One trade, two games, then the shutdown
Kelsey Plum arrived at the Phoenix Mercury on August 2, coming over from the Los Angeles Sparks. Twenty days later, she is sidelined indefinitely with a calf injury. She has already missed the last two games for her new team.
The trade was supposed to give a floundering franchise a scoring focal point. So far, it has barely moved the needle. Phoenix is 13-23, has lost four of its last five, and its 5-11 home record goes a long way toward explaining the mess. The latest setback: an 88-85 home defeat to the Portland Fire on Sunday.
Plum, though, is not hiding behind the standings. “At this point in the season, there are things you can’t control, but what you can control is your pride,” she said.
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Seven and a half games back
The numbers have left Phoenix with very little wiggle room. The Mercury sit seven and a half games behind the Dallas Wings, who hold the eighth and final playoff spot, with only eight games left. A loss tonight against the Atlanta Dream could be enough to eliminate Phoenix mathematically.
Kahleah Copper is keeping the side afloat with a team-high 20.5 points per game. It’s about the only bright spot in a season that never got off the ground.
Atlanta comes in hot
Across the floor, the Dream arrive at 23-13, with four wins from their last five, and after a statement Thursday in Los Angeles: 124-88 over the Sparks. Rhyne Howard scored 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including 5-of-8 from three. Angel Reese added 20 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals.
Reese also leads the league in rebounding at 11.9 boards per game. Atlanta is chasing a top-four finish to lock in home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, and it has been on the road plenty lately: four of its last six have come away from home, producing a 3-1 record. “Being on the road and knowing how much these road wins are going to matter down the stretch, especially for the standings before the playoffs, it’s important,” Reese said.
The Dream have already beaten Phoenix twice this season, 82-80 on May 24 and 96-82 on August 5.
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