Storm Burned in the Desert, Mercury win 87-78

Brittney Griner and Kahleah Copper too much for Seattle.

(Phoenix, Arizona) - The Phoenix Mercury started red-hot and never let up. Phoenix led wire-to-wire and by as many as 21 points. Seattle made a small rally late but they had dug themselves far too deep a hole. The Mercury beat the Storm 87-78 to improve to 7-7 on the season.

Seattle’s offense seemed out of sync from the very beginning. Nneka Ogwumike led the way with 15 points and 11 rebounds. But even Ogwumike was not nearly as efficient as she normally is. She finished making just 39% (7-18 FG), well below the 59% she has shot this season. She wasn’t the only one to struggle. Jewell Loyd finished with 14 points but made just 3-15 FG including 0-6 FG from beyond the arc. Skylar Diggins-Smith was only slightly better at 6-15 FG. Skylar did have a team-high eight assists and also added six rebounds. Ezi Magbegor was the only player to shoot above 50% (6-10 FG). Magbegor finished with 14 points and eight rebounds.

In total, Seattle shot less than 39% (29-75 FG) for the game. They were awful from long distance. They made just 19% (5-26 FG) from beyond the arc. Not only did Seattle lose the shooting competition but they fell short in areas they normally succeed. They were slightly out-rebounded 37-36 and the Mercury had a 44-42 advantage with points in the paint. Two areas that Seattle has hung their hat on this season.

The two best things Seattle did this game is that they did take care of the basketball. They committed just nine turnovers and forced the Mercury into 15 mistakes. Seattle’s bench also outscored Phoenix’s 18-6. That was mainly due to the strong play of Jordan Horston who finished with 12 points, four rebounds, and five steals.

Phoenix Mercury

This obviously isn’t a shocker but the Phoenix Mercury sure are significantly better with Brittney Griner on the court. In the team’s first matchup, the Mercury were without Griner and Rebecca Allen while the Storm were missing Nneka Ogwumike. Even without Nneka, Seattle dominated inside that game. On June 4th, the Storm had a 20-2 advantage with points in the paint in just the 1st quarter alone. That led them to start that game up 25-12 and eventually win the game 80-62. That wasn’t the case on Sunday.

Griner’s presence was dominant on the offensive end and limited what Seattle was able to do. BG finished the game with 28 points on 10-15 FG. She was a perfect 7-7 from the FT line. Griner had a team-high nine rebounds and two blocked shots.

Nneka talked about the matchup problems Griner creates.

“I mean, definitely her size. I've been playing against BG since I was 13. So her size has always been an issue and the evolution of her skill set which she displayed today is what makes it difficult for us to be able to stop her every time. She's just someone who knows how to play on the outside and also use her size to play on the inside and be efficient with it.” Ogwumike stated.

Coach Noelle Quinn talked about it as well.

“Yeah, her size, her ability to post. She hit a three on us. She's just capable of impacting the game offensively because she's played at a high level for so long and reads it really well. Defensively, again, her height and size give us some trouble because she's able to alter shots or block shots. And yeah, she's a heck of a player. Olympian, right? One of the best in the world.” Quinn added.

But Griner wasn’t the only difference maker. Kahleah Copper was on fire from the very beginning. She scored 11 points in the first quarter and 17 in the first half before finishing the game with 30 points. She shot 55% overall and knocked down three 3-pointers. Seattle couldn’t stop Copper. Victoria Vivians started on her and after giving up 11 points quickly was benched for the rest of the game. Jordan Horston took over the defensive assignment from there. Horston limited Copper to just four points in the third period but Kahleah got hot again late and scored nine points in the fourth quarter. It was one of those games where all her shots were dropping.

Diana Taurasi was the only other Mercury player to score in double figures. She finished with 13 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and dished out four assists. This is a much better role for DT at this point in her career. If she’s expected to score 20-25 PPG the Mercury are going to struggle. But if she can just be an added scorer who can knock down some threes and still score in double figures, it’ll allow Phoenix to be a dangerous team as long as they’re getting these big games from Griner and Copper. Similar to the Mercury’s success in 2021 where Griner, Skylar Diggins-Smith, and Taurasi led the team back to the WNBA Finals.

