Mercury can finish between 4th and 7th in tight WNBA
With two regular-season games remaining, the Phoenix Mercury can finish anywhere from fourth to seventh in the WNBA.
It’s a range that at best would give the Mercury a first-round playoff bye, and at worst put them on the road for a singleelimination first-round game.
Even the most-likely scenario -- that the Mercury will finish fifth or sixth and host a first-round home game at ASU’s Wells Fargo Arena on Tuesday -- could be dependent on a 2-0 finish for Phoenix’s first 20-win season since 2015.
The Mercury (18-14) are a game ahead of defending champion Minnesota (17-15) but would lose a playoff-seeding tiebreaker to the Lynx. So ensuring at least a sixth-place finish might require wins over Atlanta (22-10) on Friday and New York (7-25) on Sunday.
“All I can worry about is what we’re doing now,” Mercury coach Sandy Brondello said.
“We control our own destiny in that regard. Ideally, we’d like to get the highest possible because if we can take care of winning the next two games, maybe there’s a possibility we finish fourth. And if we don’t but as long as we’re playing
well, that’s the most important thing going into those playoff games.
“That’s what we’ve seen all season long, anyone can beat anyone. It’s just about finding that chemistry and feeling good and knowing what we’re capable of.”
By winning their last two games, including one over Los Angeles on Sunday, the Mercury equaled their 2017 win total and rekindled hope that they might be able to reach the final four for a sixth consecutive year.
Phoenix is settling in with Stephanie Talbot at small forward and DeWanna Bonner at power forward. Guard Diana Taurasi is putting her role running the offense first without taking a significant hit to her scoring average. The bench is coming around in somewhat revamped roles under Brondello’s tightened rotation.
The Mercury are 3-2 in August after struggling through a 2-7 July with Taurasi, Bonner and Brittney Griner just five points away from becoming the top scoring trio in WNBA history. Phoenix already is ranked 1-5 in that combined
The Mercury (18-14) beat the Dream 78-71 on June 3 and lost 76-70 on July 8, both in Atlanta. In the second meeting, they trailed by 17 points after three quarters before a rally in the fourth that fell short . ... Atlanta (22-10) is 3-0 since losing All-Star F Angel McCoughtry to a season-ending knee injury Aug. 7. The Dream now are going with a starting lineup of Renee Montgomery and Brittney Sykes at guard, Tiffany Hayes and Jessica Breland at forward and Elizabeth Williams at center. Hayes previously was at guard with Sykes coming off the bench . ... Tammie Jo Shults will be honored at halftime with the Mercury Woman of Inspiration award. She was one of the first U.S. Navy female fighter pilots and later became a commercial pilot with Southwest Airlines. scoring category with trios that all include Taurasi, the league’s career scoring leader.