Brittney Griner, Atlanta Dream take on Phoenix Mercury

PHOENIX – Phoenix looks to regroup following WNBA All-Star Weekend, as the Mercury welcome back former star Brittney Griner for the first time.

Griner was a nine-time All-Star, a two-time defensive player of the year and a six-time All-WNBA honoree in her 11 seasons with the Mercury. She helped lead Phoenix to its third championship in 2014 and captured the attention of the nation after serving nine months in a Russian prison for smuggling and possession of cannabis.

Wednesday night she returns to Phoenix with the Atlanta Dream. Her 10.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game have helped Atlanta to the second seed in the Eastern Conference.

“I’m excited for the X Factor to go out there and give her the standing ovation she deserves,” Mercury guard Kahleah Copper said.

Phoenix lost three of its last six games heading into All-Star weekend. During that stretch , Phoenix lost two games in a row for the first time this season, dropping a spot in the league standings at 15-7.

The main catalysts behind this up-and-down stretch for the Mercury have been injury and inconsistency on the defensive end. Already without rookie guard Lexi Held, who got injured against New York nearly a month ago, Phoenix has also seen stars Satou Sabally and Copper sidelined within the last two weeks.

“These are all going to be new situations for this team … I believe our three best players have played three games together this year, maybe four. I don’t know the exact number,” Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said.

Las Vegas handed the Mercury the first of their three losses during this stretch. Led by last year’s MVP A’ja Wilson, the Aces marched into Phoenix and left with an 84-81 victory. Wilson had 26 points, 18 rebounds and seven assists.

In a fourth quarter that went back and forth, the Mercury’s defense failed to put together stops in the closing moments. A couple beautifully orchestrated set plays from the Aces kept them in the game late. With 22 seconds left, Wilson escaped contact to rattle in a fully extended lefty layup. With two opportunities to force overtime, the Mercury couldn’t execute and exited the floor with a home loss.

“You want games like this. I mean this is what playoffs is going to be like,” Mercury All-Star forward Alyssa Thomas said. “Definitely a, you know, learning lesson for us today of how we need to come out ready to play.”

Four days after their loss to Las Vegas, the Mercury lost to the Dallas Wings. However, this time around, Phoenix didn’t lose in a nail biter. From the jump the Mercury’s defensive intensity seemed lacking, and at halftime they trailed by 18.

After being outrebounded by double digits and allowing the Wings to shoot better than 60% from the field in the first half, Phoenix came out of the locker room with much better energy to begin the third quarter. However, the Mercury’s deficit proved to be too large to overcome, and the Wings ran away with a nine point win.

“I didn’t think our defense was maybe as good as it’s been … our defensive awareness, our pick up points,” Tibbetts said. “We kind of relied on our offense which is a good trait to have, you just don’t want to fall in love with that.”

Phoenix also found their two top scorers in Sabally and Copper on the injured list after the game. Despite yet another roster shakeup for the Mercury this season, the past six games before the All-Star break haven’t been all bad.

With key players once again in and out of the lineup, different pieces have gotten the opportunity to contribute. Along with the steady production of Thomas, players such as Kiana Williams, Monique Akoa-Makani and Sami Whitcomb have made their presence felt in the absence of Copper and Sabally.

“Obviously, we don’t have our full roster right now, and I think any game anyone can step up and make an impact,” Mercury forward Kathryn Westbeld said.

Back home against the Wings just two days after losing to them on the road, Phoenix got its revenge with a 30-point blowout win. Along with improved effort on the defensive end, career- high scoring nights from Whitcomb and Williams helped the Mercury find steady offense without two of their most reliable bucket getters.

Despite the win, the Mercury lost yet another player in the rotation before All-Star weekend, as Akoa-Makani sustained a concussion against the Wings.

“A back-to-back game with the same team, it’s like a playoff setting,” Thomas said. “Credit to our team for how we bounced back after our last performance.”

During the Mercury’s most recent six-game slate, responding to playoff-like situations has been a focus for Tibbetts’ team. With multiple games having to be decided in crunch time, young players are getting a small taste of what the postseason could look like.

After losing in a playoff setting to Las Vegas, wins against Minnesota and Golden State threw Phoenix’s young pieces into the fire again. While a lack of defense has contributed to losses, the opposite has been the fuel behind nail-biting wins.

Against the Lynx in Phoenix, Thomas and Makoa-Akani took on big defensive assignments against MVP front-runner Napheesa Collier and All-Star guard Courtney Williams. Down the stretch, the Mercury defense led to tough shots, loose balls and even a few shot clock violations to put the game away.

In DeWanna Bonner’s return to Phoenix, the league’s top turnover-forcing defense looked the part against Minnesota, as the Lynx coughed up 16 turnovers, including six in the fourth quarter.

“I think we were right in the game the whole entire time. We just started picking up our defensive pressure and spotted our moment to take over,” Thomas said.

In Golden State earlier last week, the Mercury took home another thrilling win, defeating the Valkyries 78-77. In front of one of the loudest crowds in the WNBA, Phoenix staved off a gritty Golden State squad in the final seconds of the game. On a drive to the basket with just one second left, Thomas was fouled and nailed a free throw to seal the deal.

Although some clutch shots fell through the net for Phoenix, the Mercury’s defense once again set the precedent as Golden State ended the night shooting only 34% from the field.

Heading into their final game before the All-Star break, the Mercury couldn’t keep up that same defensive intensity. In a 13-point road loss to the Lynx, Phoenix allowed Minnesota to shoot 10-23 from beyond the arc.

This time around Minnesota was less reliant on its two stars to carry the scoring load, as the Lynx looked to get shooters and off-ball cutters more involved. In rotation and in help, the Mercury’s back line on defense couldn’t keep up and allowed the Lynx to find much easier shot opportunities than in their loss to Phoenix a week before.

“I just thought we looked fatigued,” Tibbetts said. “It was just one of those games right before break where you just got to continue to fight.”

Because of injuries, the Mercury have had to grind through adversity. While some playoff-like games have shown the potential of Phoenix’s young squad, they’ve also been learning checkpoints for the team.

Now with a week’s worth of rest after the All-Star break, the Mercury will hope to get some important pieces back from injury and grow from a tumultuous six game stretch.

“We had two or three starters out, and that weighs on you,” Tibbetts said. “I was proud of our fight, proud of our group and I’ve been proud of them all year.”