August 23rd, 2018: Phoenix at Connecticut

Just the Facts, Ma'am: The Phoenix Mercury stepped their game up on the road in the fourth quarter, sealing a 96-86 win over the Connecticut Sun. Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi each had 27 points, and DeWanna Bonner added a monster double-double of 23 points and 18 rebounds, as the Mercury pulled away in the fourth quarter. Courtney Williams had a team-high 27 points and eight rebounds for the Sun.

For a size disadvantage, shameless pop culture references, mild frustration, and simple truths, join your intrepid and exhausted blogger after the jump. See y'all in November. Or maybe October.


This is probably a terrible idea. No, scratch the probably. As soon as I looked at the bus schedule, I realized this was a terrible idea, but I'm going through with it, because I am the victim of a basketball jones. And who needs sleep anyway?

See, the buses out of Flushing leave at 2:30 and 6:00. The tip is at 8:30, meaning the game will end slightly after 10:30. And the return times are 10:30 and 1:30. I am not expecting to leave this game early to make the 10:30. You may get these game notes faster than any in recorded history. They may also be utterly incoherent. Sleep deprivation- it's like being drunk, but for free!

Security got lax about my backpack. I probably shouldn't be admitting this, because someone's going to get in trouble and the hole will be patched. But I reserved an extra seat for it, so it all works out.

It's 44-40 Sun at the half. Jasmine Thomas and Courtney Williams each have 11 points. I'm really going to need Alyssa Thomas to get going. Diana Taurasi has 15 for the Mercury, and I am starting to take a deep and profound dislike to that woman.

Anthem from a former member of Celtic Woman, and was phenomenal. I do wish the gentleman in the next section hadn't tried to drown her out, though, especially since she was mic'd up.

No new video for the playoffs. Well, I mean, they have the pregame hype video, but that's new for every game. Different narrator this time. There was also a small pregame video featuring the women of the Mohegan Tribe staking out their territory and urging the Sun on. (Also, "Listen to the women" might be the most understated double-edged statement of the season.)

Thundersticks for all! They're fairly bland, but I haven't gotten a new set of Sun thundersticks in ages.

I'm tired of Taurasi getting more applause in intros than anyone on the Sun. I get that they turn on her as soon as the ball goes up, and the cheers for her first foul were just as loud as the cheers on her introduction, but guys, c'mon. Y'all know she finished almost fifteen years ago, right? Y'all can move on, right?

Already some dubious calls in this game. I need Brittney Griner to pick on people her own size and not double-hook Jasmine Thomas.

Oh, Sandy, no. She's wearing a bright, bright, bright pink jumpsuit. If the lights go out in the arena, we'll all know where she is.

The drum line was walking the concourse before the game, and also did a pregame bit.

All right. I admit it. I left the game early. It had just gone to 94 for Phoenix, and looking at the final stats, I don't seem to have missed much. It was worth making the bus and not, y'know, spending three hours at Mohegan Sun, growing steadily more tired and more frustrated. We had chances, especially in the first half. But they have Diana and we don't. I personally think it was more relevant that they have Brittney Griner and we don't, but we all know how the saying goes.

Short bench for the Mercury tonight. Part of me is surprised not to see Camille Little on the floor, but I don't know her injury status, and she probably would have played right into Connecticut's hands anyway. Size was the difference inside for the Merc, and she would take away that advantage. Angel Robinson certainly used that to get rebounds and buckets in the paint. And I imagine that Devereaux Peters is basically the human equivalent of "in case of emergency, break glass", which is good in this case because the number of times I can spell her name in my life is limited.

I have a very healthy respect for Yvonne Turner and the work she put in to get herself into the league. She was tenacious on both sides of the floor tonight, sticking close on defense and making herself an option on offense. It honestly seemed like she was more prolific on offense than the final stats indicate. Leilani Mitchell didn't play a lot, Brondello figuring that she could ride her horses until they dropped in a single elimination game. The biggest assist she would have had for the Mercury wasn't even acknowledged, as she was the only person near the floor to correctly spotrrhen Chiney Ogwumike stepped out of bounds on a drive. I'm pretty sure it ended up in a miss for Connecticut anyway, but Leilani tried.

I haven't seen Phoenix a lot this year, which makes it easy to forget how good a defender Briann January is when she's fully healthy. She's so good at taking away every ounce and inch of space you ever thought about having. And she hits a mean three-pointer, too. Also, she knows how to take a fall- there was one foul she took where she ended up doing a full back roll. I think that's what it's called, in any case. Very acrobatic of her. Diana Taurasi just goes out and murders people's hopes and dreams for funsies. You can't leave her open, but I'm pretty sure her percentage is actually better when someone's in her face. And you can't even call her a stone-cold killer, because there's nothing cold about her. She is inevitable. She is indomitable. I really need her not to shove people right at the whistle. Can that be arranged? But I have to say, how she swings from the one to the two as necessary is very impressive, and seems to have gotten better with time.

