Prior to the start of the season, many a WNBA pundit (including us) had prognostications on where they believed the Phoenix Mercury would be at season’s end.
One would likely be hard-pressed to find any of those pundits who believed that the Mercury, with more than a quarter of the 2023 campaign in the books, would be 2-11 and at the bottom of the W standings.
Unfortunately for the Mercury and their loyal X-Factor of passionate fans, that is where Phoenix is.
The Mercury are indeed 2-11 as of this writing and in the throes of a six game losing streak. Phoenix’s most recent defeat came at the hands of the Dallas Wings at home. The Mercury and Wings played each other rather evenly matched through three quarters before the final frame was dictated by Dallas, leading to the Mercury’s most recent trip to the loss column.
Phoenix is in the midst of a week’s worth of games that one would see as winnable if the Mercury are to get back in the playoff picture. This week, the Mercury have matchups at their Footprint Center home court against the Wings, Indiana Fever and Minnesota Lynx.
Those three teams are not exactly the buzzsaws the Las Vegas Aces, Connecticut Sun and New York Liberty have been this season.
Prior to the loss to the Wings – the first under interim head coach Nikki Blue, the Mercury were also dealt a loss by way of the Seattle Storm. That defeat apparently was enough for owner Mat Ishbia who fired head coach Nygaard.
Ishbia is not playing around early on with his ownership of the Mercury and Phoenix Suns. Following what was another disappointing postseason exit for the NBA franchise, Ishbia let go of Monty Williams (who recently took the job with the Detroit Pistons). Frank Vogel will serve in Williams’ stead.
The hiring of Nygaard was seen as a questionable hire by some especially given who she replaced. Sandy Brondello was the former longtime coach of the Mercury and her final season in Phoenix happened to be a year where the Mercury were WNBA Finals participants. That, of course, was the 2021 Finals where the Mercury were dispatched in four games by the Chicago Sky.
To an extent, the hiring of Nygaard can also be seen as one final parting shot of the Robert Sarver era in Arizona.
The 2022 season was one where the Mercury had to deal with the extenuating circumstances of Brittney Griner’s detainment in Russia. BG’s absence was not only felt on the court but in the locker room given the numerous reports of a tumultuous environment around the team that season.
Many a WNBA fan remembers Nygaard’s press conference where she advocated for Diana Taurasi to be an All-Star that season. Skylar Diggins-Smith, of course, got wind of that Nygaard press conference and responded with a quote tweet with a clown emoji.
There were plenty who believed that with Griner back that the Mercury would get back to the playoffs and make a deeper run that qualifying as an eighth seed last season to be swept in the first round by the eventual champion Aces.
Now it seems the Mercury are missing Diggins-Smith, who took time off because she gave birth to her second child. There is a video that is making the rounds through WNBA Twitter of Diggins-Smith back in the gym but if it is a precursor to a return to the Mercury is yet to be seen.
Whether it was 2022 or this season, the overarching message appears to be that Nygaard never had the Mercury locker room. And with each loss, her seat only got hotter given she is coaching a team that – on paper – should be one of the better teams in the W.
BG was named an All-Star starter for next month’s festivities in Las Vegas. She received the third most votes behind A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart. That is, of course, a highlight of a Phoenix Mercury 2023 that collectively has seen more valleys than peaks in Arizona.
The short-lived Nygaard era had more valleys than peaks. Let us say these standings hold – while much attention would be given to the Mercury’s draft and lottery status, task No. 1 for Ishbia and Jim Pitman would be to find a coach that can get the Mercury once again peaking in the Valley.
