W.N.B.A. Preview: Don’t Bet Against the Aces in the West

Sprinkle in teammates like Brianna Turner and Bria Hartley, and newcomers like Kia Nurse and Megan Walker, and the Phoenix Mercury are focused on returning to their championship-winning ways.

“You just see all these pieces,” Taurasi said, adding, “And if we can all get on the same track and on working toward the same goal, I think we can do some special things this summer. But that’s just all nonsense if we don’t come in and put the work in every day.”

The Mercury finished with a 13-9 record last season, losing to the Minnesota Lynx in the second round of the playoffs. With an eye toward a deeper playoff run, they acquired guard Nurse and Walker in an off-season trade with the Liberty. Hartley, an eighth-year guard, is working her way back after a knee injury, and more offense could come from Turner.

But the biggest impact is likely to come from the Big 3 — Griner, Diggins-Smith and Taurasi — who accounted for much of the Mercury’s scoring last season. Taurasi averaged 18.7 points and 4.5 assists per game; Diggins-Smith averaged 17.7 and 4.2; and B.G. averaged 17.7 points and 7.5 rebounds in 12 games.

“We have pretty good chemistry,” Coach Sandy Brondello said. “We grew a lot together as a team last year. Hopefully we can continue to build on that.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/13/sports/basketball/wnba-preview-aces-storm.html