brittney Griner and Nurse, neither of whom were with Phoenix for the 2020 playoff game against the Lynx. They join All-WNBA second team guards Diana Taurasi and Skylar Diggins-Smith and forward Brianna Turner in what health providing figures to a regular starting quintet.
Guard Bria Hartley (knee rehab) and center Kia Vaughn (late returning from overseas), the Mercury’s premier depth players, are not available Friday and probably for road games Sunday (Connecticut) and Tuesday (Washington).
Vaughn was placed on the temporary suspended list Friday with one player previously waived from training camp to be added under the roster hardship allowance. That leaves the Mercury with 10 active players against the Lynx, who will be missing McBride, starter Napheesa Collier (late returning from overseas) and rookie Rennia Davis (foot).
Guard Odyssey Sims is Minnesota’s biggest offseason departure, now with Indiana.
In the preseason, the Mercury lost twice to Seattle (88-71, 103-93) while the Lynx beat Washington 79-68 without 6-6 Sylvia Fowles among others.
Up next
Phoenix Mercury at Minnesota Lynx, 6 p.m. Friday, Target Center, Minneapolis, CBS Sports Network —
The Mercury are coming off a 13-9 season while the Lynx were 14-8. In a WNBA second-round playoff elimination game, the Lynx won 80-79 over the Mercury before losing 3-0 in a semifinal series against Seattle. Minnesota and Phoenix split a pair of 2020 regular season games. The Mercury are hoping to start faster than in 2020 when they dropped their first two games in a COVID-shortened 22-game season.
WNBA GMs pick Aces to win title
In the annual WNBA general managers preseason survey, Las Vegas is a 58 percent pick to win its first championship, followed by Chicago and Washington at 17 percent and Los Angeles 8 percent.
Former Arizona guard Aari McDonald, now with the Atlanta Dream, is favored to be Rookie of the Year (25 percent) ahead of Dallas’ Charli Collier and Awak Kuier and New York’s Michaela Onyenwere (17).
The Mercury’s Turner is tied with LA’s Nneka Ogwumike as leading candidates for Defensive Player of the Year (17 percent) with Griner tied for third (8). Turner also is tied with Las Vegas center Liz Cambage for best interior defender (25).
Griner is tied with Napheesa Collier and Nneka Ogwumike for best finisher at the rim (16.7).
Taurasi, now 38, remains the GM pick for best shooting guard (58.3 percent) and third for best point guard (8.3).