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Satou Sabally on how Phoenix Mercury can come back in WNBA Finals<\/p>\n
Phoenix Mercury forward Satou Sabally describes the best type of basketball that the team needs to play if they want to fight back in the WNBA Finals.<\/p>\n
Las Vegas has capitalized on Phoenix’s defensive lapses, excelling in transition offense and scoring off turnovers.Phoenix returns home for Game 3 needing a win to enhance their series hopes.<\/p>\n
The Phoenix Mercury players will be the first to admit that their defense in the first two games of the WNBA Finals against the Las Vegas Aces was uncharacteristic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Over the first two rounds, the Mercury\u2019s defense had been stellar, allowing 75.9 points per game. Against the Aces, the defense hasn\u2019t found success and has\u00a0surrendered 89 and 91 points in Games 1 and 2, respectively.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe lost our defense and we lost our desire to be the better team on the court, like with 50-50 balls and little details that do matter at such a level,\u201d guard Monique Akoa Makani said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been reminding ourselves of that throughout these two days, and I think we\u2019re going to come back really strong.<\/p>\n
“They\u2019re ready for us and we are as ready because we got to protect our home.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Mercury return to Mortgage Matchup Center for Game 3 at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 8, in a game airing on ESPN.<\/p>\n
In a series that pits speed against size, the Aces have used their speed to their advantage. The Aces have been nearly unstoppable in transition, hitting 11-for-13 on the fast break and averaging 17.0 points off turnovers through two games.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Mercury had a chance to continue their postseason trend of bouncing back after a tough Game 1 loss, but instead squandered their opportunities. And when you give the Aces an inch, they\u2019ll take a mile.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The dynamic duo of A\u2019ja Wilson and Jackie Young received a lot of credit in Game 2, justifiably so, as the tandem combined for 60 points. But starting point guard Chelsea Gray has been the mastermind for the Aces on the floor. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cChelsea had 10 assists, she dictates the game a lot in their transition offense,\u201d Mercury forward Satou Sabally said. \u201c(We need to) not let her be the quarterback of her own game and let her play freely. Getting our rebounds, boxing out and limiting their second-chance points.<\/p>\n
“Really getting more deflections… We\u2019ve been doing that (in the past series) and I think we kind of shied away from it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Phoenix has relied heavily on its Big 3 of Sabally, Alyssa Thomas and Kahleah Copper in the first two games. Sabally\u2019s ankle injury in the fourth quarter of Game 2 threatened that dynamic, but Sabally participated in practice on Tuesday, Oct. 7, and said her ankle was good.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Mercury need more than just their top three players, though. The Aces proved their depth was stronger, and their bench played a major role in Game 1. \u00a0<\/p>\n
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Mercury’s Bonner on what people should know about the team in WNBA Finals<\/p>\n
The Phoenix Mercury find themselves trailing 2-0 in the WNBA Finals as they get set to host their first game of the series against the Las Vegas Aces.<\/p>\n
The Mercury\u00a0had the league\u2019s highest scoring bench in the regular season, but haven\u2019t done much\u00a0in the WNBA Finals. The\u00a0Phoenix bench was outscored 41-16 in Game 1 and 16-8 in Game 2.<\/p>\n
DeWanna Bonner was held to four points in 23 minutes in Game 2, shooting 1 for 5 from the field and 0 for 2 from the 3-point line, while Sami Whitcomb was scoreless (0-for-3 FG, 0-for-2 3PT) in 14 minutes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe love an underdog story. We love when people count us out,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cOf course, we put a tall task in front of us being down two nothing, but there\u2019s still a lot of basketball left to play. (It\u2019s just been) two of a seven-game series. Still a lot of confidence here. We just know we have a lot of room to improve.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n
Over the past two days since Game 2, the Mercury have been able to decompress and reset in the comfort of their own homes. The film studies have helped get their minds right.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been reminded a lot about the grit and toughness that has brought us here,\u201d Akoa Makani said. \u201cGame 1, (the grit) was there. We wanted that game. In Game 2, we lost that little magic and it happens. There\u2019s nothing to panic about. It\u2019s us reminding ourselves of who we are and what brought us to this point.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
