The Mercury at the midpoint: Taurasi recovery, rebounding among many concerns

The Phoenix Mercury are not where many thought they would be at the season’s halfway point.

PHOENIX — When a championship is the expectation, anything else is devastating. All offseason, the Phoenix Mercury told themselves they were minutes away from a WNBA championship.

Their talent level and cohesion by season’s end backed up that belief, and after a swift and effective revamp during the offseason, many picked Phoenix as the championship favorite. Until the injury.

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Yeah, that one. Diana Taurasi, who last season broke the league’s three-point record as well as its overall scoring record and looked as good at age 36 as she ever has, underwent surgery April 24 to repair a damaged disc in her back. The rosy appreciation of the Mercury’s depth and experience fizzled.

Though Phoenix still boasts two MVP contenders and All-Stars in DeWanna Bonner and Brittney Griner, the team as a whole has failed to gel as in previous seasons. Taurasi’s absence may be most felt in the glue she acted as to congeal the Mercury as a unit rather than individuals.

Taurasi played 16 minutes on July 12 against Washington, but wasn’t able to finish the game. She hasn’t played since.

“She’s just not totally ready to come back, and it’s just ridiculous to try and have her out there, and it’s not good for her,” coach Sandy Brondello said at a practice shortly following her team’s loss to the Mystics in Taurasi’s return. “She’s just going to take the time to get 100 percent.”

That waiting game is draining the 9-8 Mercury. They are probing the timeline of an injury. And they do not want to cite it as an excuse for their poor play, even though it is a legitimate explanation for their failures. Losing one of the greatest to ever play basketball is certainly reason for frustration. Taurasi was supposed to return by July 17 based upon the 10-12 week timetable established at the time of the surgery.

“It’s a mental battle as well,” Brondello admitted. “We just need her to get healthy, and as an organization, we just want to take care of our players and make sure they can come back.”

Not helping matters were the early murmurs that Taurasi might return early, after she returned to practice in late June. The team has been steady in their insistence that Taurasi’s absence is not to blame for their inconsistent play. But whenever they are asked how to keep up after a stretch of solid games, nearly every player on the roster has been blunt: “We have to.”

That sign of desperation has seeped into this team’s psyche at the halfway point of the season. Roster depth has disappeared thanks to injuries to Taurasi and veteran forward Sancho Lyttle as well as the team’s three rookies acclimating slowly to WNBA play. The inconsistent play of veteran guards Yvonne Turner and Essence Carson has left Brondello with few answers outside her two stars.

Phoenix is seventh in offensive efficiency and sixth in defensive efficiency halfway through the year. They are on the outside of the playoff hunt.

“The funny thing about it is we lose these games and we’re still right there in the mix,” Bonner admitted. “You could win two in a row and be in second place, you could lose two and be at the bottom, so we’ve been losing these games but we know we’re still in the mix, we just gotta change it.”

That doesn’t change the sense of urgency around the Mercury right now. Even Bonner and Griner have been inconsistent without the sturdiness on every possession that flows from Taurasi’s presence on the court. An offseason challenge from Brondello to the All-Stars to compete for the MVP trophy and lead the league in rebounding has floundered. Neither player has been the nightly, two-way beast this team needs.

Phoenix is last in the league in offensive rebound rate and gives up the third most offensive rebounds to opponents.

“Rebounding is all about hard work. We know that,” Bonner said. “We’ve never been the best offensive rebounding team or defensive rebounding team, but in order to win and get more shot attempts, we’ve gotta get rebounds.”

PHOENIX, AZ- JULY 14: DeWanna Bonner #24 of Phoenix Mercury smiles after a game against the Dallas Wings on July 14, 2019 at the Talking Stick Resort Arena, in Phoenix, Arizona. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Across their past two games, both wins over the Dallas Wings, the Mercury were out-rebounded by just 10. Bench players like Brianna Turner and Camille Little have made an impact in that department, while Griner is posting the lowest rebounding rate of her career.

The question of Griner’s energy and dominance may be even more concerning than the absence of Taurasi. At least surgery explains Taurasi’s circumstances.

“With Brittney, we want her to be physical and set great screens,” Brondello said, “but on the other end, she should be getting at least eight to 10 free throws in some games and she’s not.”

Could the annual grind of high-level competition in Russia with UMMC Yekaterinburg coupled with deep playoff runs in Phoenix every summer be getting to Griner in Year Seven of her pro career? Or has the spacing and playmaking typically provided by Taurasi just been that impactful since Griner entered the league that her absence is affecting Griner more than expected? There’s no clear answer.

Individual and team struggles made it difficult for Griner to celebrate being named an All-Star starter, the sixth time she has been named to the team.

She hesitated when asked about the accolade: “I’m trying to watch what I say. It’s an honor to be at All-Star. It’s in Vegas, so I’m looking forward to having fun in Vegas, honestly. Looking forward to turning up, getting away from these losses.”

Searching for optimism, Griner added she believes the break could be a good rest for the team.

“Sometimes after All-Star, teams go into All-Star not doing so good, then they come out of All-Star because they get time off and a break,” she said. “It’s like a reset button, so we can come back and take off. We’ve gotta be a team that before we go into it get on the right track, and then when we come out of All-Star, we (can) be the team that takes off.”

A championship is still within reach, but the battle to get back to the WNBA semifinals, where Phoenix’s season ended last year, is going to be even more difficult than expected.

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