The WNBA season has arrived. This means that the Phoenix Mercury needs to get back into postseason contention after a disastrous 2023 campaign. Coach Nate Tibbetts still has a lot of work to do and the first order of business will be to show out against the Las Vegas Aces. While the defending champions might no longer have Candance Parker due to retirement, it looks like the Mercury are also coming into the season short-handed. This is because of the bad news that hit the squad when it came to Brittney Griner.

Bad news for the Mercury

The Mercury will be without their veteran and star center for the WNBA season opener against the Aces, per ESPN. Brittney Griner is nursing a fracture on her left foot. She will be re-evaluated in the coming weeks but the decision remains that she will be sidelined in the first matchup of the season.

Brittney Griner was a crucial piece in keeping the Mercury afloat. Despite the tough coaching transition from Vanessa Nygaard to Nikki Blue, it was her who constantly kept the team competing. She had the top win shares during the Mercury's 2023 campaign which clocked in at at 3.1.

Both Mercury coaches opted to use her a lot in their schemes. In effect, she played an average of 27.6 minutes per contest and it netted her quite a stuffed stat sheet. Her shots from all three levels of scoring saw the bottom of the net 52.6% of the time and those equated to an average of 17.5 points on a nightly basis.

The way she got into good positions under the glass was unlike any other too. These skills in boxing out netted the Mercury an average output of 6.3 rebounds. Moreover, her defensive versatility was still on display last season. She had 1.6 blocks per night to keep her team's rim protected. Her absence in the early part of the team's campaign will surely be a big hit to Nate Tibbets' squad.

Mercury's personnel against the Aces

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Without their star center, the first game against the Aces will be tough. Their opponents will be playing off the perimeter and taking advantage of easy drives to the basket because their rim protector is missing from the rotation. But, they do have up-and-coming players who can display a great deal of improvement because of the minutes that Griner leaves behind. Players like Desi-Rae Young, Liz Dixon, and Natasha Mack have gotten better with their production over time. They could be the next women up.

Moreover, the Mercury will also not be short of any veteran leadership during the WNBA season. Diana Taurasi will still be in their rotation to help young guns like Mikiah Herbert Hannigan and Sug Sutton.

This absence can be seen as an opportunity to get the other players in the Mercury system accustomed to playing without their All-Star. Usually, this strategy even allows a certain member of the roster to rise and succeed in the injured player's star status.

While the news might be disheartening at first, there are plenty of opportunities that Coach Nate Tibbetts can use for his squad to get better.