In Game 1, the Lynx dominated the Mercury 82-69. In Game 2, Phoenix had a historic comeback and won 89-83 in overtime. Now, the Mercury home game (sorry Jonas Brothers), and whoever wins will be just one
victory away from a WNBA Finals berth.
Here’s what each team has to do to earn the result they desire.
What the Lynx must do to win
All year long, Minnesota has reigned supreme. The Lynx are the No. 1 seed and were undefeated in the playoffs until their epic collapse in Game 2. While blowing a 20-point lead was a shock, signs of it happening were clear. They fell behind a couple of times against the Valkyries and were just good enough to eventually show their class and win.
Clearly, if you don’t close the door on the Mercury, they’ll make you play. Focus and full effort are hard to sustain for 40 minutes, but that’s the job.
If the Lynx want to win on Friday, they must be defensively suffocating, dominate the glass, reduce turnovers, and, when they get up by double figures, finish the job.
Offensively, the Lynx have done enough to win both games, so there is an excellent baseline established there. Defensively, they must be sharper. They held Phoenix to 13% shooting from deep in Game 1, but in Game 2, the Mercury shot 40% from deep.
Minnesota doesn’t have to be as good as they were in Game 1 to win, but if they let Phoenix get comfortable on the perimeter, it’s going to be a tough game to win.
Individually, the core has been great for the Lynx. Napheesa Collier, Kayla McBride, and Courtney Williams have been stellar and will need to sustain this level of excellence the rest of the way.
What the Mercury must do to win
Talent-wise, the Lynx are the better team. As Phoenix has demonstrated, they can still win a game and even this series. It just means they have less room for error and must play at their highest level. For the Mercury that starts and ends with Alyssa Thomas. AT is averaging 18.5 points, eight rebounds, and 10 assists in this series. That’s good enough to get it done.
Phoenix needs her to keep that up, especially when it comes to scoring. If they score 69 points like they did in Game 1, they won’t be winning again.
Another factor in their sole loss in this series was rebounding. The Mercury lost the rebounding battle 42-35 in Game 1, while they grabbed just as many boards in Game 2 as the Lynx did.
Phoenix is running a tight ship with an eight-player rotation, so wherever they can get someone to outperform their regular production, it is needed. Enter Sami Whitcomb, she was sensational in Game 2, scoring 13 points.
Whitcomb doesn’t have to be that good, but if she can hit some threes, be a boost off the bench, and keep defenses honest, that’ll go a long way.
Satou Sabally is another player who has turned things up in this series. She had a team-high 24 points in Game 2.
Last, but certainly not least, is Kahleah Copper. She suffered an injury in Game 2 and was limited to just eight points. Copper is a player who can play well beyond that, and she’ll have to if the Mercury want to win this series.
Game 3 will not be the end-all, be-all. These teams will play at least another game in this series, but no one wants to fall behind. So winning on Friday is important because it’s the difference between being a game away from the Finals or a game from the season ending.
Game information
No. 1-seed Minnesota Lynx (1-1) vs. No. 4-seed Phoenix Mercury (1-1)
- When: Friday, Sept. 26 at 9:30 p.m. ET
- Where: PHX Arena in Phoenix, AZ
- How to watch: ESPN 2
