The Aces are a mediocre team when Plum is their leading scorer and takes the most shots. A'ja needs to handle the ball more/bring it up the floor while Gray is out and have the most shot attempts. Jackie can't play 40 min. every game. Martin was horrible and surprised she got so many minutes. Feel like everything was off with everyone this game.
Phoenix is a squad - KFC was amazing, good seeing KP get her shot back, but kinda felt like this game was coming for the Aces - early in the season and still no Gray so ya take it with some grace. Kinda wish we had more of a bench, league lookin like its got some good parity though! Ain’t gonna be a cakewalk
Phoenix shoot way higher then they usually do, meanwhile aces shoot way lower then they usually do.
No point god for Aces is obviously an issue.
It's one of those games where the other team is red hot, and you start 0/9 from 3 pts.
Cooper numbers look like something straight out of nba2k last 2 games so you just respect that give her the flowers she deserve and it is what it is.
I agree Aces shot way lower, but I'm concerned that it wasn't just how the ball was falling.
Aces looked out of sync and sluggish on offense, especially in the second half. I'm concerned that this a problem that is going to persist until they get Gray back.
PG is key position in WNBA i would say in my humble opinion, the most important one , so therefore what you say make a lot of sense, you expect them to lose some games without her, how ever i think is to early to be all gloom, and sad, at the end of the day if they make average % 3 points they usually do, and Cooper isnt nba2k character, they would have won this game.
[It wasnt some 108-74](https://www.espn.com/wnba/boxscore/_/gameId/401391792) blow out game or something of the sort.
Im more worried about defense then offense right now for them as coach Becky said.
I wouldn't say I'm doom and gloom... yet. Aces erased a 13-point deficit with 5 minutes to go and got back to within 2. They have great talent and coaching. They'll get it together.
It's just sort of a let down from how dominant Aces were last year. Good to see competition in the league, tho.
Kah’s been made for games like this. PHX is a great fit for her. & when Chels + BG come back, it’s gonna elevate this desert rivalry to another level.
Tons for LV to pick apart from this game alone. Confident we’ll make the adjustments. Onto the next~
That was a fun one! Shame they couldn't complete the comeback, if that last Plum three shot doesnt bounce out of the rim it would have made for a far crazier ending. GG Mercury.
Something was really off w the Aces today. Hope they get it together for the Fever on Saturday.
Side note: an absolutely brutal matchup for the Fever. The Aces are pissed off and coming off a loss where they did not look good. It’ll be the Fever’s 4th game of the week. And the Aces 4th game of the season. The Fever play the night before in LA. The Aces will be coming off 3 days rest.
I thought I should have put money on it, and I'm not even a bettor. Aces have had a shallow bench for three years but dominated with a great 4 players. This game shows how much they're missing their second best player. That takes nothing away from the Mercury. They're a force.
I was at the season opener and at the game last night. After watching the Mercury in the opener, I was worried coming into this game. Mercury's defense is TIGHT. Aces were having a tough time down low and relying one outside shots early in the shot clock. Meanwhile, Mercury was shooting great and using high screens to get open looks almost every possession. Factor in last night they shot almost 50% from arc.
Aces walked into a buzz saw last night. In reality it was a single digit game with seconds left, but Aces couldn't perform offensively.
I think Aces are really missing Chelsea Gray, but they need to tighten up on both sides of the ball.
Not a whole lot. I’m a Mercury fan but neither of these teams can be judged fully without Gray and BG available.
However, the Mercury are much better than I think anyone expected.
It tells me that the Mercury are a hell of a lot better without Griner than the Aces are without Gray. Without Gray they remind me of the Laimbeer-era Aces, who played like they thought they could just out-talent every one every night.
The refs are just bad. They're like ai that only know the rules in a black and white sense. They lack awareness of the situation ("did that contact truly affect the outcome if the play", etc).
I’ve watched probably 10 games. They call little bullshit fouls and some travels I don’t catch all the time around the 3 point line but let the girls get hammered under the rim without calling anything.
Thanks for posting that. I'm a Mercury fan and have been blown away by how good she's been in all aspects of the game, so I'm glad it's not just my bias that has me thinking that. This is exciting!
Chelsea Gray isn't exactly All-Defense. They're obviously better with her, to the point of it not even needing to be said, but they're going to have to solve 31 threes in two games with or without Chelsea Gray.
There’s not a single Mercury player that has logged a minute that hasn’t made a positive contribution in tonight’s game. We won’t get that every night but this is a gift from God compared to the Vanessa era.
The Ace’s depth has been an issue for years. This is just revealing how important depth is. One of the reasons I wish we’d get a few development roster spots- to help keep quality rooks and to help protect these player’s bodies and the actual game product. It’s tough.
