Phoenix Mercury at Las Vegas Aces Game Preview

The Phoenix Mercury have a chance to tie up their season series with the Las Vegas Aces and take sole ownership of fourth place in the standings.

Aug 15, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas (25) drives on Las Vegas Aces forward NaLyssa Smith (3) in the second half at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images / Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

On Thursday night, the Phoenix Mercury will travel across the desert to Las Vegas to take on the Aces for the fourth and final time. The Aces have arguably the best player in the league, they're the hottest team in the league, currently riding an eight-game winning streak, and they just beat the Mercury in Phoenix less than a week ago. It'll be a tough road matchup for the Mercury, who have a chance to tie up the season series at two games apiece and avoid ceding a crucial tiebreaker to the Aces, who are jockeying with Phoenix for playoff seeding.

I've recently taken a look at how the Aces match up with the Mercury, so this preview will focus on how Phoenix can improve over their performance in last Friday's dramatic 86-83 loss.

Aug 15, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson (22) shoots over Phoenix Mercury guard Sami Whitcomb (33) in the first half at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images / Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

Protecting the glass

Phoenix has been one of the league's strongest defensive rebounding teams this year, but gave up 12 offensive boards to the Aces last time around, a big part of why they were able to pick up the win despite hitting just four threes for the entire game. Keeping NaLyssa Smith and A'ja Wilson from racking up second chance points is easier said than done, but they'll need to control the defensive glass better this time around.

Avoiding fouls

The Mercury may have outscored the Aces by 18 points from beyond the three-point line, but the Aces made up for it in part by hitting 11 more free throws than the hosts. Wilson hit 14 of them by herself, which the Mercury can't afford to allow to happen again. Wilson is such an effective scorer from all over the court and has such a deep bag of tricks that it can be difficult to anticipate what she's going to do, but it is somewhat encouraging that she only made two free throws in the fourth quarter last Friday, a sign that Phoenix's defense on her had improved. Expect Alyssa Thomas to get more time guarding her this time.

Jun 29, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Las Vegas Aces guard Chelsea Gray (12) shields the ball from Phoenix Mercury guard Monique Akoa Makani (8) in the first half at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images / Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

Stopping dribble penetration

Chelsea Gray hasn't always been her usual dominant self this season, but she got to her spots with ease down the stretch and poured in 10 points in the final stanza. Monique Akoa Makani looked like her best self down the stretch against the Golden State Valkyries on Tuesday and they'll need her to play at that level again to keep one of the league's best point guards from controlling the game.

Jun 29, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Mercury forward Satou Sabally (0) shoots against the Las Vegas Aces in the second half at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images / Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

Late-game execution

Phoenix had a chance to win their last game against the Aces. They had the ball with 3.6 seconds on the clock and had drawn up a play after a timeout, but passed the ball directly to Vegas after a miscommunication. The Mercury, who are still improving their chemistry, will have to be sharper in late-game pressure scenarios against a team with championship experience.

A win would bring Phoenix to 22-13 on the season and drop Vegas to 22-15, giving the Mercury a chance to put some distance between them and secure a top-four seed in the playoffs.

Check us out on X and Facebook for more Phoenix Mercury news.

feed