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PHOENIX — The standings are getting tighter and tighter, and everything is at stake for the Phoenix Mercury. Falling to the Las Vegas Aces on Friday has Kahleah Copper putting on her leadership cap.
During her postgame availability, she clarified what the team's philosophy should be down the stretch.
I asked Kahleah Copper how she won’t let this game dwell on her and her teammates.
“What is dwelling on this game gonna do for us? That’s the mindset you have to have. Just a short-term memory.” pic.twitter.com/nIhyWmmk7l
— Hayden Cilley (@HaydenCilley) August 16, 2025
“It's a little bit bigger than just this game,” Copper said. “We're trying to head into the playoffs with a little bit of momentum. But what is dwelling on this game going to do for us? I think that's the kind of mindset you've got to have.
“It's just a short-term memory. Still wanting to watch the film and go back to it and break it down and understand the breakdown of it. But just not to dwell on it and be sad about it because it's good for what?”
The more that the Big Three of Alyssa Thomas, Satou Sabally, and Copper play together, the more cohesive they look. However, for the first three quarters, it didn't look that way.
There were defensive lapses and some simply blown possessions. Doing that against the Aces cannot happen due to their experience and understanding that every possession has its own unique weight.
As a result of the lacking defense, and her MVP-power, A'ja Wilson dropped 30 points and 16 rebounds in the Las Vegas win. It wasn't solely the Wilson show, but the lack of rotations, switching, and communication played a crucial factor.
Who else has Kahleah Copper's vision for the Mercury?
Copper's head coach, Nate Tibbetts, has the same philosophy. Actually, it's one that has trickled down to every player on the roster. Before Friday's game, he spoke on that point and circled back to taking it one day at a time.
Followed up to an earlier question by @ayabdeen regarding playoff seeding.
Asked Nate Tibbetts how he plans to prevent his team from getting in their own heads after a bad performance.
“In sports, you deal with big wins and tough losses. You have to be ready the next day.” pic.twitter.com/FJ2x6KXlEg
— Hayden Cilley (@HaydenCilley) August 16, 2025
“I think in sports, you deal with big wins and tough losses,” Tibbetts said. “You have to be ready, the next day, right? New day, mentality next play. There's only one champion, right? You've got to just keep fighting. And there are gonna be days where you bring it and you're good.
“And there are going to be days that you bring it, maybe you're not good enough. There's going to be ups and downs to finish the season, but I like where we put ourselves in a pretty good position here. And now it's about performing when it matters.”
That last part — performing when it matters — was what Copper touched on. It can't be performing for 30, or even 35, or even 39 minutes. It has to be for a full 40 minutes.
Time and time again, that's been the emphasis in losses, and the same scenario applies here. Whether with a full roster or the Mercury's desired 8-player rotation, consistency is key, and that's what Copper is hunting.
Phoenix will have a chance to begin a three-game road trip against the Seattle Storm. Hopefully that ‘short-term memory' will be working overtime for it to get a win against a team also in the thick of the playoff race.
