2018 Phoenix Mercury season

Last updated

2018 Phoenix Mercury season
Coach Sandy Brondello
Arena Talking Stick Resort Arena
Attendance9,950 per game
Results
Record20–14 (.588)
Place2nd (Western)
Playoff finish5th seed; lost in Semifinals to Seattle
Team Leaders
Points Diana Taurasi – 20.7 ppg
Rebounds Brittney Griner – 7.7 rpg
Assists Diana Taurasi – 5.3 apg
Media
Television Fox Sports Arizona (FS-A)

The 2018 WNBA season was the 22nd season for the Phoenix Mercury franchise of the WNBA. The season tipped off on May 14. [1]

Contents

The Mercury started the season slowly, going 2–3 in May. They won the first two games, but lost the next three. All five games were against eventual playoff teams. However, the Mercury caught fire in June, posting an 11–2 record which included an 8 game winning streak. The June high turned into a July low. The team was 2–7 in July with their only wins coming against Connecticut, and league-worst Indiana. The Mercury managed to turn it around and end the season on a high, going 5–2 in August. Their regular season ended on a three game winning streak, with all games coming against playoff teams. The Mercury finished the season 20–14, with the 5th seed in the 2018 WNBA Playoffs.

As the fifth seed, the Mercury had to play an opening round game against the Dallas Wings at home. The Mercury won by 18 points, 101–83. This win saw them advance to the second round where they played the fourth seeded Connecticut Sun in Connecticut. Again, the Mercury won, this time by 10 points. With the win, the Mercury advanced to the Semifinals to face the first seeded Seattle Storm. The home team won each game in the five game series. However, the Mercury did not have home court advantage, due to being the lower seed, and lost the series 2–3 despite nearly completing a dramatic comeback after being down two games to none.

Transactions

WNBA draft

RoundPickPlayerNationalitySchool/Team/Country
112 Marie Gülich Flag of Germany.svg  Germany Oregon State
220 Tyler Scaife Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States Rutgers
221 Raisa Musina Flag of Russia.svg  Russia UMMC Ekaterinburg (Russia)
326 Imani Wright Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States Florida State

Trades/Roster Changes

DateDetails
February 1, 2018Sign F Sancho Lyttle [2]
February 2, 2018Acquired 21st pick in the 2018 WNBA draft in exchange for C Cayla George. [3]
February 2, 2018Acquired 26th pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft and a 3nd round pick in the 2019 WNBA draft in exchange for C Kelsey Bone. [4]
February 2, 2018Re-signed G Yvonne Turner and G Emma Cannon [5]
February 5, 2018Re-signed F Camille Little [6]
February 13, 2018Re-signed G/F DeWanna Bonner [7]
March 6, 2018Acquired G Briann January in exchange for the 8th pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft. [8]
March 6, 2018Acquired the 12th pick in the 2018 WNBA draft in exchange for G Danielle Robinson and a second round pick in the 2019 WNBA Draft. [9]

Roster

2018 Phoenix Mercury roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHeightWeightDOBFromYrs
F 24 Flag of the United States.svg Bonner, DeWanna 6' 4" (1.93m)143 lb (65kg)1987-08-21 Auburn 8
C 42 Flag of the United States.svg Griner, Brittney 6' 9" (2.06m)205 lb (93kg)1990-10-18 Baylor 5
C 21 Flag of Germany.svg Gülich, Marie 6' 5" (1.96m)199 lb (90kg)1994-05-28 Oregon State R
G 12 Flag of the United States.svg January, Briann 5' 8" (1.73m)144 lb (65kg)1987-01-11 Arizona State 9
F 20 Flag of the United States.svg Little, Camille 6' 2" (1.88m)180 lb (82kg)1985-01-18 North Carolina 11
F 31 Flag of Spain.svg Lyttle, Sancho  Cruz Roja.svg6' 5" (1.96m)175 lb (79kg)1983-09-20 Houston 13
G 5 Flag of the United States.svg Mitchell, Leilani 5' 5" (1.65m)138 lb (63kg)1985-06-15 Utah 9
F 14 Flag of the United States.svg Peters, Devereaux 6' 2" (1.88m)174 lb (79kg)1989-10-08 Notre Dame 5
C 0 Flag of the United States.svg Robinson, Angel 6' 6" (1.98m)193 lb (88kg)1987-04-20 Georgia 2
G 8 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Talbot, Stephanie 6' 2" (1.88m)192 lb (87kg)1990-12-20 Australia 1
G/F 3 Flag of the United States.svg Taurasi, Diana 6' 0" (1.83m)163 lb (74kg)1982-06-11 Connecticut 13
G 6 Flag of the United States.svg Turner, Yvonne 5' 10" (1.78m)131 lb (59kg)1987-10-13 Nebraska 2
Head coach
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Sandy Brondello (Western Sydney)
Assistant coaches
Flag of the United States.svg Julie Hairgrove (Arizona)
Flag of the United States.svg Todd Troxel (Doane)
Strength and conditioning coach
Flag of the United States.svg Jonathan Mak (Illinois State)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Cruz Roja.svg Injured