While Seattle struggled on offense, Phoenix did not. They made 50% (31-62 FG) of their shots. They were also strong from deep, knocking down 39% (7-18 FG) from beyond the arc. To add to their offensive efficiency, the Mercury were an incredible 18-19 from the FT line (95%).

The Mercury have been a bit of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde this season. That’s probably why they are currently 7-7 and sit 5th in the WNBA standings. Sometimes Phoenix has looked great picking up wins against Minnesota, Las Vegas, and Seattle. Other times, they’ve been crushed by the Lynx, the Connecticut Sun, and the Storm. If their shots are dropping, they can compete with the league’s best teams. But they still lack some depth if their starters aren’t on top of their game.

Game Breakdown

Kahleah Copper got off to a much stronger start. In the first matchup between these two teams, Copper didn’t score until there were four minutes left in the first half. In this game, she scored the first four points and scored 11 total in the opening quarter.

Victoria Vivians knocked down a three-pointer. Brittney Griner scored on back-to-back possessions. Phoenix quickly led 10-3 early. Taurasi then got a layup. Then the Mercury knocked down back-to-back three-pointers. First from Copper and then one by Brittney Griner! That put the Mercury up 18-9 roughly midway through the first quarter.

That lead would be expanded to 13 points as Rebecca Allen got a layup and Taurasi hit another three. The Mercury led 25-12.

Seattle ended the first quarter on a 7-0 run to make it respectable. Nneka scored a layup, Sami hit a corner three at the shot-clock buzzer, and Skylar had a dribble pull-up from the short corner. Phoenix led 25-19 at the end of the first.

That run continued as the 2nd period opened up as Ogwumike scored on Seattle’s first possession. Natasha Mack ended the run by getting behind Nneka to finish at the rim. Jewell knocked down a shot in transition and then tried to draw a foul and forced a shot up. She was not pleased with the no-call. After Diana Taurasi knocked down another three, Loyd tried to draw more contact and was called for the offensive foul.

The Mercury’s starters got hot again. Copper followed Taurasi’s three-ball with one of her own. That put Phoenix back on top by 12 at 35-23. Griner was then fouled and made both free throws. It was a four-point game at 27-23 and then Phoenix went on a 13-0 run to take a commanding 17-point lead at 40-23. That included more three-pointers from Kahleah Copper.

Nneka ended the run but even then that wasn’t easy. On that possession, Ezi missed a shot, got it back, then got blocked by BG, before the ball fell to Ogwumike for the midrange jumper. Jordan Horston made some nice plays. She was able to draw a foul and get a steal which led to more points. Seattle had a quick 6-0 run of their own before BG got deep into the paint for the easy hook shot.

Loyd and Griner then swapped two pairs of free throws. Seattle wasn’t able to cut the deficit into single digits. In fact, the Mercury outplayed the Storm even more in the second period. After outscoring Seattle by six points in the first, the Mercury outscored the Storm by eight in the second 22-14. Phoenix led 47-33 at the midway point.

The home team was on fire making 53% (17-32 FG) and 55% (6-11 FG) from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Seattle was awful. They shot 29% (12-41 FG) and an abysmal 15% (2-13 FG) from three-point range.

Seattle kept trying to force three-pointers early to begin the 2nd half too. It felt like they were trying to get 10 points back on one single possession. Instead, their poor three-point shooting continued and that allowed the Mercury to expand their lead to 19 points at 54-35. That lead climbed to 21 points at 62-41 after Natasha Mack got another easy layup. Jordan Horston hit a corner three for the Storm late in the third.

BG led the Mercury with six points in the third. Copper and Mack added four more. Phoenix outscored Seattle again but this was the most competitive quarter. The Mercury had a 19-18 edge and led 66-51 at the end of three.

