{"id":187369,"date":"2025-10-03T12:26:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T12:26:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/187369\/"},"modified":"2025-10-03T12:26:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T12:26:07","slug":"wnba-finals-preview-underdog-mercury-tasked-with-overthrowing-aces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/187369\/","title":{"rendered":"WNBA Finals Preview: Underdog Mercury tasked with overthrowing Aces"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been four years since the Phoenix Mercury<\/a> last appeared in a WNBA Finals.<\/p>\n

Maybe that doesn\u2019t feel so long ago, but a lot has changed since 2021.<\/p>\n

At that time, A\u2019ja Wilson only had one MVP accolade, now she\u2019s got four. <\/p>\n

In that span, the Mercury have also parted ways with two of the greatest to ever play the game in Phoenix, Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner. Now, they’ve had to redesign their orbit without No. 3 and No. 42.<\/p>\n

Over the last four years, as the Mercury have been rebuilding, the Aces have been hard at work carving out an impressive run. 2025 marks their fourth trip all the way to the end in six years and could be their third championship in just four years. \u00a0<\/p>\n

But, if the Mercury have proved one thing through their deep playoff run, it\u2019s that greatness doesn\u2019t necessarily come to the teams who\u2019ve been at it the longest.<\/p>\n

To advance to the WNBA\u2019s first-ever seven-game finals series, the Mercury had to plow through both of last year\u2019s contenders: the New York Liberty in the quarterfinals and the Minnesota Lynx in the semis.<\/p>\n

The Aces, on the other side, had a path that looked deceivingly easier with just the seventh seed Seattle Storm and sixth seed Indiana Fever in the way. Neither of these underdogs proved painless, however. In both cases, the Aces were forced to play the maximum number of games, and even Game 5 against the Fever pushed into overtime.<\/p>\n

So, fair warning, Friday\u2019s matchup (Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet+, 8 p.m. ET \/ 5 p.m. PT) is not that of a dynasty team against a squad on a lucky streak. It\u2019s actually quite a bit more complicated than that.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s everything you need to know ahead of the WNBA Finals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Season series: Aces won 3-1<\/p>\n

June 15:\u00a0Mercury 76, Aces 70<\/p>\n

June 29:\u00a0Aces 84, Mercury 81<\/p>\n

Aug. 15:\u00a0Aces 86, Mercury 83<\/p>\n

Aug. 21:\u00a0Aces 83, Mercury 61<\/p>\n

Game 1:\u00a0Mercury at Aces (Friday, Oct. 3, 8 ET)<\/p>\n

Game 2:\u00a0Mercury at Aces (Sunday, Oct. 5, 3 ET)<\/p>\n

Game 3:\u00a0Aces at Mercury (Wednesday, Oct. 8, 8 ET)<\/p>\n

Game 4:\u00a0Aces at Mercury (Friday, Oct. 10, 8 ET)<\/p>\n

Game 5:\u00a0Mercury at Aces (Sunday, Oct. 12, 3 ET)*<\/p>\n

Game 6:\u00a0Aces at Mercury (Wednesday, Oct. 15, 8 ET)*<\/p>\n

Game 7:\u00a0Mercury at Aces (Friday, Oct. 17, 8 ET)*<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s one thing the WNBA has given us this post-season, it’s a lot of questions.<\/p>\n

Given all the wonderings bouncing around the league, it seems only fair that we recentre the conversation on the final and most important games of the year \u2014 at least for now \u2014 with some playoff inquisitions of our own.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a look at three key questions that could define what happens come tip-off.<\/p>\n

Does recent championship experience matter?<\/p>\n

Before this year, the Mercury hadn\u2019t won a playoff game since their 2021 run. Meanwhile, the Aces have made it to at least the second round of the post-season each of the last four years.<\/p>\n

The Aces are accustomed to games that really matter. They have an experienced squad playing the strongest seasons of their career and are led by Becky Hammon, one of the best coaches in the league. There\u2019s a level of trust this team has built over the very successful last few seasons that is difficult to replicate in teams without a wealth of shared experience. Even in tight games against the insanely resilient Fever, the Aces, anchored by Wilson and Jackie Young, held to the game plan that\u2019s landed them at the top year after year<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the Mercury, a team that looks impossibly different from the squad that suited up last year. After an unprecedented free agency and rookie additions, 10 players received their first-ever Mercury jerseys this year. Only two players from last year\u2019s squad returned.<\/p>\n