Game log

Pre-season

2018 pre-season game log
May: 0–2 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
1May 8@ Seattle L 69–73 Bonner (13)Tied (6)3 Tied (3) KeyArena
3,502		0–1
2May 12 Seattle L 61–84 Griner (14) Lyttle (11) Bonner (4) Talking Stick Resort Arena
4,535		0–2
2018 pre-season schedule

Regular season

2018 game log
Total: 20–14 (Home: 9–8; Road: 11–6)
May: 2–3 (Home: 1–2; Road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
1May 18 Dallas W 86–78 Taurasi (26) Bonner (12) Mitchell (5) Talking Stick Resort Arena
11,210		1–0
2May 20@ Seattle W 87–82 Griner (29) Griner (10) Bonner (7) KeyArena
8,602		2–0
3May 23 Seattle L 71–87 Taurasi (23) Bonner (9) Lyttle (4) Talking Stick Resort Arena
8,068		2–1
4May 27@ Los Angeles L 72–80 Lyttle (20)Tied (5) January (7) Staples Center
11,201		2–2
5May 30 Washington L 95–103 Griner (27) Lyttle (7) Taurasi (7) Talking Stick Resort Arena
8,188		2–3
June : 11–2 (Home: 3–1; Road: 8–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
6June 1@ Minnesota W 95–85 Taurasi (29) Griner (9) Taurasi (6) Target Center
8,830		3–3
7June 3@ Atlanta W 78–71 Tied (20)Tied (7) Taurasi (8) McCamish Pavilion
3,796		4–3
8June 5@ New York W 80–74 Griner (26) Griner (6) Taurasi (8) Madison Square Garden
7,215		5–3
9June 8 Chicago W 96–79 Griner (24) Griner (8) Taurasi (7) Talking Stick Resort Arena
8,834		6–3
10June 10 Las Vegas W 72–66 Taurasi (25) Griner (15) January (4) Talking Stick Resort Arena
8,471		7–3
11June 12@ Dallas W 75–72 Taurasi (21) Lyttle (10) January (6) College Park Center
4,026		8–3
12June 16 Connecticut W 89–72 Taurasi (19)Tied (9) January (8) Talking Stick Resort Arena
12,497		9–3
13June 17@ Las Vegas W 92–80 Taurasi (28) Bonner (9) Taurasi (7) Mandalay Bay Events Center
4,432		10–3
14June 22 Minnesota L 72–83 Taurasi (23) Griner (13) Taurasi (6) Talking Stick Resort Arena
11,349		10–4
15June 24@ Chicago L 88–97 Griner (19) Griner (10) Taurasi (8) Wintrust Arena
4,741		10–5
16June 26@ New York W 83–69 Taurasi (27) Griner (9) Taurasi (7) Westchester County Center
1,839		11–5
17June 29@ Indiana W 95–77 Taurasi (25) Bonner (9) Turner (7) Bankers Life Fieldhouse
7,241		12–5
18June 30@ Washington W 84–74 Griner (24) Turner (9) Taurasi (9) Capital One Arena
6,218		13–5
July : 2–7 (Home: 1–4; Road: 1–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
19July 5 Connecticut W 84–77 Taurasi (25) Bonner (13) Turner (5) Talking Stick Resort Arena
8,599		14–5
20July 8@ Atlanta L 70–76 Taurasi (19) Robinson (10)3 Tied (3) McCamish Pavilion
3,952		14–6
21July 10@ Dallas L 72–101 Griner (21)Tied (4) Mitchell (8) College Park Center
4,034		14–7
22July 13@ Connecticut L 87–91 Taurasi (28)Tied (7)Tied (6) Mohegan Sun Arena
7,696		14–8
23July 15@ Indiana W 101–82 Griner (36) Griner (12) Taurasi (7) Bankers Life Fieldhouse
6,302		15–8
24July 19 Las Vegas L 82–85 Taurasi (33) Robinson (11) Taurasi (6) Talking Stick Resort Arena
8,587		15–9
25July 21 Minnesota L 75–80 Bonner (29) Little (6) Talbot (3) Talking Stick Resort Arena
11,473		15–10
26July 25 Chicago L 87–101 Bonner (30) Bonner (13) January (7) Talking Stick Resort Arena
10,338		15–11
27July 31 Seattle L 91–102 Griner (25) Griner (6)Tied (7) Talking Stick Resort Arena
10,005		15–12
August : 5–2 (Home: 4–1; Road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
28August 1@ Las Vegas W 104–93 Taurasi (37) Bonner (14) Taurasi (9) Mandalay Bay Events Center
5,129		16–12
29August 5@ Los Angeles L 75–78 Griner (22) Bonner (9) January (9) Staples Center
19,076		16–13
30August 7 Washington L 98–103 Griner (35) Griner (11) Talbot (6) Talking Stick Resort Arena
7,769		16–14
31August 10 Indiana W 94–74 Tied (14) Bonner (10) Griner (4) Talking Stick Resort Arena
8,860		17–14
32August 12 Los Angeles W 86–78 Bonner (31) Griner (13) Taurasi (14) Talking Stick Resort Arena
10,618		18–14
33August 17 Atlanta W 104–95 Griner (33) Griner (18) Taurasi (14) Talking Stick Resort Arena
11,177		19–14
34August 19 New York W 96–85 Bonner (23) Bonner (10)Tied (5) Talking Stick Resort Arena
13,106		20–14
2018 season schedule