Coach Quinn kept her starters in the game to try and make a run but it wasn’t happening during the early minutes of the fourth. Seattle’s deficit continued to hover around 15 points. They were swapping scores with Phoenix when they needed to go on a big run.

Seattle finally went on a 9-2 run to cut the lead from 17 down to 10 with five minutes left to play. Jordan Horston and Ezi Magbegor lifted the team during this time. Horston split a pair of free throws and scored a fancy reverse layup under the rim past Griner. Magbegor was able to make some nice cuts to the rim.

The Storm cut the deficit down below double digits. The closest they got was down six at 75-69 with just over three minutes left to play. But the Mercury tightened things up and Seattle stopped taking quality shots. They started forcing bad shots again and that allowed the Mercury to go on a 10-2 run to put this game away. During that time, Copper scored seven points including capping the run off with an AND1 layup past Ogwumike.

Diggins-Smith hit a three-pointer with just over a minute to play but it was far too late by then. Jordan Horston finished with a nice AND1 to end the game to put her in double-digit scoring.

Final Box Score

Additional Analysis

Thrown Off Their Game

The Phoenix Mercury were so hot to start this game that it looked like Seattle was taken by surprise. It felt like the Storm were blitzed from the very beginning and maybe panicked early on. They fell behind 10-3 and 18-9 through the first five minutes. Seattle’s deficit continued to grow because they kept forcing three-point shots. A shot they haven’t been good at this season. The Storm missed six straight three-pointers as they were trying to catch up instead of moving the ball around, executing, and finding a high-percentage shot.

In total, Seattle took 10 three-point attempts in the first quarter alone and missed eight of them! That allowed the Mercury to take a 13-point lead during the first eight minutes of the game as Seattle trailed 25-12. The Mercury have made the second-most three-pointers of any WNBA team (132) but they weren’t forcing things. They made 3-6 FG from beyond the arc in the first quarter but also made sure to attack the paint a lot. They weren’t settling like Seattle did. They found the best shots and had a 14-10 advantage with points in the paint during the first 10 minutes.

I talked with both Nneka Ogwumike and Coach Noelle Quinn if they got taken out of their game early on. From my vantage point, it certainly appeared to be the case.

“I think that they came out and they were aggressive and they were making their shots. And we were trying to stick to our game plan. Our shots weren't really falling the way we wanted them to, but we wanted to keep going. By the time that we were able to kind of get ourselves into the game, it was difficult to get those stops with the percentage that they were shooting. And they're a team that has a lot of great scorers; so we have to stop that early.” Nneka told me.

Coach Quinn went into further detail.

“Yeah, I think today we let our offense dictate our temperament. And I don't think we started the game with the defensive mindset and physicality and presence that's needed to play against a team that has really good three-point shooting. A lot of those shots, some of them a little bit more contested, but a lot of those shots where coverages weren't sharp in transition, not matched up, and things that we really talked about and honed in on. Then, you know, offensively, I thought we let our offensive, our temperament dictate what we did here. We didn't move the ball enough or find great shots. We found (them) in the second half; kind of found a groove with that but we have to flip our mindset as it relates to the defensive side of the ball that has to dictate everything that we do.” Quinn elaborated.

I didn’t see the Storm play their type of basketball until the fourth quarter. Coincidentally, it was the only period where Seattle outscored Phoenix (27-21). In the final period, Seattle took just six three-point attempts and made two of them. They focused mostly on getting better looks around the rim. Skylar Diggins-Smith had her best quarter scoring 10 points on 4-6 FG shooting and had four assists. She found Ezi Magbegor a couple of times for easy cuts to the rim. Ezi had six points in the quarter. Jordan Horston also got good looks inside the paint and scored six points in the final 10 minutes. In total, Seattle scored 18 points inside the paint in the 4th quarter and made 9-10 FG from the painted area. They outscored the Mercury 18-12 inside the paint in the final period.

It was disappointing that let that first quarter completely take them out of the game until late in the fourth period.

