The post How homecourt advantage plays into Mercury showdown vs. Liberty appeared first on ClutchPoints.
PHOENIX– The main question on everyone’s mind: Would the Phoenix Mercury secure a playoff spot? After the franchise did so, courtesy of an Atlanta Dream win on Friday, there’s now another question on their mind– is homecourt advantage possible after playing the New York Liberty?
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Safe to say that it could be a reality. Granted, there are a handful of games remaining following Saturday’s contest. Still, every game is as important as the current one.
Despite this, though, many coaches and players have expressed the same sentiment. After Saturday’s morning shootaround, rookie guard Lexi Held detailed her approach to the highly contentious game.
“I mean, this league’s crazy. I mean, anything can happen, so I think our main focus is just to control, take it game by game, really focus on what we can execute as a team,” Held said.
“Things could be out of our control, but knowing that this (New York) is going to be a good team. But so are we.”
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In the season series, Phoenix has a 2-1 advantage, securing wins in the Big Apple and back in the Valley of the Sun. However, Saturday’s game marks the fourth time they square off, and an anticipated one.
If the Mercury prevail, they’ll win the season series and make homecourt advantage that much easier. If both teams end with the same record in the standings, Phoenix would leapfrog because of the tiebreaker in the season series.
Who else has the Mercury’s approach vs the Liberty?
One of the many boots on the ground for game preparation has been assistant coach Megan Vogel. She’s worked collectively with the team, but has worked extensively with specific players.
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In her second season, she saw the Mercury’s playoff push a season prior. It was more contested and required more luck, considering they landed the No. 7 seed. Now, it’s looking much different.
Regardless of the better record and positioning in the standings, it doesn’t skew how Vogel is preparing for the Liberty.
“Every game is important right now,” Vogel said. “This one is important tonight, and then Indy’s going to be important, two nights from now, and then Washington is going to be important, and Connecticut’s going to be important.
“This is a big game, no doubt, but every game down the stretch is going to have some implications in some manner. So we just have to take it like any other game. 1-0, go out and play.”
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Will New York and Phoenix meet in the playoffs?
© Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Both teams are about neck-and-neck in the standings. For the Liberty, they’re dealing with a barrage of injuries. For instance, Natasha Cloud, Sabrina Ionescu, and Jonquel Jones are all questionable for Saturday’s game.
As a wise person once said, “health is wealth”, and New York might want to get everyone healthy before the playoffs begin. Even if they were to start on the road, the Liberty have the talent and playoff experience to head back to the WNBA Finals.
Going back to Phoenix’s roster, the Big 3 have played 15 games together since the All-Star break. The offensive versatility has been more dynamic, with more moves.
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They’ve cut a lot more, used more off-ball actions, and have designed specific closing lineups that have worked in their favor.
Saturday could be another example of a regular-season game, turning into a legitimate playoff atmosphere.
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