Mercury rebounding without Brittney Griner tested for first time in loss to Dallas Wings
Without Brittney Griner, the Phoenix Mercury need to have all five players on the floor attack the glass. Only one player (Diana Taurasi) finished with five rebounds.
PHOENIX – Natasha Mack did her best, but flu-like symptoms in her last two games have taken a toll, according to Phoenix Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts.
Mack, who has started in place of Brittney Griner while she rehabs a left toe fracture, hadn’t “had a ton of energy” in Thursday’s win over the Washington Mystics or Saturday versus the Dallas Wings, Tibbetts said. It forced the Mercury to alter their rotation, something that may have exposed a weakness since 6-foot-9 center Brittney Griner is out for an undisclosed time period due to a left toe fracture.
Mack played just 18 minutes, and backup center Liz Dixon, who rejoined the Mercury one day before their season opener against the Las Vegas Aces, played 20.
The two combined for just six rebounds against the Wings. Those numbers were indicative of a difficult rebounding night for the Mercury, who were held below 30 boards for the first time this season (25) and out-rebounded by 13 (38 for Dallas) in their 107-92 loss to the Wings at Footprint Center in front of 8,339 fans on Saturday.
“She (Mack) hasn’t had a ton of energy the last two games,” Tibbetts said. “We’ve been trying to rotate them as much as we can.
“Liz came in and gave us good energy, and she’s continued to do that since she’s been here.”
The Mercury need to address their rebounding concerns, with or without Griner.
This past season, Phoenix ranked last in the WNBA in rebounds per game (30.9). Dallas, which is led in the paint by 6-foot-2 Maddy Siegrist and 6-foot-7 Teaira McCowan, was first (38.7).
Before Saturday, the Mercury had lost the rebounding battle in only one game. They had managed to record 31 rebounds in each of their four contests.
In two games against the two-time defending champion Aces, Phoenix managed to stay even in the rebounding department in large part due to its number of 3-point attempts, defensive scheming and surprising play of Mack, who entered Saturday’s contest averaging 8.3 rebounds. Phoenix had five players averaging four rebounds and just Bec Allen, who averaged 3.8, was shy of the total among core rotation players.
But the Wings’ frontcourt, which also has 6-foot-4 Monique Billings, dominated Phoenix with 14 offensive rebounds, creating 23 second-chance points. The Mercury were led in rebounding by 6-footer Diana Taurasi (five) who is not typically asked to do so.
“They’re big,” Tibbetts said. “This is one of those games where we got dominated inside. Give them credit, that’s their strength and they took full advantage tonight.”
Dallas made its impact early. It built a seven-point first-quarter lead in which it outscored the Mercury (14 points) in points in the paint alone (16) while shooting 8-of-10 around the basket.
Meanwhile, Phoenix struggled mightily from the field by missing nine of their 13 3-point attempts and 14 of their 19 shots overall.
The Wings’ second quarter was their best of the game, because guard Arike Ogunbowale – who finished with 40 points and seven rebounds, along with four steals – made contested shot after contested shot, scoring three of her seven 3-pointers in the quarter. Her pull-up three in the quarter gave Dallas a 46-27 edge, silencing the Mercury crowd after it experienced two home wins to start the season.
Even though the Mercury were struggling – trailing by as many as 24 points in the third quarter – they fought valiantly. They made six of their 14 3-pointers in the third quarter, putting the Wings in a position to make shots.
Phoenix won the quarter, 34 to 24, and got the ball out of the paint and in transition. The Mercury forced eight turnovers in the quarter, leading to 12 points.
The Mercury, trailing 76-69 after the third, had a chance to pull off what would have been the third-largest comeback in WNBA history.
“We sped them up and got them off-kiltered, and I think at the same time, on the other end, we had some really good looks and played with a little bit more aggression,” Taurasi said.
But the comeback fell short. After it struggled to beat the Mercury’s full-court pressure, Dallas’ balanced attack proved too much for Phoenix.
The Wings went back to work in the post and had 14 points in the paint during the fourth quarter. Phoenix also fell into and couldn’t overcome its deficit because of six first-quarter turnovers. The Mercury had seven first-quarter turnovers on Thursday in their 83-80 win over the Washington Mystics.
“We probably got to get to that a little more quicker, but that was a huge fight for us going forward,” Taurasi said.
In the loss, Phoenix surrendered 24 of 38 rebounds to Siegrist (nine), Billings (eight) and McCowan (seven). Point guard Natasha Cloud, who had four turnovers and is averaging six in the last two games, had four rebounds while wing Bec Allen, who suffered a head injury in the third quarter, had three rebounds.
Griner was ruled before the season opener May 14 due to be out for at least a few weeks. The longer the absence lingers with Mack, who played just four WNBA games in her career before this season, and Dixon, the more Phoenix will have to rely on its guards and take away from some of its transition attack.
The results of that clearly hurt the Mercury who responded well and almost came back to win, but were ultimately gassed.
“I’ve just been impressed with how we’ve stayed together and continued to fight,” Tibbetts said.
Phoenix will have to respond with a three-game road trip beginning Tuesday versus the Connecticut Sun.