Led by superstars Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally, the Mercury have established the rhythm and execution of a team you\u2019d expect to have spent many seasons together. Usually rebuilds take a couple solid tries before a team can start winning playoff series, yet in just the second year with head coach Nate Tibbetts, they\u2019ve conquered two rounds.<\/p>\n

When it comes to these two teams, it\u2019s hard to determine if past experience will be a secret weapon, but as long as we\u2019re looking at the past, there\u2019s one more interesting stat to consider. The last time these two teams met in the playoffs was in 2021 when the fourth-seeded Mercury beat the first-seeded Aces in the semifinals.<\/p>\n

Who\u2019s got the better defence?<\/p>\n

An out-of-breath, but obviously determined Wilson stopped for a halftime interview partway through Game 5 on Tuesday. The four-time MVP was asked what would make the biggest impact in the second half.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefence,\u201d she replied before turning away quickly to rejoin her team.<\/p>\n

What may have seemed like a dry and rushed answer in the moment, turned out to be the simple truth.<\/p>\n

The Aces forced the Fever to commit 19 disastrous turnovers over that game, and the Co-Defensive Player of the Year of course had to flaunt her award-winning skills in an elimination game as she tallied four steals and four blocks.<\/p>\n

However, great defence doesn\u2019t live in a vacuum in Vegas \u2014 the Mercury have also bought into the \u201cdefence wins championships\u201d clich\u00e9 and it\u2019s a big reason why they find themselves opposite the Aces.<\/p>\n

In Game 4 against the Lynx, the Mercury relied on big stops to set off huge runs as they recovered multiple 10-point deficits throughout the game. Phoenix had 14 points off turnovers while the Lynx only converted for five. The Mercury have dominated on defence throughout the playoffs, recording a league-best 92.2 defensive rating.<\/p>\n

How will the Mercury contain Wilson?<\/p>\n

Wilson is a problem that\u2019s impossible to solve. She can pick off passes, swat shots, set up teammates and drain high-impact baskets like nobody else in the league.<\/p>\n

The Mercury won\u2019t be able to totally stop her, but they have a good chance at control as they come off three games facing the league\u2019s second greatest threat, Napheesa Collier. And before that, they dealt with two of the other top talents in Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart.<\/p>\n

Sabally and Thomas are two of the best when it comes to shutting down plays near the rim, and as we saw when Aliyah Boston stepped up to the Wilson challenge in the last series, meeting the MVP in the paint is a good way to control her impact on the game.<\/p>\n

This question also works in reverse, though. The Mercury are a big team and their size is a huge reason why they contested so well against the comparatively smaller Lynx. Looking at the player matchups in the Aces semifinals series, it\u2019s evident the Las Vegas squad struggled to deal with size and shut down Boston at times. In that series, the Aces relied on Megan Gustafson to add more size and strength against Boston on defence but that strategy never produced consistent results. They’ll need to find a new tactic to try by Friday.<\/p>\n

Young is a momentum swing initiator. Since she was drafted No. 1 in 2019, Young has been an impact player for the Aces, but this post-season she\u2019s really taken off. She\u2019s averaging seven more points per playoff game compared to last year and has taken on a leadership role on the court as she often kickstarts the offence.<\/p>\n

DeWanna Bonner was a midseason addition to Mercury\u2019s roster, and after an awkward split from the Fever, it was hard to tell how she would slot in. But, as Phoenix has quickly learned, what makes Bonner powerful is her steady presence in times of trouble. After 15 years in the W she\u2019s seen and done it all \u2014 including two championships in Phoenix in 2009 and 2014. The 38-year-old might not always be the biggest contributor, but she brings the biggest impact when it matters most. The best example, her 11 fourth quarter points \u2014 including three threes \u2014 from Game 4 that lifted the Mercury to comeback and clinch their ticket to the final.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s been four years since the Phoenix Mercury last appeared in a WNBA Finals. Maybe that doesn\u2019t feel…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":187370,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[49,48,82,630],"class_list":{"0":"post-187369","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-wnba"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187369\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/187370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}