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The Phoenix Mercury lost their fourth straight game to the Minnesota Lynx on Friday, and for a veteran team looking to instill a winning culture, they have yet to reach that standard in the Valley.
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Phoenix has lost its last four games by 16.25 points and two by 23 or more points. The Mercury have struggled but still played some good basketball and have shown resilience when in tight spots.
But Phoenix have struggled with execution from the start, with their first-half issues prevalent throughout the period and helping to hinder the Mercury’s hot start.
We will be back soon. pic.twitter.com/VBKuO59OyC
— Minnesota Lynx (@minnesotalynx) June 1, 2024
“I think we fought back in the second half and played how we all expected to play at the start of the game,” Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts said. “Whatever the reason, we weren’t ready in the first half and we’ve got to come out more ready and be able to play. We fought back, but unfortunately if you’re not ready it’s a tough road. We played well in the second half and we were hoping to play more Mercury style basketball.”
On Saturday in Minnesota, the Lynx outshot the Phoenix, 55-31, at the half. The Mercury tied the score with the Lynx at 40-40 at the half, but the halftime deficit was hard to overcome.
Phoenix didn’t struggle as much as they did the entire first half against New York on Wednesday, but they were trailing 33-20 in the first quarter. Phoenix fought back and kept the game close throughout, but a first-quarter deficit was what cost Phoenix their loss. The Mercury then lost 38-25 at the half against Connecticut and 52-35 at home to Dallas.
© Patrick Breen/The Republic/USA Today Network
“Yeah, we’ve got to start stronger,” Sophie Cunningham said of the slow start to the match. “We’ve got to weather the storm during the match. We know we’re not going to have BG. [Brittney Griner]Beck isn’t here. [Rebecca Allen] But we have everything we need, we just have to start stronger. We have to take care of the ball and go on the offensive. Defensively we have to bring energy and do the talking.”
“We played with a lot more energy,” Tibbetts said. “I think we had zero second-chance points, zero fast-break points at halftime. We weren’t prepared. That’s on me.”
Those early struggles were due to timely turnovers and defensive tenacity. Phoenix couldn’t have performed better without Brittney Griner. Small-ball lineups have led the Mercury to a 3-1 start, but they’ve mostly been effective in spurts. The lack of a true rim protector and inside presence has been critical, especially early in games.
Blame it on Phoenix’s tough schedule — the Mercury just finished a three-game, four-day road trip that saw them visit Connecticut, New York and Minnesota — the injury bug has bitten and there have been streaks of sickness across the team, but it’s all the little things that are on players’ minds, causing frustration and a loss of control early on.
“We were just thinking in our own heads more than anything,” center Natasha Mack said. “You can make a lot of excuses — people just being sick, guys just tired from the road — but it’s really this is of our own making.”
Needless to say, this is still the core of a brand new team, and with four returning players, Phoenix is still trying to build cohesion and establish a team identity, which will be extremely difficult given Phoenix’s current situation.
“None of us have actually played together before, so we need a little bit of a grace period,” Cunningham said, “but at the end of the day, we’re all competitive. We all want to win. I think that’s the difference.”
The Mercury will look to get back on track on Sunday afternoon as they prepare to host the Los Angeles Sparks at 3 pm Pacific time.
The Lynx bench combined for 50 points in a 95-71 victory that snapped a four-game losing streak for the Mercury.
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Justin LaCertosa covers Phoenix sports news for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X. @La Certosa Sports
