SEATTLE — Today began the start of the Phoenix Mercury’s new season, and this year will definitely feel a lot different than others for many reasons.
The first and most obvious is the huge wave of new fans that have migrated to the W to watch Caitlin Clark in Indiana. The Mercury start this season with a brand new owner in Mat Ishbia who has already invested a significant amount of money into the team. Not only is there a new owner, but a new head coach in Nate Tibbetts, who is now the highest-paid head coach in WNBA history. The team just recently revealed a new set of Rebel edition jerseys that are very familiar to Phoenix Suns fans. The Valley jerseys were adored by all in Arizona and even by many outside of the state, and we’re happy to see them make a comeback with one of Arizona’s most successful teams. In addition to that, we get the the WNBA’s first ever alternate court to match with it.
Despite the influx of new and curious fans, the WNBA for some reason didn’t provide a broadcast to watch the game. It wasn’t for a lack of willing viewers though. Although the game wasn’t professionally broadcasted, there were some charitable fans in Seattle that provided livestreams of the game from their seats that allowed desperate fans to watch. One fan that provided a view of the game accumulated over 18,000 views on Twitter, while two Seattle Storm fans on Instagram accrued thousands more viewers watching, including the Phoenix Mercury’s official Instagram account and other WNBA players as well.
The game itself may not have ended up well for the team, but a very important and annual reminder that the very first preseason game of the year is not a very good indicator as to how the rest of the season is going to be. The Mercury shot a measly 32% from the floor and went 5 for 25 from behind the arc. Although the chemical element of mercury doesn’t rust, it looked like the Phoenix Mercury were just a little rusty on their shots! We should expect the shots to start falling more really soon, but the Storm draining more than twice the amount of threes than the Mercury was a big factor in tonight’s loss.
The defense was also a little lackluster, but Coach Nate Tibbetts mentioned that defense was a big focus for them in camp. He sees this game was an opportunity for them to see where they need to make adjustments.
However, there are some positives to take out of tonight’s game. You can tell this team gels really well together on and off the court. We’ve been lucky to see small snippets of the team bonding together and laughing together, but in tonight’s game we really saw the ball moving all over. A lot of successful pick and rolls and great looks in the paint were the real showcase for the team. Everyone seems to trust each other before the season has even really started.
Even though the starting five didn’t play the second half, I believe we have a lot to be excited about this season. The next preseason game begins this Friday in Phoenix at 7 PM Pacific Time against the Los Angeles Sparks. Luckily, this game will not be exclusively featured on Twitter and Instagram livestreams, but for free on the WNBA league pass!