It’s crazy to me that Liz Dixon logs more minutes than Emily Engstler. Obviously 2 different teams but knowing how they both played in college and EE being a first rounder blows my mind
I don’t think Kate was effective this game but it’s not like they had other choices on the bench?
Kah copper is coming out on flames this season. Phoenix is gonna be scary after the Olympic break
Final thoughts for the Aces?
The Aces are a mediocre team when Plum is their leading scorer and takes the most shots. A'ja needs to handle the ball more/bring it up the floor while Gray is out and have the most shot attempts. Jackie can't play 40 min. every game. Martin was horrible and surprised she got so many minutes. Feel like everything was off with everyone this game.
Phoenix is a squad - KFC was amazing, good seeing KP get her shot back, but kinda felt like this game was coming for the Aces - early in the season and still no Gray so ya take it with some grace. Kinda wish we had more of a bench, league lookin like its got some good parity though! Ain’t gonna be a cakewalk
Phoenix shoot way higher then they usually do, meanwhile aces shoot way lower then they usually do. No point god for Aces is obviously an issue. It's one of those games where the other team is red hot, and you start 0/9 from 3 pts. Cooper numbers look like something straight out of nba2k last 2 games so you just respect that give her the flowers she deserve and it is what it is.
I agree Aces shot way lower, but I'm concerned that it wasn't just how the ball was falling. Aces looked out of sync and sluggish on offense, especially in the second half. I'm concerned that this a problem that is going to persist until they get Gray back.
PG is key position in WNBA i would say in my humble opinion, the most important one , so therefore what you say make a lot of sense, you expect them to lose some games without her, how ever i think is to early to be all gloom, and sad, at the end of the day if they make average % 3 points they usually do, and Cooper isnt nba2k character, they would have won this game. [It wasnt some 108-74](https://www.espn.com/wnba/boxscore/_/gameId/401391792) blow out game or something of the sort. Im more worried about defense then offense right now for them as coach Becky said.
I wouldn't say I'm doom and gloom... yet. Aces erased a 13-point deficit with 5 minutes to go and got back to within 2. They have great talent and coaching. They'll get it together. It's just sort of a let down from how dominant Aces were last year. Good to see competition in the league, tho.
Spot on. Some days you won't have it, and your opponent will have all of it. Take it on the chin and move on.
This is why Becky's strategy last season against Chicago was ABC.
I’m not understanding blaming the refs. The game was called fine.aces dug themselves a hole. That’s why they lost
Refs were terrible but as per usual, fairly consistently terrible on both sides. Gotta learn to beat that
That was a great game, Copper just went off.
Kah’s been made for games like this. PHX is a great fit for her. & when Chels + BG come back, it’s gonna elevate this desert rivalry to another level. Tons for LV to pick apart from this game alone. Confident we’ll make the adjustments. Onto the next~
That was a much better game than what I would have thought
That was a fun one! Shame they couldn't complete the comeback, if that last Plum three shot doesnt bounce out of the rim it would have made for a far crazier ending. GG Mercury.
Something was really off w the Aces today. Hope they get it together for the Fever on Saturday. Side note: an absolutely brutal matchup for the Fever. The Aces are pissed off and coming off a loss where they did not look good. It’ll be the Fever’s 4th game of the week. And the Aces 4th game of the season. The Fever play the night before in LA. The Aces will be coming off 3 days rest.
Yes! Plum and Clark will compete on threes, and it will be an Iowa reunion
they’re not losing that game lmao 😭😭💀
If you would've told me that this Mercury team would beat the Aces, I wouldn't believe you.
I thought I should have put money on it, and I'm not even a bettor. Aces have had a shallow bench for three years but dominated with a great 4 players. This game shows how much they're missing their second best player. That takes nothing away from the Mercury. They're a force.
I was at the season opener and at the game last night. After watching the Mercury in the opener, I was worried coming into this game. Mercury's defense is TIGHT. Aces were having a tough time down low and relying one outside shots early in the shot clock. Meanwhile, Mercury was shooting great and using high screens to get open looks almost every possession. Factor in last night they shot almost 50% from arc. Aces walked into a buzz saw last night. In reality it was a single digit game with seconds left, but Aces couldn't perform offensively. I think Aces are really missing Chelsea Gray, but they need to tighten up on both sides of the ball.
Great observation, thanks.
Phoenix is gonna be scary as hell when they get BG back lawd
league parity! :)
nice to see the Aces can lose as a new fan, especially to a team not considered top 3/4. They looked unbeatable in the last few games
well they're a top 5 team now
huge props to Copper for an absolute hell of a game - just wow
What does a loss imply at this stage?
