The post Why Mercury should be rooting for Fever over Aces in Game 5 appeared first on ClutchPoints.
It goes without saying, but the Phoenix Mercury should hope for one key matchup in the 2025 WNBA Finals. As soon as Game 5 between the Las Vegas Aces and the Indiana Fever takes place, Phoenix will likely hope the latter takes it home.
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The reason why?
It’s simply an easier route for them to play. Let me explain.
The Mercury can face an injury-riddled Fever team
Unlike Las Vegas, the Fever feel like everyone on their team has a fever. Bad jokes and puns aside, the franchise has dealt with just about every injury in the book.
Caitlin Clark has a groin injury, Aari McDonald is dealing with her foot, Sydney Colson has an ACL injury, and Sophie Cunningham is out because of her meniscus.
All four players have been crucial this season, especially their franchise guard in Clark. She commands so much attention from defenses and has established herself as one of the top players in the league already.
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Still, the Fever continue to pull out gritty wins, thanks to their role players and head coach Stephanie White. The semifinals between the Aces and the Fever have been a continuous chess match.
The series has involved counters on counters from both coaches and two of the best in the game going at it in A’ja Wilson and Aliyah Boston. No matter how great the players have been playing, and the coaches have been coaching, talent could be a deciding factor in a potential WNBA Finals series.
Not to mention, Indiana could be feeling more fatigued with who they faced earlier. They were in a grueling physical series with the Atlanta Dream in the first round before this battle with Las Vegas.
It could catch up to them if they were to face off against the Mercury’s Big 3.
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The Mercury have the inside scoop on the Fever
© Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Two of Phoenix’s prominent players– DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas– know all about Stephanie White’s offensive and defensive schematics.
Both were a part of the Connecticut Sun for two years when she was the head coach in 2023 and 2024. In those years, Connecticut had one of the best defenses in the league, spearheaded by Thomas.
Meanwhile, Bonner had some of the best offensive seasons of her career and shouldered the scoring load.
However, when the two teams squared off in the regular season, Phoenix came away with the season series. They had a resounding 30-point victory in August.
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The next month, it wasn’t as big a victory, but it was a statement. At that time, many thought the two teams would square off against one another in the opening round of the playoffs. Now, they could be facing each other in the WNBA Finals.
After that September victory, Thomas turned heads when she mentioned that the Mercury knew everything the Fever would do, and it sparked a bit of an outcry.
Those words may not have been echoed to the media, but there’s nothing wrong with it. Thomas has one of the best basketball minds in the league and can pick both sides of the ball apart.
The Aces might have Phoenix’s number
The regular season might not be too telling of a prediction, but the numbers don’t lie. Las Vegas took three of four games against Phoenix in the series in 2025.
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The last matchup was a 21-point beatdown, the worst loss of the season for Phoenix. It was something Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts didn’t mince words about afterwards.
He mentioned they were a step slow and were whooped the entire game. Granted, this was in the middle of Las Vegas’s historic winning streak, and they were playing some of their basketball.
Regardless of that, a championship-caliber team has championship-caliber expectations, and the Mercury didn’t meet them on that warm August evening.
Fast forward a month and a half, and the Mercury might’ve turned a new leaf. The defense is showing out in every way and has beaten teams with their physicality.
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Either way, the best shot to win a championship comes with facing Indiana, even if beating Las Vegas might feel more rewarding and put a bow on a potentially historic title run.
Related: The WNBA history Mercury made with shocking comebacks vs. Lynx
Related: Mercury’s Satou Sabally living the dream after clinching WNBA Finals berth