Playoffs

2018 playoff game log
Total: 4–3 (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–3)
First Round: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1August 21 Dallas W 101–83 Bonner (29)Tied (11) Taurasi (12) Wells Fargo Arena
4,976		1–0
Second Round: 1–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 1–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1August 23@ Connecticut W 96–86 Tied (27) Bonner (18)3 Tied (5) Mohegan Sun Arena
7,858		1–0
WNBA Semifinals: 2–3 (Home: 2–0; Road: 0–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1August 26@ Seattle L 87–91 Bonner (27) Bonner (13) Taurasi (6) KeyArena
9,686		0–1
2August 28@ Seattle L 87–91 (OT) Taurasi (28) Griner (10) Taurasi (8) KeyArena
9,686		0–2
3August 31 Seattle W 86–66 Bonner (27) Bonner (11) Turner (6) Talking Stick Resort Arena
15,185		1–2
4September 2 Seattle W 86–84 Griner (29) Griner (12) Taurasi (4) Talking Stick Resort Arena
8,137		2–2
5September 4@ Seattle 84–94 Griner (21) Griner (9) Griner (6) KeyArena
8,992		2–3
2018 playoff schedule

Standings

# Western Conference
W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
1 Seattle Storm (1)268.765–13–413–411–5
2 Phoenix Mercury (5)2014.58869–811–68–8
3 Los Angeles Sparks (6)1915.559711–68–99–7
4 Minnesota Lynx (7)1816.52989–89–89–7
5 Dallas Wings (8)1519.4411110–75–127–9
6e –Las Vegas Aces 1420.412128–96–114–12

Playoffs

First round:
Single elimination
(Aug. 21)		Second round:
Single elimination
(Aug. 23)		Semifinals:
Best-of-five
(Aug. 26 – Sept. 4)		 WNBA Finals:
Best-of-five
(Sept. 7 – Sept. 12)
1 Seattle Storm 9191668494
4 Connecticut Sun 865 Phoenix Mercury 8787868684
5 Phoenix Mercury 1015 Phoenix Mercury 961 Seattle Storm 897598
8 Dallas Wings 833 Washington Mystics 767382
2 Atlanta Dream 8478817681
3 Washington Mystics 963 Washington Mystics 8775769786
6 Los Angeles Sparks 756 Los Angeles Sparks 64
7 Minnesota Lynx 68

Note: Teams re-seeded after second round and semi-finals.