Stephanie Talbot did a lot of little things in this one, including hitting open shots at the right time. She's not spectacular, but she gets the job done. I could have sworn she was playing with a mask at one point, but she seemed to have shucked it by the end of the game. Was it precautionary, and she decided to get rid of it in the second half to improve her vision or something? I remember someone for the Liberty having those feelings about the mask. DeWanna Bonner's range is ridiculous, and her rebounding was amazing. She snatched that ball like she was snatching souls. She was able to take advantage of Brittney Griner flicking the ball out to the perimeter. Griner had a lot of plays like that, the kind I usually only see Jonquel Jones making, and I imagine it made life difficult for the official scorer, because she made the play, but her teammate came up with the ball. She did a number on the Sun's offense all by herself, between rotating into position and already being in position when certain people (*coughCourtneyM.Williamscough*) ran headlong into her. Do not ever run headlong into Brittney Griner. This is a terrible plan. Courtney.

Phoenix did a good job of challenging Connecticut to take perimeter shots, something that isn't necessarily our strength. I mean, I might actually be more of a three-point threat than Alyssa Thomas please don't hurt me AT. Yes, there were large swathes of paint that seemed open, but like Mr. Burns's sun-blocking machine, Griner would rotate into place and snuff out all light.

(I realize I'm being very hyperbolic in these notes. Shea Serrano is a dubious influence. But I'd like to think it's fun.)

Every time I think Rachel Banham has turned a corner, she puts out a game like this one or the one against LA, where she can't shoot, can't defend, and can't handle the ball. I want to like you, Rachel, I really do, but the Rachel Banham Experience is a little too much of a roller coaster for my liking. I would have liked to have seen more of Layshia Clarendon; it seemed like she was bringing some good steady, heady play to the table.

I love Morgan Tuck's defense. Her offense needed a little work tonight, but going up against Griner and Bonner right at the basket is a hard challenge for anyone who isn't a skyscraper. But her defense against that Mercury frontcourt was on point. She had one really fantastic stop against Talbot on a fast break that looked like a sure basket. Chiney Ogwumike was clearly not playing at full strength, and her attempts to guard Griner in the low post were extremely unsuccessful. She had better luck in the open floor, picking Griner's pocket more than once, but it was clear that she wasn't her old self, and I think that cost the Sun a lot.

Courtney Williams is going to be the death of me one of these days. I love her jumper. I love her energy. I just wish she'd take contact once in a while. Her propensity to run away like brave Sir Robin as soon as a body comes into the lane was highlighted tonight, and not in a good way. You can only drive so deep so many times and throw the ball back out to the perimeter, or waste time circling around with the dribble, before the weakness becomes apparent even to someone who never played basketball. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate that her offense kept us in the game most of the night. I just wish she'd go ahead and add that extra dimension. Jasmine Thomas had a big game, especially from the perimeter. She had trouble defensively, but I don't think there's anyone in the WNBA who doesn't have trouble with Diana Taurasi on defense. I mean, really. She's done an amazing job stepping up her scoring game, which she has the luxury of doing because the forwards are facilitating so much. (Also, I will never not be amused at her blocking DeWanna Bonner.)

Shekinna Stricklen hit a couple of clutch shots (yes, you can hit clutch shots even if you lose the game) and tried to get the crowd amped up after making a big defensive stop. Given that that was one of the possibly three times she actually played decent defense all night, I'm not sure how I feel about it. You're probably tired of hearing me say I think she can be so much more of a player, and I'm tired of saying it, so we're going to move on from that. I love watching Jonquel Jones make the extra pass, and I love when she snags the rebound. She did a better job on Griner than Ogwumike did, and I would have liked to see more of her down the stretch. I think that was an error on Miller's part; yes, Chiney is the player you went to war with for much of the season, but you've got to read what's going on right there and right then. Alyssa Thomas seemed a step slow, and her shots looked really weird. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that she was fighting more than just the shoulder injury, because the shoulder wouldn't fully explain her speed going down, or all of her lack of drive. She still got buckets, and in that regard it was one of the best games I've seen from her all year, but there's just something missing there.

Phoenix did a good job of exploiting our weaknesses, both structural and mental. We left points on the board in the first half, and I think those came back to haunt us. But we were beaten by a team we had no answers for in two crucial positions. What can you do when Griner's blocking everything in sight?

Dubious officiating the whole game through, on both sides. Fouls that should have been shooting fouls not called as such and vice versa. Out-of-bounds plays missed. Blatant pushes and hits to the face not being called anything. (I love you, Chiney, but please don't hit DeWanna in the face. I understand the urge, but we must all be better than that.)

The crowd really got into it, which was refreshing. Admittedly, they got a lot of urging, but even when the PA wasn't going, they were. In that regard, it's refreshing. I like it and wish it to continue into 2019.

I'm sorry the season ended like this, but it was a heck of a ride. Going to Sun games this year was everything that going to Liberty games wasn't. This Connecticut team reminded me of the joy the game can bring. Because in the end, that's all it is. It's a game. And it's something that should be fun. JJ, Court, Chiney, AT, Jas, Strick, Naj, Rach, Mo, Bri, Lexie, Layshia- they went out there and did something they love, and showed us all that they love it, and showed us why we should love it too. And their front and back offices backed them up, letting them showcase their skills on the world-class stage they deserve.