PHOENIX — The Phoenix Mercury got away from themselves in Tuesday’s 98-90 loss to the Toronto Tempo, getting severely punished for a lack of defensive execution.
“For a team that takes pride in its defense we didn’t do what we needed to do tonight,” Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts said.
“Looked like a poor defensive team tonight.”
Toronto (3-2) drilled 15 3s after taking nearly half of its attempts from the field (74) beyond the 3-point line (36), tied for the second most makes by any team this season, per Stathead. Guard Marina Mabrey was operating with the greenest of lights, jacking deep early shots that would make the head of most coaches explode, but she made six of her 14 tries for 30 points. Veteran guard Brittney Sykes, who entered the night averaging 24.3 points per game, went off once more for 31 points and knocked down four triples of her own.
Tibbetts cited off memory a handful of those trey-balls that were just a lack of focus.
“I think we’re nowhere near where we need to be defensively,” Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas said, noting what made the Mercury special last season was the commitment to defense. “It’s gonna be a long season if we don’t get it together on the defensive end.”
Phoenix (2-3) wasn’t crisp enough in cleaning up some easier stuff to make up for the hot shooting, nor did it get a signature showing from either of its stars or make its own perimeter shots. Thomas had 17 points, six rebounds and eight assists but only took four shots prior to the fourth quarter. Kahleah Copper was 7-of-18 for 18 points with four assists and four turnovers.
“We just gotta get stops. That what it comes down to,” Copper said.
The Mercury shot 4-of-22 from deep, including 2-for-9 for undrafted rookie Jovana Nogic, who four games into the season was a revelation. She was 4-for-15 overall.
Phoenix entered the night with lots of momentum, surprising the league with a rout of the defending champion Las Vegas Aces in the season opener and looking the part of darkhorse contender despite a different-looking roster. It has dropped three of its last four since. Toronto, an expansion franchise, has low expectations but clearly some offensive firepower to build off.
The Mercury will have to relocate the fundamentals that were always sound under Tibbetts last year en route to a WNBA Finals appearance, and hope that starting center Natasha Mack is OK after she left the game in the third quarter with an apparent right leg injury and did not return.
Mack initially reacted to her injury in the third quarter like someone experiencing a cramp, holding her right leg up vertically while her back was on the ground. A teammate came over to assist with that leg before ending that attempt, and Mack stayed down for a few minutes.
She was eventually helped to the back with a strong limp on that right leg. Mack later came back to the bench, looking to be in good spirits.
Tibbetts said the hope is it’s nothing serious and they think the injury was indeed just a cramp prior to more evaluations coming.
Mack would be a big loss for Phoenix across any amount of time.
Phoenix lost All-Star Satou Sabally in free agency, a terrific player that would at times play center. Backup center Kalani Brown and the Mercury agreed to a contract buyout, leaving Mack as the only returning big.
Undrafted 29-year-old rookie Kyara Linskens has backed up Mack early in the season as the lone other center on the roster. She, however, did not play in the second half and Tibbetts went small without Mack the rest of the game.
The 28-year-old Mack was well on her way to a breakout year. She exited Tuesday’s outing with a double-double, 12 points and 10 rebounds, her second in five games this season after having just one coming into the year.
Tuesday was also Mack’s fourth game out of five in double figures to begin the season, a feat she only achieved five times in her career prior to the start of the season. She only averaged just over four points per game in her first two seasons with the Mercury, when she was relied upon mostly as a shot-blocker, rebounder and screen-setter.
The Mercury spent the start of last season battling through injuries, that time to their stars in Thomas and especially Copper. This year is no different in terms of that adversity.
Forward Kathryn Westbeld, a key defender and 3-point shooter, tore her ACL in her last game overseas before returning to the states. The other marquee shooter returning from last year was Sami Whitcomb, and a knee injury will be keeping her out until at least early June.
Starting point guard Monique Akoa Makani has yet to play this season, as she just recently wrapped up her overseas obligations while playing in France.
This is nothing new for the Mercury under Tibbetts, though. They more than treaded water last year while the likes of Copper and Thomas were out, but the commitment to his principles five games in just hasn’t been sharp enough.
“Collectively, we just gotta decide to commit to the group and play as a team and the number one thing is, ‘What’s it gonna take to help the Mercury win?'” Tibbetts said. “And I don’t think we understand where that is right now. And we gotta find some joy in it. When you play hard and play together, that’s fun, and so we need to make some steps in that direction.”
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