PHOENIX – There will be a conspicuous, towering absence for Phoenix Mercury on Friday night in their 2022 WNBA season opener – and beyond.
Friday’s game against Las Vegas Aces will be the first Phoenix without Brittney Griner, is considered the most dominant women’s basketball center in the world. Griner has been detained in Russia since February 17, after customs officials said they found hash oil in her luggage at an airport near Moscow.
Not available timetable for her releaseMercury has spent the past 2 and a half months preparing for this season knowing they will be without Griner, who is awaiting a hearing on May 19, for the foreseeable future.
What were considered a super team in early February after Mercury signed Tina Charles in free agent and traded with Diamond DeShields to supplement Diana Taurasi, Skylar Diggins-Smith and Griner were forced to reevaluate their approach to this season. Mercury is still chasing a second straight trip to the WNBA Finals, but has lost sight of the grand vision of pairing last season’s top two scorers in the WNBA – Charles (23.4 PPG, respectively) ) and Griner (20.5 PPG) – on the court together. Gone, it appears, is Griner’s first MVP award of the season.
Griner is irreplaceable in many ways, starting with her size. The 6-foot-9 center-back has the potential to change the game with her defensive presence in the lane. Griner led the WNBA in saves last season (1.9 per game), and sixth in total rebounds, rebounds per game (9.5), and offensive rebounds and defense.
She is also an attacking force, and leads the league in goals on the field and 2 on goals, shoots 36 times farther than the nearest player, and is also third in goalscoring percentage ( 0.575). Griner has the sixth most free throws as well as the sixth most free throws taken. And, according to Basketball Reference, Griner has the highest player effectiveness rating, highest offensive rating, most attack win rate, and second most win rate in the 2021 WNBA.
So how will Phoenix attempt to replace Griner’s MVP tier season? Charles, 33, is expected to play more without Griner; Charles averaged 33.3 minutes per game last season, the fifth most in the league, and managed to hit a career-high 137 3-pointers. Phoenix can also end up attacking more, with a smaller formation, and will have to rely more on Charles and Brianna Turner at the top of the defense.
While Phoenix is figuring out what life would be like without Griner, she is always keeping an eye on her teammates. And balancing the emotions of the lack of Griner with the need to prepare for the season is not easy.
“We think about her every day,” says Diggins-Smith. “We love her and we will continue to carry on her legacy, her voice and play to honor her until she returns here with us.”
Despite the apparent absence, Mercury’s freshman coach Vanessa Nygaard believes her team is focused on the field.
“Once you return the ball, you start blowing the whistle, that’s all you’re really focused on as a competitor,” Nygaard said. “In basketball, at any moment someone can get hurt or something can happen and they won’t be around, and you have to fight with what you have in the moment…
“Once we started competing, once we started there, the players were very focused on their individual roles, responsibilities and the success of the team.”
Nygaard says her adjustments are somewhat minor. No need for a complete overhaul because of some off-season signings, a returning core, and some experience playing without Griner (she left the 2020 season in Bradenton, Florida, early, and Phoenix played 10. last game without her).
Regardless, protect Sophie Cunningham thinks it might take a few games to get used to playing without Griner, the twice-yearly defensive and two-time goal-scoring champion.
“There is no one like BG in the whole world,” Cunningham said. “I think we’ll be fine, but of course we’d love to have B.”
Find out what life would be like without Griner wouldn’t be static. It will be a versatile, day-by-day discovery, says Kia Nurse protégé.
“Any night can be someone’s big scoring night and someone’s biggest assist night can be overturned the next day,” she said. “And, so just having that flexibility in our lineup and having that ability to show up every night and give ourselves a chance to win.”
Adaptability and flexibility will define 2022 for Mercury. Charles will be at the center of the offense, closely complemented by Diggins-Smith and a 39-year-old Taurasi. From there, Nygaard will grow. “I don’t think you have to have a super-traditional squad like you’ve had in the past,” said the coach.
Charles has no intention of changing her game just because her role would be different without Griner.
“I’m still going to step in and assert myself the same way regardless,” she said. “It’s just me. Just trying to be a star in my role whether it’s the outside beating the shots, sometimes on the inside, my approach will still be the same – to take over. the best possible advantage in any of my roles will be assigned to this team and whatever minutes will be assigned to me.”
Replacing Griner’s height would be impossible, but Phoenix has Charles and striker/center Kristine Anigweboth are 6-4 and a pair of 6-3 forwards in Maya Dodson and Turner. And Mercury is trying to see a reversal.
“There isn’t such a large coat of paint that can open up so many lanes for Dee [Taurasi] and for Sky [Diggins-Smith] to score the ball or get attention and kick three,” Cunningham said.
Griner left the bubble for personal reasons in 2020 after playing in the first 12 games, in which Mercury won 6-6. Without her in the squad, they drew 7-3 in the regular season and 1-1 in the knockout stages. Although this year’s roster has largely changed since that season, four of the five who started from the bubble plus Cunningham remain – enough to remember what they’ve won without the Griner and know how to use it. Use that experience now.
“Obviously, when she came out of the bubble, it was a correction,” Diggins-Smith said. “Our style of play has changed a little bit, I think, as far as we want to be a team that runs up and down and gets a lot of assets. Obviously the defense and things like that are going to change. , and I’m sure that’s going to be a different direction in terms of how teams can play against us. So I think some of that will be seen.”
Success lies in the details, says Nygaard. Do all the little things right: execute turns correctly, buy in, pay attention to the little things, play to the tempo, shoot on target. Mercury believes they can return to the WNBA Finals this season and this time, winning the franchise’s first title since 2014.
But without a pillar in their defence, one of their teammates and one of their friends, all for reasons beyond their control, will take time to get through.
“It would certainly be different without the best player in the world,” said Diggins-Smith. “And so that’s something we all haven’t accepted, at least until she comes back.” But you know, we’ll have to. “
