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The Phoenix Mercury reintroduced some major problems to their success after a three-game losing streak. Phoenix also added more history with its 33rd technical foul of the season. This is the second straight game that they have had three technical fouls in a contest. Before the matchup, Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts believed that there were some similarities between the Las Vegas Aces and themselves.
“I think to be quite honest, we're obviously not in the same league as where they're at, or where they've been with the back-to-back championships,” Tibbetts said. “When I watch them play, I feel like we're kind of watching our team a little bit right now.”
After the first quarter, the Mercury were nowhere near close to the Aces' level of offensive prowess. Phoenix had its third straight game of scoring ten points or less in the first quarter. Las Vegas, on the other hand, capitalized on the back of MVP front-runner, A'ja Wilson. Her support from all over the WNBA sphere proved warranted once again as she dismantled the Mercury. Wilson alone outscored the Mercury 15-10 in the first quarter.
The onslaught continued, as Wilson had herself 41 points and 17 rebounds. She became the first player to do so since her former teammate, Candace Parker. Regardless of the historic performance, Phoenix didn't do themselves any favors one bit. As said earlier, they racked up three technical fouls for the second straight game.
Guards Kahleah Copper, Diana Taurasi, and Natasha Cloud all secured one at the hands of the officials. The latter two will serve a one-game suspension for hitting seven technical fouls in a season. Taurasi had a nonchalant response about her seventh technical foul.
“I really don't care about any of that,” Taurasi said. “I'm going to go into every game the same way. It's just like nothing… it's a game off, it's a game off, whatever.”
Her coach, however, shared a similar sentiment of frustration and annoyance.
“Obviously, the technicals have been an issue,” Tibbetts said. “Yeah, it's frustrating. The technicals are frustrating the way we've been playing. It's frustrating.”
What other Mercury problems are there besides technical fouls?
Technical fouls are still a big issue with the glaring 33 technical fouls. Mercury shooter Sophie Cunningham is no stranger to techs, as she had two in Wednesday's loss to the Minnesota Lynx. She isn't afraid to speak her mind on the matter as well.
Sophie Cunningham to @TiaReid65 about the the amount of eyes on her team from the referees.#WNBA #ValleyTogether pic.twitter.com/pPaGppJqJJ
— Hayden Cilley (@HaydenCilley) September 1, 2024
“Pay attention to the game,” Cunningham said. “Don't be so sensitive. On our end, we got to own it sometimes, we need to focus on ourselves what we can do. We're not going to get every call. The refs are humans, they're not going to get every call right either and sometimes you just got to suck it up and keep playing.”
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“It looks like there's been a lot of eyes on us this year. I know we have a lot of fiery people. I know we've set the record for most techs so we got to look ourselves in the mirror and see how we can do better. Moving forward… s–t, we're grown women, stop being so sensitive on both ends.”
The record-setting 33 technical fouls unfortunately aren't the only common denominator for the past three losses. It's also the first quarter. In the last three games, the Mercury have scored 15 points or fewer in the first quarter, in their last three games. Granted, those opponents were the New York Liberty, the Minnesota Lynx, and the Las Vegas Aces, all are in the top-four of the WNBA standings. Regardless, Tibbetts explained that Phoenix still trying to find key elements.
“I think it's just rhythm, timing, and confidence,” Tibbetts said. “We've had a pretty good offense up until the last three games. We were the third-rated offense in the league. Obviously right now we are not that team. Also just collectively as a group believing in what we're doing and believing in each other.”
The crazy metric is that Phoenix's offensive rating in the last three games is an eyesore. They're dead last in the WNBA with a 92.2 offensive rating. It shows quite the irony, as the Mercury were scorching hot in July. They posted an 111.7 offensive rating, marking the best in the league. As Phoenix gears up to play without Taurasi or Cloud, there's a silver lining in playing teams like the Liberty, Lynx, and Aces consecutively.
“Everyone knows that they've separated themselves,” Taurasi said. “All three of them just played really well together, they're very organized. They make you pay whenever you make a mistake. The beauty is we've beaten all three teams and most likely we're going to see one of them and we're going to have to play a lot better than we have in the last week.”
“We will have to play a lot better than we have in the last week.”@HaydenCilley asked Phoenix Mercury G Diana Taurasi about how facing the Aces, Liberty and Lynx will help prepare themselves as they march towards the playoffs.#ValleyTogether #WNBA #ALLINLV pic.twitter.com/vU83eWEPLO
— Burn City Mercury (@BurnCityMercury) September 1, 2024
“That's just reality and we're going to have to find it as a group. It's not going be one person that's going to get us out of this hole. I think we have enough veteran leadership that we can all look in the mirror and have some serious conversations within the next couple of days.”
The turnaround for Phoenix is approaching fast, as they play the Atlanta Dream and Washington Mystics to close out the homestand. The Dream are searching for that final playoff spot, and Phoenix might have an opportunity to punch their ticket into the playoffs.
