Phoenix is in the midst of an impressive playoff run. On the way to the finals, the Mercury took down the defending champions and the overwhelming favorite to win this year’s championship. Now, they have to face the Las Vegas Aces. Early in the season, it didn’t look like the Aces would go far, but a 17-game win streak catapulted them all the way to second place and a third finals appearance in four years.
Since the Aces finished the regular season with a higher seed than the Mercury, they have homecourt advantage in the finals, meaning they will get to host games one, two, five, and seven. So, the Mercury will have to win on the road to take home the championship—preferably early on in the series to set the right tone.
Winning in another team’s arena is never an easy thing to do in the playoffs, but Phoenix already showed that it could do just that.
The Mercury won games in New York and Minnesota
After losing a tough overtime game against the Liberty in the playoff opener, the Mercury went to New York and beat the defending champions in their own arena. They won the rebounding battle, dished out more assists, got 25 points off the Liberty’s fifteen turnovers, and dominated the paint. They led by as much as 31 and ended up beating the Liberty by 26 points.
During the regular season, the Minnesota Lynx only lost two games at home—three if you count the Commissioner’s Cup championship game. Beating the Lynx at Target Center is a tall task. The Mercury rose to the challenge in Game 2 of the semifinals, coming back from a 20-point deficit and winning the game in overtime.
It was one of the largest comebacks in WNBA postseason history. The fact that the Mercury did it in front of a hostile crowd and against a team that plays extremely well at home only makes the feat more impressive. They could have given up on the game and set their eyes on evening out the series at home, but they continued to fight and handed out one of the more surprising upsets of the playoffs.
The finals will be a long series
For the first time, the WNBA Finals will be a best-of-seven series to close out a tiring playoff run. Phoenix has the advantage that it closed out its series against Minnesota early, winning in four games. Meanwhile, the Aces played five games against the Fever, including overtime in Game 5. That extra day of rest could give the Mercury an important advantage in Game 1 of the finals. Stealing that game on the road would immediately set the tone for a successful series.