After losing Game 1 by three points, the Phoenix Mercury find themselves in a very familiar position. They lost the first game in every series now. In the other two series, the Mercury went on to win Game 2 on their opponent’s home court. To do the same in the finals, they will have to clean up two issues in particular: turnovers and fouls.
The Mercury have handled turnovers and fouls well so far in the postseason. They rank second in turnovers per game with only 12.5. The only team averaging fewer turnovers is Las Vegas. Phoenix also ranks first in fouls per game with only 14.3. The Aces, in comparison average 18.1 fouls over nine playoff games.
In Game 1 of the finals, the Mercury exceeded their averages in both categories. While one big reason for the close loss was the Aces’ defensive adjustment in the second half, turnovers and fouls also played a role for the Mercury.
The Mercury conceded a lot of points off turnovers and fouls
Phoenix turned the ball over 14 times—twice as often as the Aces—and conceded 20 points off those turnovers. Alyssa Thomas, who handles the ball a lot for the Mercury, racked up a game-high five turnovers. Monique Akoa Makani, the team’s rookie point guard, also turned the ball over three times.
The Mercury also committed 17 fouls, including one technical and one flagrant foul, compared to the Aces’ 12 fouls. They sent Las Vegas to the free-throw line 20 times. A’ja Wilson took almost half of the team’s free-throw attempts, sinking seven of her nine shots from the charity stripe. As a team, the Aces converted 14 free throws.
Satou Sabally was in foul trouble
The fouls didn’t only give the Aces easy points. They also caused some trouble with the rotations.
Satou Sabally got into foul trouble early in the third quarter. Just about four minutes into the second half, she picked up her third foul. DeWanna Bonner came into the game, and Sabally sat for around three minutes. After she came back in, she picked up her fourth foul with 28.7 seconds left. Sabally then picked up her fifth foul and a technical foul just about two minutes into the fourth quarter and went back to the bench until the last four minutes of the game.
Sabally still finished the game with 19 big points, but the Mercury need her on the court as much as possible. In the last two playoff series, the Mercury’s wins have largely been tied to big games from Sabally.