Injuries piling up on the Mercury roster
January, Smith injuries leave 7 healthy players
The Phoenix Mercury’s injury list has grown to five even without Brittney Griner.
Concern was that Griner, who sat out the second half Thursday with an ankle issue, might miss additional time. Instead, Griner was practicing Saturday but guard Briann January and forward Alanna Smith were both out, wearing boots due to foot injuries.
For Sunday’s game, the Mercury will be without five players, leaving only seven available against Washington unless a reinforcement arrives in time.
General Manager Jim Pitman expects to sign at least one player soon under the WNBA emergency hardship policy and possibly a second if Smith (ankle) is out for a significant length of time. January (foot) might miss just one game like she did with a similar injury last season.
Guard Arica Carter, a third-round draft pick who started the season on the Mercury’s roster then was waived June 1, is a candidate to return.
Before the latest injuries, the Mercury already were without Diana Taurasi (back), Sancho Lyttle (knee) and Essence Carson (calf ). Taurasi’s timetable is uncertain with the other two out until late in the season.
WNBA career scoring leader Taurasi, January, Lyttle and Carson are players that if healthy would be among the Mercury’s top six along with All-Stars DeWanna Bonner and Griner, who are 1-2 in WNBA scoring.
“Everybody needs to get wrapped in bubble wrap at this point,” Griner said Saturday. “We’re going to have to band together seven strong and make it work.”
The Mercury are eighth in a league that advances eight to the playoffs, two games ahead of ninth-place New York (8-12). Three of their next four games are against teams in the top four so the mounting injuries couldn’t come at a worse time.
The toll was so heavy Saturday that coach Sandy Brondello’s 12-year-old son, Brody, was asked to fill in as a surrogate Elena Delle Donne while the Mercury walked through Mystics plays.
“I’ve never been in a situation with this many players (out),” Brondello said. “They’re all important, but we’ve got players that are starters staying out. We’ve just got to fight. I liked out fight in the last two games. We’ve just got to do what we can.”
At least Griner wasn’t seriously hurt in a first-quarter collision with Shekinna Stricklen on Thursday. She returned in the second quarter before playing it safe by skipping the second half. In 2017, Griner missed eight games due to ankle/knee injuries.
“We wanted to make it was nothing because the way I was hobbling around after it happened,” Griner said. “Alicia (Yamamoto, trainer) didn’t want me to end up hurting my other leg or my knee. You never know. Some of the smallest stuff can be the biggest things. It sucked sitting there.”
The Mercury lost by six points on the road to Washington and Connecticut in vastly different games, the first a shootout in the 90s and the second in the 60s. But those were with nine players or eight once Griner went out against the Sun.
Seven players (at least until a signing) leaves virtually no margin for fouls and little chance for rest.
With January out, Brondello does have the option of moving 6-4 Bonner back to small forward and starting improving 6-3 rookie Brianna Turner at power forward then deciding between Yvonne Turner and Sophie Cunningham at shooting guard.
“Twenty-three years in this league, and I’ve never seen anything like this,” Pitman said. “It’s really unfortunate. We still have a lot of season left. We need to get to playoffs, but if we can get everybody back healthy heading into the playoffs then having that extra rest might be a benefit.”