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PHOENIX—The No. 4 Phoenix Mercury will tackle the No. 5 New York Liberty in a extremely anticipated first-round collection.
Mercury Took Common Season Collection Over Liberty, 3-1
All through the common season, the Mercury and Liberty met 4 instances, with Phoenix successful the collection 3-1 and securing the playoff tiebreaker after each groups completed 27-17 within the common season.
Within the regular-season conferences, New York advert Phoenix had been lacking key gamers because of accidents. For Phoenix, Satou Sabally, Kahleah Copper, and Alyssa Thomas performed in three of the 4 video games.
Keys for the Phoenix Mercury to win the collection
The final time the Mercury received a playoff sport was in Sport 2 of the 2021 WNBA Finals with Sandy Brondello as the top coach. Since then, Phoenix has skilled main modifications in participant motion, teaching workers, and possession.
With solely two gamers coming back from the 2024 season —Kahleah Copper and Natasha Mack— and a revamped roster, the Mercury loved one in every of their finest common seasons in franchise historical past with a 27-17 report, and so they’re not finished but.
Alyssa Thomas Places Up
Phoenix completed within the prime 5 within the following classes: rebounds per sport (34.7), assists per sport (20.9), and defensive ranking (100.5). By managing the minutes of starters and bench gamers, the staff constructed on consistency all through the season.
“We’re positively getting ready, I believe everybody knew that this was going to be a first-round matchup so we’re positively already getting ready for them,” Thomas stated after the Mercury’s loss to the Los Angeles Sparks Tuesday. “They’re actually massive, they’ve been right here earlier than. Clearly they’re the reigning champions. For us, it’s about taking part in our sport and we now have acquired to look again in any respect the video. The three or 4 video games that we performed them, the final sport they weren’t at full power. So, it’s simply seeing what labored in opposition to them, and go on the market with an awesome sport plan.”
The trio of Thomas, Copper, and Sabally is what the Mercury envisioned for the reason that offseason, and the staff is optimistic about the way it might carry over within the playoffs. Moreover, Phoenix has benefited significantly from gamers coming off the bench, with veterans and WNBA champions DeWanna Bonner and Sami Whitcomb offering helpful expertise.
Thomas had a profession yr in her first season with the Mercury, breaking a number of data and successful the height performer award for a career-high 9.2 assists per sport.
A robust MVP candidate, Thomas grew to become the primary participant in WNBA historical past to report three consecutive triple-doubles and broke Caitlin Clark’s report for many assists in a single season.
Keys for the New York Liberty to win the collection
The New York Liberty’s season has been filled with ups and downs, from a 9-0 begin to ending within the prime 5. Regardless of having 18 lineup modifications, the staff is now totally wholesome simply in time for the playoffs.
All through the season, the Liberty handled premature accidents and misplaced video games they need to have received. Moreover, New York made a midseason splash by buying former Finals MVP Emma Meesseman to fill in for Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, who missed this season because of a knee harm.
The Liberty’s trio of Jonquel Jones, Sabrina Ionescu, and Breanna Stewart is getting into its third postseason collectively, and they’re positively robust to beat.
Moreover, New York’s offseason addition of Natasha Cloud and the return of second-year German ahead Leonie Fiebich full the staff’s recipe for a possible repeat championship.
“When you get to the playoffs, you’re going to play good groups it doesn’t matter what,” Phoenix Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts stated of the New York Liberty Tuesday. “We put ourselves in place to host, which is nice, however we all know that there’s a number of work forward of us, and so they’re a proficient staff. We’ve performed them fairly effectively this yr. I believe our group is assured in what we are able to get finished and the way we wish to assault them, however they’re a staff that has expertise, and so they’ve finished it collectively. It’s going to be an awesome collection.”
The Liberty ranked No. 5 in staff factors per sport (84.4), No. 3 in NET ranking (5.2), and No. 2 in assists per sport (23.3). With a totally well being roster, New York might make a distinction in opposition to Phoenix and advance to the semifinals.
My Mercury vs. Liberty Playoff Collection Prediction
I might see the Mercury taking the collection in opposition to the Liberty in three video games, because of their staff chemistry and growth underneath Nate Tibbetts. I’d be stunned if the collection resulted in two video games, as that might give them extra time to organize for the semifinals.
Apart from that, I anticipate a aggressive first-round collection between New York and Phoenix. The X-Elements for each groups might be their bench gamers and the contributions they’ve made to essential victories. It will likely be an entertaining collection to observe for basketball followers, with the potential to remain shut.
The Phoenix Mercury and New York Liberty will start the best-of-three collection within the Valley on Sunday at 5 p.m. EST, with the matchup broadcasted stay on ESPN.
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