New-look Phoenix Mercury fall to Las Vegas Aces in preseason opener
The Mercury dropped their preseason opener to the Aces, but Kathryn Westbeld and Alexis Prince separated themselves from the rest of the players battling in camp.
LAS VEGAS — Phoenix flexed its new identity, playing with pace in a “position-less basketball” setup before ultimately falling 85-84 to the Las Vegas Aces on Tuesday in the preseason.
The Mercury’s starters did not play heavy minutes, but the first half offered fans a glimpse of what Phoenix’s “position-less basketball” will look like this season.
With Monique Akoa Makani starting at point guard for the Mercury in a lineup with Alyssa Thomas, Satou Sabally, Kahleah Copper and Natasha Mack, the Mercury had Akoa Makani operate in a more traditional point guard role to begin the game with Thomas playing in more of a point-forward role.
“I really enjoyed what they did,” Tibbetts said about the first unit after Tuesday’s loss. “It’s a great opportunity for us to get some stuff on film and show them.”
Thomas finished with five points, five rebounds and five assists in 15 minutes, Sabally had 14 points, five rebounds and two assists in 15 minutes and Copper added six points and two assists in 16 minutes.
But Phoenix looked to still be adjusting to the pace Tibbetts wants to play at and made some careless mistakes which turned into costly turnovers.
“It’s a different thing wind wise when you start playing up and down,” Tibbetts said. “I’m thankful that Vegas had already played one time and they’re a fast team.”
The Mercury had 21 turnovers to the Aces’ 12 on Tuesday and Las Vegas turned those into 16 points.
“I’m a little disappointed in our 20 turnovers,” Tibbetts said. “We had some careless ones.”
Akoa Makani initiated the offense after made baskets and in moments when Phoenix couldn’t push the tempo as much, but fans were treated to Tibbett’s vision of how Thomas fits into the “position-less” offense, with her taking on different roles on Tuesday.
Thomas flexed her ability as a facilitator while also showing she can score the basketball.
After finding a cutting Sabally with a sweet bounce pass, she later muscled herself to the rim to score her first Mercury points.
But the most highlight-worthy play came just before the end of the second quarter when Thomas grabbed a defensive rebound and threw a long touchdown pass to Kathryn Westbeld who finished with a layup. The play gave the Mercury a 47-46 advantage at the break.
And while it was a textbook example of how Tibbetts wants the Mercury to play in 2025, Tuesday’s game showed there’s still room for growth.
“I was probably a little disappointed in more of our spacing,” Tibbetts said after Tuesday’s loss. “I think we’ve done a great job in camp of understanding what we want to do.
“But I think fatigue and just the excitement kinda fell into a little bit of bad habits, but I liked what we saw.”
Tibbetts gives everyone minutes in Tuesday’s loss
Tibbetts said he wanted everyone to play at least eight minutes and he achieved that goal.
“We’re gonna have some tough decisions. It was nice to give everyone a really good run,” Tibbetts said.
“We’re gonna keep battling for roster spots. I think our front office has done a really good job of making it a competitive group.”
On a night where the Mercury’s Big 3 of Sabally, Thomas and Copper all did not play in the second half, it was Westbeld and Alexis Prince who stole the show and separated themselves.
Concerns of the Mercury’s lack of depth were abruptly washed away mainly by the play of Prince and Westbeld.
Westbeld had 14 points on 6-for-13 shooting, while Prince had 10 points on 4-for-7 shooting.
“I think it was good to actually get out and play,” Prince said. “See how everything works. It’s different when you’re practicing versus when you get on the court, so just to be out there and be able to execute some things. It was good.”
In the first half, Phoenix had a 19-6 bench advantage powered by Westbeld’s nine points. And both Prince and Westbeld impressed from the onset. Prince nailed a jumper immediately after checking in for the first time and Westbeld was a +11 in the first half.
“I think they’ve got good positional size. They both can shoot it,” Tibbetts said about Westbeld and Prince’s play.
“Between the two of them they got up six 3s, which is great. I think they both can drive the basketball. Neither one has played a ton of minutes at the W level, so I think they both have had really good camps and they were productive here tonight.”
While Westbeld and Prince got opportunities early, Kalani Brown, Celeste Taylor, Sevgi Uzun, Temira Poindexter, Megan McConnell, Anna Makurat and Shyla Heal all did not play in the first half.
But the Mercury’s second-half starters — Uzun, Taylor, Akoa Makani, Prince and Mack all impressed and again showed how successful “position-less basketball” can be.
Phoenix started the third quarter on a 17-8 run to take a 64-54 lead midway through the period.
“I thought our third-quarter group, that starting group in the third came out and played really well,” Tibbetts said.
“I thought (Uzun) did a good job of getting us into our set. I thought Mack looked more comfortable in that second half, and then (Akoa Makani) made some really good plays in pick and roll.
“They stepped up those first four minutes and good execution against Vegas’ starters.”
While the Mercury started the third on a 15-8 run, Brown checked in for the first time with 5:57 left in the third and Vegas subsequently closed the quarter on an 11-4 run.
While Brown provides power and physicality, she struggled Tuesday and doesn’t seem like the type of player who fits into Tibbetts’ system, unlike Mack and Westbeld who are perfect fits.
Mack and Westbeld can run the floor much better and can play to the pace Tibbetts wants to play at.
The Mercury took a 66-65 into the fourth quarter and the final period saw Westbeld and Aces guard Deja Kelly go bucket for bucket down the stretch.
Westbeld hit a 3-pointer with 1:54 remaining to tie the game at 77, but Kelly had eight points in the final 1:10, including the game-wining step back jumper with 4.2 seconds left.
“I think I’m a little bitter just because I was guarding the scorer at the end there,” Westbeld said. “But I think it was really good just to get up and down the floor.
“I know we’ve all been working really hard, and I think the whole Phoenix Mercury organization has done a really good job of building such a good culture and I think everyone from the starters till the last one on the bench did a really good job of staying together and being one as a team.”
Phoenix now has four days off before it returns to PHX Arena for a home game against the Golden State Valkyries on Sunday at 3 p.m. The game can be watched on Arizona’s Family 3TV or Arizona’s Family Sports.