After starting the season with high expectations, the Phoenix Mercury is disappointing. Worse, Vanessa Nygaard’s players are having a disastrous start to the season, and are in last place in the league.
The return of Brittney Griner played emotionally on the entire franchise. The comeback of the multiple All-Star plunged the Mercury into a media whirlwind probably never seen in the WNBA with, as the last chapter, the incident which occurred at the Dallas airport. And on the field, the team fails to find solutions to win matches. A frustrating start to the campaign which annoys more and more internally.
“I’m tired of losing” notably dropped Sophie Cunningham last week. “I am ready to find the right rhythm with our team. Enough is enough. Our attitude must change. Our energy must change. But you have to show up, keep working hard. Things will work out eventually. These are the moments that make the emotions even stronger when you reach the heights ».
It still doesn’t work out…
After another defeat (88-69) on the floor of the Washington Mystics on Friday evening, the Mercury moved to the Barclays Center to face the New York Liberty on Saturday afternoon. An extremely perilous trip without Brittney Griner or Diana Taurasi. The former missed her second straight game with a hip injury. Ditto for the second, but for a hamstring injury.
In the end, there was no suspense. The Liberty easily disposed of the Phoenix Mercury (89-71). Sophie Cunningham’s 27 points could not compensate for the absence of the two stars.
In addition, Vanessa Nygaard’s players could only suffer the battering of Breanna Stewart, who was simply untenable with 28 points, 14 rebounds and 7 assists. They couldn’t resist an explosive start from the Liberty superstar, who scored 23 of his 28 points in the first half.
“For us right now it’s really a weird time, but it’s also a good time because we’re getting to know each other and without our two stars we all have to take on responsibilities that we normally wouldn’t have. to take “ details Moriah Jefferson. “I think right now our chemistry is building, we’re trying to get closer to each other. So it’s a day-to-day process and we’re going to keep fighting to get something.”.
After 10 games, the Phoenix Mercury has a worrying record of 2 wins for 8 losses. And to make matters worse, the next game will be against the Las Vegas Aces, the best record in the league (10-1).
