Mercury 72, Sun 63: Struggling to make adjustments again

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 from there.


It’s not a bad strategy, but Phoenix knew the best way to combat that was to pressure the ball, and pressure they did. Griner and Nelson-Ododa still ended up in double figures, but no one else did, with both Lacan and Charlisse Leger-Walker looking more and more lost as the game went on, as there was no Plan B (it should be pointed out that Natasha Mack, who returned and played 20 minutes, makes a big difference for Phoenix inside as well).


Now Meziane can’t shoot the ball for his team, and that’s the most obvious adjustment the Sun will have to make, but right now they are miserable from the outside (4-for-14 from behind the arc Sunday) and don’t have any high volume shooters (yes, like Marina Mabrey). Sadly, that probably won’t be Meziane’s call going forward, but the Sun/Comets will definitely be in the market for some offense in free agency before next season (I don’t think it will be Kennedy Burke).


With Indiana on the horizon, it stands to be a much different contest, but we’ll see what the Sun offers up.


What else did we see in the Sun’s ugly 72-63 loss in Phoenix on Sunday?:




 

  1. Someone to step up  - Aaliyah Edwards was questionable to play and only got five minutes before being shut down. With Aneesah Morrow and Saniya Rivers still out, the options were a little limited. But with Lacan neutralized, the Sun needed someone to step up and score. Nell Angloma tried with eight points, but she’s not quite ready for primetime yet. Diamond Miller continues to disappoint offensively scoring just six points in 31 minutes. And that’s about all they have to offer at the moment.

  2. What of Aneesah Morrow? - You could make a case that Morrow was the Sun’s best offensive player for a while, but it’s been a month (with little explanation) since Morrow has played more than nine minutes in a game. She’s now on the roster again, although it seems like the Sun are going to wait until after the All-Star Break to reintroduce her. Connecticut has survived without her, but it’s hard to say they have thrived, she brings something they don’t have and seems a good addition to a Lacan-ONO-Griner lineup when fully ready to go.

  3. Growing pains for Lacan -  Lacan had an extremely rough game against the Mercury pressure, but it’s easy to forget she just turned 22 and making her the leader of the team is still going to come with growing pains like we saw Sunday. It also should be added that Leger-Walker (also a rookie) had a tough time as well against a veteran Phoenix team with Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner (we know them), and Kahleah Copper. Hopefully, her time will come. 


Player of the game:  Olivia Nelson-Ododa - Another double-double for ONO with 12 points and 12 rebounds. She’s been able to stay out of foul trouble recently and also finished at +6, the only Sun player in positive territory for the evening.


Inside the numbers : 11 -  Number of assists for Alyssa Thomas, who only scored seven points in the contest, but had her usual huge effect on the game anyway. We still miss and love AT.


Under the radar: The Sun actually won the second half 30-29, but the stretch in the second quarter where Lacan was really struggling and had a couple of live-ball turnovers turned out to be the difference. Bonner had a huge role in that, which was bittersweet.


Connecticut has seen a ton of zone defenses in the last few games, which I guess can be taken as a compliment for what they’ve been able to do inside, but they’ve done OK against it, so not sure if it will continue going forward. We’ll see what Stephanie White looks at Wednesday, if she resorts to it, it’s probably good news for the Sun.


Quotable:  “I thought Lacan was super aggressive the other night and it’s something we talked about a lot in the video session yesterday (Saturday). Just being better on the ball with her and being more competitive there. We set the tone early." - Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts


Next up: Wednesday at Indiana, 8 p.m.

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