The Phoenix Mercury need to tap back into their identity

Tonight, the WNBA Finals travel from Las Vegas to Phoenix for Game 3, and it’s a make-or-break moment for the Mercury. The Las Vegas Aces were able to gain a 2-0 lead in the series, using the first two home games to get ahead. That’s not unheard of in a seven-game series, but now is the time for the Mercury to respond. If not, it could be curtains for Nate Tibbett’s squad. The Mercury find themselves in a unique position, though, given their status as underdogs this year. What seems like an intimidating moment from the outside may be just what this Mercury team needs to get back into the series.

This is the first time the WNBA has played a seven-game series for the Finals, after last year’s New York Liberty vs. Minnesota Lynx Finals series had fans on the edge of their seats until the final buzzer. A seven-game series definitely has a different cadence, though, and dropping the first two games doesn’t mean it’s over. Tonight’s Game 3 is the contest that will change the narrative one way or the other. Either the Aces will win and the Mercury will have to play the rest of the series as elimination games, or the Mercury will win tonight and give themselves a buffer to get back into these finals.

Homecourt advantage will have to do its work, and the Mercury have the benefit of having one of the best home courts in the WNBA. The X-Factor, as they are called in Phoenix, will help boost the team through what may be another close game. The Mercury are used to being underdogs, and tonight is a chance to prove themselves once more.

At the beginning of the WNBA season, the Mercury’s depth was called into question. With Alyssa Thomas, Kahleah Copper and Satou Sabally leading the team, they were in good hands at the top, but the rest of the roster was filled out with unfamiliar names. In the midst of a changing league landscape due to expansion, and with many of the Mercury’s previous players either retiring or moving due to trades or free agency, Phoenix had to make a decision: Go young and fill their team out with players with less overall experience, or widen their reach and sign players without WNBA experience, but with tons of international playing time. They chose the latter, and it proved their scouting prowess, as they were able to find several players who had been passed on in previous WNBA seasons but had been playing overseas.

These “rookies” were unseasoned in the US, but had been playing pro hoops for years, and it ended up being a great choice for them. They also had the benefit of not being thoroughly scouted from a WNBA perspective. They carried their underdog label with pride and consistently showed up to be competitive, allowing Phoenix to spend most of the season in the top-4 section of the standings. They then acquired Dewanna Bonner as a buyout addition from the Indiana Fever to add experience to their bench. That energy proved beneficial in their semi-final series against Minnesota, where they were able to come back from behind several times to win the series in four games. They fed off each other’s hunger, the energy of the crowd, and the fact that they were counted out.

That energy is what the Mercury need to tap into tonight if they want to win Game 3. They cannot go into this thinking about being on the brink of elimination, and instead need see this deficit as part of their process. They need to hold onto the energy from the crowd, and their bench needs to step up in big moments, just as they did in the Minnesota series. The Mercury also needs to focus on what is in their control, given the controversy around officiating this postseason. Many have been upset about the way Alyssa Thomas is being called, but no one playing the game can necessarily control that — they need to thrive despite it.

This is the turning point of the series, and if the Phoenix Mercury can tap into what made them contenders in the first place, they can still make this series a competitive one.