Mercury chasing their 1st trip to the WNBA Finals since 2014
The Phoenix Mercury are in the WNBA semifinals for a sixth consecutive year.
But they haven’t won a game at this stage since 2014, going a combined 0-8 against Minnesota (2015-16) and Los Angeles (2017).
This season, though, the WNBA defending champion Lynx were eliminated in the first round and the Sparks in the second. So the Mercury have no ghosts haunting them heading into a best-of-five semifinal series Sunday at Seattle.
What they do face is a well-rested, talented opponent in the No. 1-seeded Storm, who went 26-8 to win what many believe was the most competitive season in WNBA history by a comfortable three games.
And the No. 5-seeded Mercury are coming off pressure-packed, elimination-game wins Tuesday and Thursday and cross-country travel on Wednesday and Friday.
“These two games take a lot out of you,” guard Diana Taurasi said before the playoffs began. “Then you get there and you have a team that hasn’t played for10 days, and they’re ready to go shove it down your throat. It’s not an easy task, but they deserve those top seeds because they played better throughout the regular season.”
After winning two road elimination games, Phoenix lost 113-95 at Minnesota in Game 1 of the 2016 semifinals and didn’t come within 10 points for most of the next two games.
The Mercury were somewhat more competitive in the 2017 semifinals after home and road elimination-game wins. They lost 79-66 and 86-72 in Los Angeles before taking the Sparks to the wire (89-87) in a Game 3 defeat.
Jet-lagged or not, Phoenix almost has to pull off a split in Seattle to have a realistic chance of advancing to the WNBA Finals vs. the winner between No. 2 seed Atlanta and No. 3 Washington.
To do so will require a much better performance than in their last meeting with the Storm, July 31coming out of the WNBA All-Star Game, when Seattle built a 22-point lead in the first half then cruised to a 102-91 win at Talking Stick Resort Arena.
That was a turning point for Mercury coach Sandy Brondello, who in the next game moved DeWanna Bonner full time to power forward and Stephanie Talbot into the lineup at small forward.
Phoenix is 7-2 since and on a sixgame win streak. The 6-4 Bonner is averaging 22.2 points and 11.4 rebounds (she had a career-high 18 rebounds Thursday) and the 6-2 Talbot is showing at the end of her second season why the Mercury invested a draft pick on her in 2014 when she was 19 and not yet ready for the WNBA.
Seattle coach Dan Hughes said defending against Phoenix’s big three – Taurasi, 6-9 Brittney Grine and Bonner – “keeps you up at night. It’s a nightmare because they create plays for each other.”
That’s happened even more of late with Taurasi focusing on her distributing as much if not more than scoring. In the past five games, Taurasi is averaging 23.2 points and 10.0 assists, hitting her
career assist high (14) twice.
Against Connecticut in the second round Thursday, the Mercury trailed by 5-7 points several times but never let the Sun build a double-digit lead. Even a six-point run by Courtney Williams, putting the Sun ahead 84-81 with 3:53 left, couldn’t rattle Phoenix, which scored the final 10 points in a 96-86 win.
Brondello chalked the win up to defense. “Our defense was solid but not great in the first half,” she said. “The intensity went up another level on the defensive end and BG (Griner) was a mon- ster in the second half.”
Talbot fouled Williams on a made 3pointer then missed everything on a 3point shot but still had enough confidence to attempt another 3 coming out of a timeout that erased Connecticut’s last lead. Her play and Bonner’s at power forward are why Brondello believes the Mercury are a “totally different team” now than when they last played Seattle.
Seattle is led by 6-4 forward Breanna Stewart, favored to win the WNBA Most Valuable Player award over Taurasi and others. In her third WNBA season, Stewart is averaging a careerbest 21.8 points on 52.9 percent shooting and 8.4 rebounds.
“She’s gone to another level with her commitment,” Brondello said. “It’s not just getting on the court, it’s eating right, getting rest, doing what Diana did.”
The Mercury beat Seattle, 79-69, in a first-round playoff elimination game last season. But the Storm produced an 11-game improvement this regular season thanks in part to the addition of 6-2 forward Natasha Howard, previously a backup with Minnesota, and rookie guard Jordin Canada.
“They have one of the deepest rosters in the WNBA,” Brondello said. “Look at Howard’s development. She’s always had that talent, but now she’s on the right team that plays to her strengths. They’ve got shooters coming off the bench. They’re versatile and deserve that No. 1 ranking.”