Statistics

Legend
  GPGames played  GS Games started MPG Minutes per game RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game SPG  Steals per game BPG  Blocks per game PPG Points per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage 3P%  3-point field-goal percentage FT%  Free-throw percentage TO  Turnovers per game
 PF  Fouls per gameTeam leaderLeague leader

Regular season

PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
Diana Taurasi 333330.0.446.383.9253.55.30.90.220.7
Brittney Griner 343432.6.544.250.8007.72.10.52.620.5
DeWanna Bonner 343432.9.452.313.8677.23.21.30.417.3
Sancho Lyttle 181823.3.540.000.8755.31.40.90.47.9
Briann January 333327.1.423.470.8062.13.30.60.17.0
Leilani Mitchell 31014.9.351.341.8571.42.30.50.24.4
Yvonne Turner 32313.3.376.324.6821.81.30.70.14.1
Stephanie Talbot 31814.6.464.386.9051.91.30.50.33.7
Camille Little 33716.2.330.258.7741.81.20.50.33.0
Angel Robinson 2409.9.452.000.8503.00.50.20.32.3
Devereaux Peters 507.6.333.000.0001.60.40.00.01.6
Marie Gülich 2305.0.483.000.7501.00.10.00.21.5

Awards and honors

RecipientAwardDate awardedRef.
Brittney Griner WNBA Western Conference Player of the WeekJune 11, 2018 [10]
Diana Taurasi WNBA Cares Community Assist Award – MayJune 20, 2018 [11]
WNBA Western Conference Player of the Month – JuneJuly 3, 2018 [12]
Sandy Brondello WNBA Coach of the Month Award – JuneJuly 2, 2018 [13]
Diana Taurasi WNBA All-Star SelectionJuly 17, 2018 [14]
DeWanna Bonner
Brittney Griner
DeWanna Bonner WNBA Western Conference Player of the WeekAugust 20, 2018 [15]
Diana Taurasi WNBA Western Conference Player of the Month – AugustAugust 20, 2018 [16]

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References

  1. ↑ "2018 Phoenix Mercury Schedule". mercury.wnba.com. Women's National Basketball Association. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Mercury Signs All-Star Forward Sancho Lyttle". mercury.wnba.com. WNBA. February 1, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Mercury Acquires Second-Round Pick". mercury.wnba.com. WNBA. February 2, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Mercury Acquires Two Draft Picks in Sign-And-Trade Deal". mercury.wnba.com. WNBA. February 2, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Turner, Cannon Re-Sign with Mercury". mercury.wnba.com. WNBA. February 2, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Mercury Re-Signs Camille Little". mercury.wnba.com. WNBA. February 5, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Mercury Re-Signs Two-Time WNBA Champion DeWanna Bonner". mercury.wnba.com. WNBA. February 13, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Mercury Acquires Former Sun Devil Great Briann January". mercury.wnba.com. WNBA. March 6, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Mercury Acquires 2018 First-Round Pick from Lynx". mercury.wnba.com. WNBA. March 6, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Phoenix's Griner, Atlanta's Hayes Named WNBA Players Of The Week". wnba.com. WNBA. June 11, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Phoenix's Diana Taurasi Receives May WNBA Cares Community Assist Award Presented By State Farm". wnba.com. WNBA. June 20, 2018. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Washington's Delle Donne, Phoenix's Taurasi Named WNBA Players of the Month". wnba.com. WNBA. July 3, 2018. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Phoenix's Sandy Brondello Named WNBA Coach of the Month". wnba.com. WNBA. July 2, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
  14. ↑ "2018 WNBA All-Stars Announced; Elena Delle Donne, Candace Parker To Serve As Player-Captains". wnba.com. WNBA. July 17, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Jones, Bonner Named Players Of The Week". wnba.com. WNBA. August 20, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Elena Delle Donne And Diana Taurasi Named Players Of Month For August". wnba.com. WNBA. August 20, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
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