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Mercury 72, Sun 63: Struggling to make adjustments again

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I don’t think I’m alone in not liking the WNBA’s scheduling policy of sometimes letting teams play each other twice consecutively in the same place. Obviously, it saves on travel, but in league where franchises are selling for $350 million (thanks says the Mohegan Tribe), it’s no longer necessary. It does, however, give coaches and teams a good chance at adjustments on short notice, and adjustments are definitely something Rachid Meziane and the Sun have struggled with in the last couple of years, and it was on full display Sunday afternoon in Phoenix. Two days after completely dominating the Mercury, Phoenix turned the tables and shut Connecticut down, turning them over 21 times (nine by Leila Lacan, more on that later). Nate Tibbetts is having a rough second season in Phoenix, but he showed his Xs and Os game in 2025 and surely saw that the Sun’s new offensive strategy is to use Brittany Griner and Olivia Nelson-Ododa to jam the ball inside and then use split cuts and high-low action...
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Sun 90, Fire 87: Back to winning ways, but still room for improvement

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  I guess it’s a sign of progress when we can get frustrated with a Sun victory (their first over Portland in three meetings this season), but the fourth quarter was again a tough watch as the Sun finally held on. The collapse actually began late in the third quarter as Connecticut was cruising with a 15-point lead before things suddenly went awry and the Fire pressure stepped up. Portland had absolutely no answer for the Sun’s size and strength with Rachid Meziane using two of Brittany Griner, Olivia Nelson-Ododa, and Aaliyah Edwards at (almost) all times, and it’s becoming somewhat of an identity for the Sun as they pounded the ball to the basket at will, particularly effective against the vertically challenged and expansion Fire. Still, what seemed like an easy victory turned into a nailbiter, as it took a couple of big Edwards buckets down the stretch and eventually a defensive stop to finish it off. If you watched this game, there seemed to be no doubt that the Sun were the be...
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Lynx 86, Sun 80: Back to the frustrating losses

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Yeah, I probably jinxed it, talking about how important Brittany Griner is to what the Sun are doing and her playing 34 minutes in the Minnesota win Monday seemed a bit ominous given her recent injury history. Sure enough, Griner not only missed Wednesday, but will miss Friday’s game against Golden State as well, which does not bode well for what’s down the road in 2026, either. The Sun also lost Saniya Rivers to an ankle sprain in the second quarter. Rivers is having a miserable offensive season, but looked on her way to a decent game before going down. Thankfully Rivers’ injury does not seem ultra serious, she might miss a few games. And Aneesah Morrow’s somewhat mysterious absence continues, although it looks like Friday will be the last game she misses. Even with all that going on, there were the Sun holding a fourth quarter lead against (an albeit also shorthanded) league-leading Minnesota Wednesday night in. Then we looked up and saw a lineup full of rookies, including Gianna Kne...
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Sun 90, Lynx 89: Sun (finally) find a way to win a close one

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One of my favorite moments as a Sun fan was almost exactly two years ago when vacation took me to Minnesota at the same time as the then contending Sun. We splurged and got courtside seats, and Connecticut provided a memorable night and a 78-73 win . Their record at the time was 16-4, but of course everyone from that roster (except Olivia Nelson-Ododa, who played seven minutes) is long gone. Minnesota would get their revenge in the postseason in a tough five-game series before losing to New York controversially in the WNBA Finals. Two years is not a long time in the grand scheme of things, but it also feels like forever now as we face the demise of the Sun. You may remember that Connecticut almost improbably won in Minnesota last season, in just the third game of the campaign, the Sun led by 15 with five minutes left, but as would become a theme (is still a theme?), the Lynx stormed back and beat them 76-70.  That game, however, seemed like a fluke, Minnesota could not put the ball...
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Wings 86, Sun 83: A night for what could have been

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HARTFORD, Conn. - The best musical of the modern era is Hadestown and not Hamilton (although Hamilton is awesome), and if you know it, you know Orpheus "can make you see how the world could be in spite of the way that it is." If you closed your eyes and imagined an alternate universe Thursday night, you saw how the future of the WNBA could have been in Connecticut: 14,000 people packing Peoples Bank Arena and most decidedly involved as the game went down to the wire. Excited plays, superstars grabbing the game by the throat down the stretch, a very good entertainment product minus perhaps the myriad and lengthy reviews. Yes, the WNBA took some chances to keep the Sun in state, but this is the Basketball Capital of the World after all and are always going to support their team just as much (if not more) as any other team in the league, even as its growth continues unabated. It was, of course, Paige Bueckers (and a little Azzi Fudd) that brought a decent amount of the 14,000 to...
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We're back, at least for now: It's been rough

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  I am back. Kind of. For now, at least. Sincere apologies to people who checked in here to see what was going on with the Connecticut Sun, and have seen nothing for the last couple of weeks. Like pretty much everything in life, there are several reasons for my absence: I’ve had to deal with some personal stuff, some medical stuff, and some family stuff. But I can’t deny that it’s also been pretty darn depressing to follow the Sun this season. Obviously the record is frustrating and some of the games have been tough to watch, but if I look inside myself, it’s not really about that. When it was announced the Sun was going to Houston, it hurt, but it wasn’t immediate. However, as every day goes by now, we’re one day closer to the end and, in a way, watching them makes me sad. I think there was part of me that was holding out hope for a miracle and everyone to magically reverse course and find a way for the Sun to stay. The Hartford Civic Center (where tonight's game will be played) c...
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Tempo 106, Sun 102 (OT): Other team doesn't need any help

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Losing sucks, even more so when you’re a professional athlete, so although the effort was better and the Sun scored more than 100 points, for crying out loud, having nothing to show for it at the end of the day is rough. We know the Sun are headed nowhere this season, but would it kill everyone just to have one moment to shine in this brutal last couple of weeks? You’d like to say that Connecticut collapsed in this one, and there was plenty to work on, especially at the defensive end, where again, opposing guards are having their way with the Sun. But - although this is not a space where we like to bash referees much - there were a few calls down the stretch that certainly didn’t help matters, including a baffling foul on Olivia Nelson-Ododa that fouled her out, and one on Leila Lacan that ended her night. In the end, there were many positives, including the play of Lacan, although, it’s another tough loss as the season continues to slip away by the game.   What else did we le...
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