If the Mercury win Game 3, they\u2019ll be guaranteed at least a Game 5 in Las Vegas on Sunday, Oct. 12, at noon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Las Vegas Aces notes<\/p>\n
A\u2019ja Wilson on how two-day rest entering Game 3 helps Aces recharge, matching Mercury\u2019s high-paced offense.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very important, and it\u2019s something that we\u2019re always going to buy into because that\u2019s just as important as the performances on the court. It\u2019s making sure that our bodies are prepped because this is a series. This is a long one. I love giving myself some grace and focusing on something else other than basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aces coach Becky Hammon compares A’ja Wilson to Mercury legend Diana Taurasi, Hall of Famer Lauren Jackson.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s nobody like DT (Taurasi). DT is 6-foot. A\u2019ja\u2019s 6-4 and athletic as heck. One thing that I feel that DT was very underrated was her passing. \u2026 But again, I would say athletically, because of what A\u2019ja is, she\u2019s just different. She\u2019s something the league has never seen. And I played against Lauren (Jackson). Lauren was a beast. Lauren really expanded that big role of the true pick-and-pop player, but I think that one thing that Lauren and DT had was, I don\u2019t know, maybe call it a switch. DT was somebody you wanted to fight on the court and then you could go and get a beer with her afterwards (laughs). She was just that type of personality. \u2026 One thing that DT and A\u2019ja really have in common, people like playing with them. People wanted to be on their team, and I think that\u2019s a real testament to the type of MVPs that they are and were.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aces\u2019 Jackie Young on what she expects from Mercury\u2019s defense after her record-setting 32-point performance in Game 2.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ll obviously make it difficult on me. They change their coverages a lot, and so we\u2019ll see what they come out with, and make our adjustments as well. \u2026 (Wilson) is the best player in the world so she draws a lot of attention and then it\u2019s just our job to make open shots.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aces\u2019 Jewell Loyd on Mercury\u2019s roster construction after Taurasi retired, Brittney Griner joined the Atlanta Dream before 2025 season.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve done a great job. Obviously, the whole free agency allowed people to pick where they wanted to go. It allowed people to have a choice and voice in what they\u2019ve been able to do. Knowing the Mercury organization\u2019s been a great one for many years, obviously with Diana setting the tone and how they\u2019d done with BG (Griner), and even (DeWanna) Bonner coming back. It\u2019s just a great story. They put together a great roster. They play fast, very tenacious on defense, No. 1 defense in the playoffs and we\u2019ve definitely noticed that for sure, and they put up a lot of 3s too. Having Nate (Tibbetts) come in with the NBA mindset, you see that\u2019s how they play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Republic reporter Dana Scott contributed to this article.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Satou Sabally on how Phoenix Mercury can come back in WNBA Finals Phoenix Mercury forward Satou Sabally describes…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":196452,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[10228,62,461,28670,8440,23311,49,48,562,12199,28669,16298,1322,63448,75996,1321,60498,4661,1458,3460,8456,44,1333,1345,8455,3461,1334,14175,14174,4659,82,865,1320,1339,1459,630,4134,4143,23057],"class_list":["post-196451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-aces","tag-ai","tag-basketball","tag-bonner","tag-brittney","tag-brittney-griner","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-chelsea","tag-chelsea-gray","tag-dewanna","tag-dewanna-bonner","tag-enabled","tag-gray","tag-griner","tag-highlights","tag-jackie","tag-jackie-young","tag-las","tag-las-vegas-aces","tag-mercury","tag-news","tag-overall","tag-overall-positive","tag-phoenix","tag-phoenix-mercury","tag-positive","tag-sabally","tag-satou","tag-satou-sabally","tag-sports","tag-sports-news","tag-story","tag-story-highlights-ai-enabled","tag-vegas","tag-wnba","tag-womens","tag-womens-sports","tag-young"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196451","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=196451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196451\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}