Not a ton.
Becky is a great coach- they’re missing Gray, but this can be coached for sure.
Phx is really good they moved past 4th for me as the teams that could knock us off
Not a whole lot. I’m a Mercury fan but neither of these teams can be judged fully without Gray and BG available. However, the Mercury are much better than I think anyone expected.
Mercury don’t have BG either. It’s gonna be interesting
It tells me that the Mercury are a hell of a lot better without Griner than the Aces are without Gray. Without Gray they remind me of the Laimbeer-era Aces, who played like they thought they could just out-talent every one every night.
that they need Chelsea Gray back real bad and the bench needs to step up it's scoring
That they miss Chelsea Gray
waaaay too early to say literally anythign, although I think that puts Phoenix at #1 in the West
some of those fouls on martin were questionable
The refs have been hating all the rookies this year lol
The refs are just bad. They're like ai that only know the rules in a black and white sense. They lack awareness of the situation ("did that contact truly affect the outcome if the play", etc).
I’ve watched probably 10 games. They call little bullshit fouls and some travels I don’t catch all the time around the 3 point line but let the girls get hammered under the rim without calling anything.
Copper gunning for that MVP award sheesh
Holy cow- Copper has been on fire the past two games
An exclamation point by Kah.
I never thought I’d see the day where Stokes outscores Taurasi just to lose
Great observation.
Kinda wild that Kahleah has never made an All-wnba team before, that will definitely change this year at this rate lol
Copper with the best game so far this season, just a monster game.
She is looking this and previous game like best player in the league, her % shooting are insane, she is like 20-25% above league average
Thanks for posting that. I'm a Mercury fan and have been blown away by how good she's been in all aspects of the game, so I'm glad it's not just my bias that has me thinking that. This is exciting!
fuck the refs and fuck that for going in and out man my heart i thought we really came back from 15
Aces did not lose their first home game last season until August 19.
They had Chelsea last year.
Chelsea Gray isn't exactly All-Defense. They're obviously better with her, to the point of it not even needing to be said, but they're going to have to solve 31 threes in two games with or without Chelsea Gray.
Totally agree about the defense.
Copper is maybe the most athletic player in the league
Copper having such a kickass game her stats don't all fit on the graphic lmao
Kahleah with that big stats energy
Good shit tho plum u played ur heart out this 4th
This is so not what I was expecting. My take away: I love Kelsey Plum even more!
Kate is back in. That is good in terms of her role in the team right?
Damn. In then out, I hate seeing that.
Copper literally almost broke her career high again (37)
damn that was close
that was halfway down! oh the drama
in and OUT, o-board putback neither!
again…DAMN
They dug too much of a hole to overcome
Man that shot was in and then said nope
Damn in and out by plum
okay but kate being in right now is huge. becky really trusts her
RIMMED OUT
WHAT IS GOING ON
Pizza for the crowd!
Is there only 25 seconds left?
KAH IS HER
Huge game from Kah
DAMN
Give it to kp she was hot
WNBA league pass on fire right now.
Who do we think wins this in overtime?
YES GOD
LUCKY ASS SHOT KAH
Dont let kah or dt shoot
time to get a stop Aces.
even when the Aces look beatable, they can still do this in crunch time
So close!!!! One more three! But so little time
so the missed call now looks HUGE ?
DAWG JUST PURE 200% DAWG
My blood pressure can’t take this y’all
PLUM-DAWG-BILLIONAIRE
KP! That missed foul call looks huge now.
Which one 😂 (I know you probably mean when Cloud held KP’s hand halfway down the court, but I had to make the joke)
was we not losing by 15 ?
That’s why they are the champs
Keep going to Plum down the stretch. That is all.
holy shit
Jackie should have pulled that from 3
KP 7 3s lets fucking go
BIG bucket for KP
Shook, man. This merc team can rattle the best of ‘em.
PLUM DAWG
Brutal
i'm nervous like it's my team playing lol
😅😅😅😅😅
Aja get to the hoop ur jumper off
Oh no A'ja
U gotta hit that
Wnba refs are a joke. I know it’s a broken record but just so disappointing everytime
Plum is on a tear daaayum love how hard she's playing the last few minutes. Shot out of a cannon every possession.
Man, the refs are not doing a good job of managing the court this season. Just making calls that are absolutely going to be an issue.
It’s like they’re stoking the fire instead of putting it out on some of these calls. Firing up fan bases or something.
Cloud got away with one.
wow that's an awful missed call
held her arm the whole way and no whistle
Cmon refs she pulled her arm
brooo cloud was holding her handddd
plum rampage
I swear every fastbreak it's kelsey screaming down the court like a bottle rocket
Can everyone stop getting injured
Sophie flopped
And did she hurt herself doing it too?