Loyd’s Poor Shooting

Beyond the Storm’s overall poor shooting from beyond the arc. Seattle should be concerned with Jewell Loyd’s 3-PT shooting this season. Loyd finished this game going 0-6 FG from three-point range. She was 1-6 FG from deep against Dallas. Jewell was also 1-6 FG against the LA Sparks. Before the LA game, Loyd shot 1-9 FG from beyond the arc against Minnesota. If we add all of those numbers up, Jewell Loyd has made just three of her last 27 three-point attempts. That’s just 11% from long distance.

While it’s been especially bad as of late. Jewell’s shooting struggles have been happening all season. Loyd is shooting a career-worst 34.9% this season overall. Her three-point shooting percentage is at 25% overall. That’s more than 10% points below last season. It’s also the second-worst of her career; only better than her rookie season where she made under 21% from the 3-PT range.

The Seattle media spoke with Coach Noelle Quinn about her shooting struggles and how they can help Loyd be better.

“Just trying to find rhythm for her early on in the game. We know how deadly she can be. When she catches fire and when she's in a groove, she's damn near unstoppable. So just kind of finding some comfort for her, getting her some touches in the middle of the floor a little bit and, you know, being aggressive, playing on two feet when she does get into the paint. She's getting to the free throw line, which is a bonus. Finding other ways to kind of impact the basketball game that can kind of get her juices flowing. But, you know, she's a professional scorer. The law of averages is she'll come back and get going. She's gonna get in the gym and get her feel for the game a little bit and she'll be okay.” Quinn said.

Loyd is still forcing the offense too much. It feels like Jewell is sometimes playing like it’s still last season where she was responsible for the majority of the team’s scoring and had to be so heavily relied on. Loyd’s usage rate was 31.5% in 2023.

It’s still at 28.4% this season which is probably too high. Loyd is a dynamic scorer and an extremely talented player. But she doesn’t need to do it all alone. With Nneka, Skylar, Ezi, and an improved Jordan, the team has plenty of options.

The Storm are a much better team when they are moving the wall, moving without the ball, cutting, and getting good looks either at the rim or wide-open three-pointers. They are at their absolute worst when Loyd tries to force off-balanced shots past multiple defenders while the other four players stand around and watch.

Horston’s Strong Play

If we’re looking to pull positives out of this game, Jordan Horston had another strong game off the bench. It was Horston’s second game in a row scoring double-digits off the bench. Horston’s primary responsibility on this team is on the defensive side of the ball. While Jordan had the difficult task of trying to slow Kahleah Copper down throughout the game. Defensively, Horston was very active. She had a career-high five steals in the game. She also had two blocked shots.

Coach Quinn did not sit Jordan once she checked in late in the first period. She played all 30 minutes of the final three quarters plus some in the first.

We got to speak with Jordan after the game about her performance and what the coaches tasked her with.

“Just my energy defensively. I come to the game, I know that I have to be a spark off the bench and I just let my activity level fuel everybody else. My main focus when I come into the game is that nobody is going to score on me. I'm going to get all the rebounds.” Horston said.

“(The Coaches) just told me to stay on Kah. She started off pretty well. And just make her work for everything that she had. Her and Diana, really. But I just locked in just to make her life as hard as I possibly could.” Jordan added.

Coach Quinn also talked about what she saw from Horston’s performance.

“I wanted to put Jordan on Kah and match those minutes. Nothing that Tori did. Tori’s been great for us. But at that time, our defensive competitiveness and physicality on Kah was not at the standard that we needed it to be. Jordan had some really good minutes. She was able to get a lot of deflections and really impact on the defensive end, which is her number one role. And everything else that we get from her offensively is a bonus.” Quinn answered.

Up Next

Seattle remains on the road for one more game. They travel to Las Vegas to face the Aces (6-6) on Wednesday, June 19th, at 7:00 PM PDT.

Notes:
Usage Rate is when the player is on the court, and the possession ends with them shooting, turning the ball over, or getting to the foul line.

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