Sun to rest ailing starting guards Jasmine Thomas, January

The Connecticut Sun busted their butts to clinch their fourth-straight WNBA playoff berth after an 0-5 start.

Now, some of their beat-up players are going to get a much-needed break before the postseason begins.

Starting guards Briann January and Jasmine Thomas will not play in tonight's rematch against the Phoenix Mercury at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. (7 p.m., no TV).

Thomas missed two games last

week with plantar fasciitis in her right foot. She got tangled up and fell uncomfortably less than two minutes into Monday's 85-70 win over Phoenix and didn't return.

January, Connecticut's other starting guard, dislocated a finger on her right hand during last Saturday's win over the Indiana Fever. Miller seriously doubted she could participate in Monday's game because she could hardly catch the ball, but the veteran guard played.

It would make sense for the Sun (10-10) to rest their starters during their final two regular season games. They are seventh in the overall standings and cannot fall to farther than that. They'd also need help to catch sixth-place Chicago Sky (11-9) and fifth-place Phoenix (12-8).

Alyssa Thomas, the Sun's starting forward, has been dealing with an undisclosed hand injury that she said feels like the bones are “hitting together.” She missed one game last week to the injury.

Thomas and fellow starter DeWanna Bonner could also use a rest because they ranked third (33.1 mpg) and fifth (32.8 mpg), respectively, in the league in minutes prior to Tuesday's games.

Finally, starting center Brionna Jones has been playing on a bad ankle that caused her to sit out an Aug. 30 win over the Washington Mystics.

Bonner honored

• Bonner was named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week on

Tuesday for the second time this season. Bonner averaged 25.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and shot 94.1 percent from the foul line during Connecticut's 2-1 week from Aug. 31-Sept. 6. She made 32 of 34 free throws and led the Sun in scoring all three games.

The 6-foot-4 Bonner, who previously won the Western Conference Player of the Week Award six times as a member of the Mercury, signed with Connecticut as a free agent during the offseason. She has led the Sun in scoring in 10 of their 20 games.