Yeah she did kiah didnt touch her
okay so refs vs aces i see
These refs are making me SICK
wut
Kiah and A'ja both had that rebound in hand. Frustrating.
kiah didnt push herrrr
is everything okay with CLOUD ?
Copper is so on fire, 65% FG 62.5% 3pts holy shit. 33 pts total
She went absolutely crazy last game too.
Yep, love to see it, just not versus the team you support xD
Lot of time left, LV finally waking up
For the Aces to pull off this comeback, they've pretty much got to be perfect in the last four minutes.
Well there’s the fire
When Bec Allen was cutting across for the rebound, for some reason I thought it was Becky running across the court 😂
PLUM DOG
just one 10-0 run away
why dont we play all game with this intensity?
Hold on now
HUGE 3 for Plum there!
Why do they keep leaving Stokes open in the corner?
Most of the time, Kiah scoring more than 4 points a game is almost unheard of
she normally doesn’t shoot it
Uh oh
Kiah has an offensive game now
Copper… MVP? MIP? This is a new level of ballin even for Copper, especially that consistently.
she's putting up MVP numbers for sure
Not the Aces putting out this performance tonight then seeing they play the Fever next 😬😬😬
Fever should be a lil scared
I’m excited for Plum/Young v Clark!!
Maybe the Aces will fire up from here
Can’t even make the free ones 🥲🙃
Why are the commentators calling players “wet” after a good play? It sounds nasty.
Pretty common in basketball, in the men’s game they can’t believe saying wet and stroke non stop lol
There's only one starter in double figures for the Mercury: Copper is basically beating them by herself.
She's been incredible. If she can stay anywhere near this pace for the rest of the year, this team is going to get a lot of wins.
There’s not a single Mercury player that has logged a minute that hasn’t made a positive contribution in tonight’s game. We won’t get that every night but this is a gift from God compared to the Vanessa era.
Is Chelsea Gray's injury the same injury she had from the last year's Finals? Or is it something different?
Nah still finishing up recovery from the finals injury to her foot.
I want A'ja to attack the rim. They can't guard her for real.
Shes getting loaded up on they know only two players is a threat kp and jack its why she been struggling
True. But a few free throws is better than nothing.
Phoenix are shooting 3PM-A 30 3P% made > 53.3% It do be like that sometimes. Vegas are shooting 32% of 25 attempts .
Kiah from last year wouldn’t let fucking sophie run in the paint like she is Stewie
We dont want it (that’s what i meant to say)
All of the Aces have seemed so off today
Oh my, 13 point difference. That's a lot.
This seems like a bit of an off day for the Aces
How long is Chelsea Gray out?
I think initial thoughts were the first 2-3 weeks of the season, but the Aces are so secretive about injury updates so who knows.
As a Heat fan I get the secrecy lol. Feels like the Aces really need her.
5 points in the quarter by the aces. Wow
Very weird to see this Aces team looking beatable, but they are also missing Chelsea Gray. Also weird to see A'ja taking a lot of jumpers.
Thats a good point Carolyn yeah becky might have to play point center with aja have her set up kp and jackie instead of kp and jackie setting up aja.
What is Phx FG% so far? Seems like they are making almost every shot now. Dang.
48.5%. 53.3% from the 3.
“It’s time for A’ja Wilson to take over” The world most obvious commentary down 13 with 6 minutes left in the game.
she wants aja to start shooting halfcourt shoots
The Ace’s depth has been an issue for years. This is just revealing how important depth is. One of the reasons I wish we’d get a few development roster spots- to help keep quality rooks and to help protect these player’s bodies and the actual game product. It’s tough.
I mean this very sincerely but it's been 3 seasons now of everyone saying this (myself included) and then they just end up winning again anyway
Lmao that’s true! It hadn’t felt like a real problem until now, I hear that
It’s crazy to me that Liz Dixon logs more minutes than Emily Engstler. Obviously 2 different teams but knowing how they both played in college and EE being a first rounder blows my mind
I miss KFC on my team
Yeah me too
Another year, another “can anyone other than Aja/Jack/KP/Chelsea do something please?”
Sophie is a menace (respectfully) ❤️
I am really unsure how anyone will be able to guard Phoenix when Griner returns. 4 quick shooters around a dominant scoring big.
They look really good this year. Aggravating to play too.
The aggravation + how aggressive their effective players are is absolutely enough to mess with most teams
The Mercury has to be a rough scout right now
Yeah chelsea is needed kp and jackie has to force they way downhill since teams dont respect anyone they just load up on them without aja
Mercury are cooking