The playoffs kicked off with four games on Sunday. Two of those games ended with few surprises. Minnesota took care of business against Golden State, and the Aces got a dominant win over the Storm. Atlanta beating Indiana was also expected, but the Fever managed to keep the game relatively close due to a 27-point performance from Kelsey Mitchell.
The fourth game was the most thrilling matchup. The Mercury and Liberty went toe-to-toe in their first-round matchup and even sent the game into overtime. New York eventually got the 76-69 win, led by Natasha Cloud and Breanna Stewart, who scored 23 and 18 points, respectively. The win came at a cost, though, as Stewart suffered a knee injury.
Despite the loss, Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts was in relatively good spirits after the game. “This was our first playoff game together. We went toe-to-toe with the defending champs and had a chance to win,” Tibbetts said in his postgame press conference. “I’m super proud of how we competed.”
Nevertheless, Phoenix has some issues to clean up if they want to even out the series in Game 2: shooting efficiency and rebounding.
The Mercury scored very inefficiently
The Mercury averaged solid shooting percentages over the course of the regular season. They finished ninth in field-goal percentage with 43.3% and sixth in 3-point percentage with 34%. They shot well below those averages in their playoff opener.
The Mercury shot 32.5% from the field, converting only 25 of their 77 shots. They went 6-26 from three (23.1%). Missed shots were a noticeable problem for several players in the Mercury’s rotation. While Alyssa Thomas went 7-18 from the field and DeWanna Bonner made five of her seven shots, others struggled immensely.
Satou Sabally finished the game with 2-17 shooting from the field—a historically bad mark in the playoffs. Kahleah Copper made five of her 13 attempts, and rookie Monique Akoa-Makani went 2-11. They combined for 12 points from the free-throw line, though. Nevertheless, it is difficult to win against the defending champions when three key players struggle to make shots.
The Mercury lost the rebounding battle
Phoenix was a good rebounding team during the regular season, finishing fifth in rebounds per game with 34.7. With 31 total rebounds, they were slightly below that average. Thomas, Sabally, and Bonner combined for 22 of the Mercury’s rebounds. While every player grabbed at least one rebound, it wasn’t enough to keep up with the Liberty.
New York got ten offensive rebounds—six by reserves Kennedy Burke and Emma Meesseman—and 38 defensive boards. Both numbers are well above the Liberty’s regular-season averages of 6.8 offensive rebounds and 26.9 defensive rebounds per game.