Mercury Looking to Repeat Versus Lynx

The Pheonix Mercury are hopeful to upset the Minnesota Lynx for the second time this season coming off their win over the Valkyries.

Jul 14, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Phoenix Mercury guard Sami Whitcomb (33) and forward Alyssa Thomas (25) high five between plays against the Golden State Valkyries during the third quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images / Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

The Phoenix Mercury are coming off a good win over the Golden State Valkyries in a 78-77 thriller, and now hope to improve to a 16-6 record in the Western Conference.

The problem is they run into a familiar foe in the Minnesota Lynx, as they are the first seed in the West, sitting at a comfortable 19-4.

Phoenix already faced the Lynx earlier this season and handed them their 3rd loss, beating them 79-71. A lot was learned from his win. A ton of questions leading into the game got a swift answer.

Some of the same questions and concerns arise in front of this game with the Lynx.

One of the recurring questions is whether the Mercury offense can run at high efficiency without Satou Sabally. This has not been a problem for Phoenix, as they scored 79 and 78 points in their last two outings. Now, their points per game have dropped slightly, but their defense hasn't, and it has improved.

Phoenix has been slightly underperforming in terms of points per game but overperforming in points allowed per game. It has become clear over this break that without Sabally, the Mercury can still perform an effective offense and generate enough stops on defense to win these games.

Defensively, when Phoenix faced Minnesota last time, they forced 18 turnovers, which is almost six more than their average of 12.4 turnovers per game. It is crucial that the Mercury put as much, if not more, pressure on the ball to force more turnovers. When they played, Phoenix recorded six steals from four different players.

The Mercury knew that they would need someone to step up offensively. Against the Dallas Wings, it was Sami Whitcomb, who scored 36 points off a 63.2 field goal percentage and hit seven threes in the process. Against the Lynx, it was all-star Alyssa Thomas who put up 29 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and two steals. She was able to take over offensively in that game and control the court.

The Mercury is looking for another performance like that out of her. The Mercury have been missing their consistent scorer in Sabally, but in their two most recent games, two different players stepped up to the plate and took on the scorer role. Against the Valkyries, it was DeWanna Bonner who had 22 points.

Ever since Sabally's injury, multiple players on the Mercury have stepped up to help fill in the offensive footprint she left.

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