The Mercury have plenty of starpower. Alyssa Thomas finished third in MVP voting, Satou Sabally made her third All-Star team this season, Kahleah Copper is a former Finals MVP, and DeWanna Bonner ranks third in all-time scoring, trailing only Diana Taurasi and Tina Charles. Starpower isn’t the only asset that makes Phoenix a title contender, though.
The Mercury also have a solid supporting cast and a typically reliable bench. They made that clear when several of their stars were out to start the season. Kathryn Westbeld, Lexie Held, Kitija Laksa, and Monique Akoa-Makani all played crucial roles in the Mercury’s early success—before Bonner was on the team and while Thomas, Copper, and Sabally all missed some time. Sami Whitcomb also had to step into the starting lineup for 20 games.
Now that the Mercury’s stars are all healthy, many players’ roles have shifted. Akoa-Makani is still the team’s starting point guard, and Sami Whitcomb still leads the bench unit, but Westbeld’s role shrank, and Laksa and Held only played five minutes in the first round. The impact those role players can have hasn’t changed one bit, however. They widely outplayed the Lynx’s depth—something the Lynx have prided themselves on all season long. The team barely even missed a step when Napheesa Collier was out, and the bench’s strength was on full display early in the playoffs. Phoenix was able to outshine Minnesota’s depth.
The Mercury got big minutes from Whitcomb and Westbeld
Satou Sabally’s and Alyssa Thomas’s star power was on full display in Game 2. They combined for 43 points, 17 rebounds, and 14 assists. Other players also impacted the game in big ways, though. Sami Whitcomb, for example, scored 13 points, including a clutch three that sent the game to overtime, grabbed four rebounds, and dished out six assists. She also got two steals.
After the game, Whitcomb made sure to give flowers to another Mercury reserve. “Kat [Westbeld] was huge for us. Kat came in and gave us incredible minutes,” Whitcomb said during the postgame press conference. “She hit huge shots, and…I think at one point with her on the floor we cut it to about six or eight. And that, to me, was the moment where it was like, ‘Alright, we’re on here. We’ve got this.’”
Westbeld scored eight points on 3-4 shooting from the field, got four rebounds, and recorded four steals.
With those big productions from Whitcomb and Westbeld, as well as 4 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal from Bonner, the Mercury won the bench battle by quite a margin. The Lynx only got 3 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 block from a usually strong bench. This is already the second time the Mercury matched or exceeded the Lynx’s bench production.
Having a reliable bench is often the key to a deep playoff run
The semifinals are a long series. Playing five games against a Minnesota Lynx team with title aspirations and revenge on its mind is no easy task. The Mercury will need all hands on deck. Having a reliable bench and role players who can step up their games can be the difference between a win and a loss.