r/PHXMercury • u/PersonnelFowl Phoenix Mercury • Jul 09 '26
WNBA Discussion Mercury at the halfway point
With that Chicago game (thankfully) in the rear view, the Mercury (8-14) have officially hit the halfway point of the season. It’s safe to say that this season is not turning out like any of us would have predicted.
In order to make the playoffs, the Merc need to jump several teams in the standings and get to 8th which has been held by teams at or near .500 most of the season. That means over these next 22 games, Phoenix needs to win at least 14 to even make the tournament.
I’m not going to lie, I don’t see it happening without something huge to jumpstart the team. Could that be Sami getting her season started? Maybe. I think they need something bigger though. Probably a trade or a coaching change. Maybe that’s just me being down after that brutal loss to the Sky. I felt the team had turned a corner before that game, but what a terrible regression that was!
What do y’all think? Can they claw into the playoff picture? What do you think can spark a real turnaround?
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u/Adventurous-Room-845 Jul 10 '26
I can't wait for them to blow this team up. Get a new coach, new franchise player(s) and be the catalyst for DB's retirement. It would be absolute malpractice for any team to have her on a roster next season. Her best days of basketball are behind her, and the league is just getting younger, faster and more skilled. In a world of DB's, be a Tina Charles...leave the basketball behind before it leaves you.
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u/strangelystrangled mightless mercury Jul 10 '26
I do appreciate that Kelsey seems like a nice person and that she was there before this reign. She’s just doing her job out there
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u/circlesofhelvetica Here for the goAT 2️⃣5️⃣ Jul 10 '26
Yeah this is why I made that post about picking up Chennedy Carter - not saying that's the only solution, but I'd really rather see the team try something to fill the Satou-sized hole in our roster than continuing to grind it out with our current lineup which isn't working 😫.
I've never been great at strategizing trades, but hopefully someone in the front office is working on that end? But yeah signing Carter is the best I could come up with and has some well-known downsides, but really losing hope what we're doing is working and feels like we have a narrow window to turn things around if we have any shot at playoffs at all
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u/strangelystrangled mightless mercury Jul 10 '26
We have plenty of cap space and I've been thinking we'd make a trade since pre-season. The only question is what tradeable assets we have besides our first pick and Mack (which would make 0 sense)
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u/circlesofhelvetica Here for the goAT 2️⃣5️⃣ Jul 10 '26
Yeah truly what is this cap space for at this point?? I don't get it!
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u/strangelystrangled mightless mercury Jul 10 '26
And why hasn't Nogic's contract been permanently suspended? Why is she still actually on our roster?
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u/circlesofhelvetica Here for the goAT 2️⃣5️⃣ Jul 10 '26
Right! And while we're here asking questions WHY DIDNT WE CORE SATOU??
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u/strangelystrangled mightless mercury Jul 10 '26
We really fucked up handling her concussion. She missed Unrivaled and the World Cup qualifiers because of it. (Also come join the game thread if you’re interesting. I am yelling into the abyss)
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u/circlesofhelvetica Here for the goAT 2️⃣5️⃣ Jul 10 '26
I know - people (Nate) objectively should have been fired over it. Absolutely appalling to watch. Don't blame her at all for leaving just such a fuck up all around
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u/llamainleggings Phoenix Mercury| Mack🚛 Jul 09 '26
This team is so damn inconsistent it's hard to say. It looked like they had turned a corner during that three game win streak and then played that disaster of a game against Chicago.
The strength of schedule for the second half of the season is easier than the first so they could benefit from that.
My prediction is we end the season 10th in the standings and miss the playoffs. I can see us jumping in front of LA and one of new franchises (probably Portland).
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u/5_Star_Safety_Rated Phoenix Mercury Jul 09 '26
We have our pick for next year I believe? Depending on our record, there’s a chance we get a small lottery % and maybe we get a high pick. You never know!
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u/PersonnelFowl Phoenix Mercury Jul 10 '26
I honestly feel like a lottery win is a best case scenario at this point.
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u/oldtombombadil Phoenix Mercury Jul 09 '26
Unfortunately I do not think they can make the playoffs. Not enough talent. Feel old and slow. Some injury trouble. AT gives the team a floor where they won’t bottom out completely but it is tough. Feels like the rest of the league took a step forward and the Mercury took a step back.
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u/strangelystrangled mightless mercury Jul 09 '26
I personally am choosing to dissociate. And hope that the Sparks, Fire, Tempo and Mystics start losing a lot more.
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u/itsyoboytroy Jul 12 '26
Hopefully some good picks, and we need a new HC.