PHOENIX– DeWanna Bonner knows the ups and downs of a WNBA season. She also knows the ups and downs of a Phoenix Mercury season.
From being a part of two WNBA championship-winning teams to some forgettable seasons, she's seen everything. Because of that, her perspective on the game is as clear as the Phoenix sky during the summertime.
The same can be said following the Mercury's 85-79 win over the Indiana Fever on Tuesday. The game against the shorthanded Fever squad marked Phoenix's fifth consecutive win.
Even if the remaining schedule looks easy, Bonner knows now is not a time to let up. For her and her team, it's the main thing.
DeWanna Bonner expressed to me how the Mercury are approaching the remaining 4 games.
They play three teams that are eliminated from the playoffs.
“Great teams don’t change anything, whether they’re playing a team fighting for playoff positioning or a team that’s already out.” pic.twitter.com/1m8rZTZMaN
— Hayden Cilley (@HaydenCilley) September 3, 2025
“Those are the most dangerous teams when teams are just playing just to play,” Bonner said postgame. “So, we use those games, like I said, to repair. Great teams don't change anything, whether they're playing a team that's trying to fight a playoff position or a team that's already out.
“If we're gonna be about it, we gotta be about it, and we gotta go in and lock it and focus just like we're playing the number one team. I think we got that mentality right now.”
They'll play the Washington Mystics, Connecticut Sun, Los Angeles Sparks, and the Dallas Wings to round out the final four games of the season. Everyone besides Los Angeles is eliminated from playoff contention.
While the Mercury are in the playoffs, the incentive for the teams missing out, is that they have nothing to lose. That can make matters more difficult for Phoenix if they let its guard down.
Who else agrees with DeWanna Bonner's mentality sentiment?
Phoenix head coach Nate Tibbetts saw this game unfolding the moment the ball went in the air. He paced down the sidelines, and even joked postgame that he never feels certain about a particular game plan.
However, Tuesday's game had more cause for concern that usual. Indiana played its coverage well, and forced everyone not named Alyssa Thomas to work overtime.
The Fever shut off any perimeter shot they could. 3-point opportunities were a rarity, and if they were, they were heavily contested.
It could've led to more backdoor opportunities, something they have improved upon ever since Bonner signed with the Mercury.
Following the win, Tibbetts kept it real regarding how Saturday's mentality in the win against the New York Liberty compared to facing the Fever.
“I felt like we had a little bit of a letdown tonight,” Tibbetts said. “Obviously, Indiana is playing for something just like we are. But just our approach, the New York game to now, it wasn't at the level that I was hoping for but that's basketball. That's why you tip it up, and that's why you play.
“Again, I've been talking about it. This is a new group that has to go through games like this. We've got more coming on the road. So there are teams now that are gonna be out of it that we're playing against that. We gotta be ready. We gotta play, we gotta go win games.”
The Mercury need to keep the foot on the gas
If everything goes right, the Mercury have the chance to realistically win 30 games. Facing teams that are out of the playoff picture and injury-riddled could be a walk in the park.
As Bonner mentioned, though, those are the toughest teams to play. They have nothing to lose, and would be inclined to make Phoenix's journey to a solidified playoff seeding all the more difficult.
Either way, they'll hit the road for two games before returning back in the Valley of the Sun on September 9 for the home finale against the Sparks.
By then, there might be a good understanding if Bonner's mentality is prescribed to the entire roster in time for the playoffs.
