It might appear that the 2014 WNBA Finals features a David versus Goliath matchup as the Chicago Sky take on the West-winning Phoenix Mercury. However, the Mercury will definitely have their work cut out for them when a determined Chicago unit visits the desert to begin the best- of-five series on Sunday.
The Sky entered the postseason with a 15-19 record, the worst among all playoff qualifying teams. Their performance in the regular season was not a true indicator of their talent since key contributors Elena Delle Donne (Lyme Disease), Courtney Vandersloot (knee) and Sylvia Fowles (torn labrum) all missed significant time. Coach Pokey Chatman's squad finally returned to full strength just in time for the playoffs, which resulted in upsets of Atlanta and Indiana en route to the franchise's first-ever Finals berth.
The injuries to Vandersloot and Fowles, along with Delle Donne's unfortunate illness, may have been a blessing in disguise for the Sky, as Chatman was forced to give Epiphanny Prince, Allie Quigley, Jessica Breland and Jamierra Faulkner more significant roles than expected. During its run past the Dream and Fever, it became apparent that Chicago's roster is now filled with competitors who gained valuable experience playing crunch-time minutes during an up-and-down regular season.
Delle Donne has averaged 17.3 ppg through the first six games of the playoffs, despite a back injury that limited her in the conference finals, while Fowles made a major impact on the inside with 17.2 ppg, 10.5 rpg and 1.8 bpg. Vandersloot continued to show why she is one of the league's best floor generals with 38 assists against only 13 turnovers in the first two rounds.
The Sky's first three postseason wins came by an average of just 2.0 ppg before Quigley's 24-point outburst in game three of the Eastern Conference finals powered them to a decisive 75-62 victory.
The women of the Windy City's final obstacle of the season will be their greatest challenge by far. Phoenix has been dominant in 2014, setting a WNBA record with 29 regular-season wins, including a 16-1 performance in its own building. The inside-outside combination of Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi proved too much to handle for the opposition on a consistent basis, making the Mercury resemble the Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers of the early 2000s.
Griner received 31 out of 38 votes for the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award thanks to her imposing presence in the paint for coach Sandy Brondello's squad. The 6-8 second-year center out of Baylor set a league record with 11 blocks in a single game and her regular season total of 129 rejections was greater than eight of the WNBA's 12 teams. Taurasi netted team-highs of 16.2 ppg and 5.6 apg to lead the Mercury in both categories, while Griner (15.6), Candice Dupree (14.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg), Penny Taylor (10.5 ppg) and DeWanna Bonner (10.4 ppg) all contributed double-digit scoring marks as well.
After being named the 2014 Coach of the Year, Brondello guided Phoenix to a two-game sweep of Los Angeles and a Western Conference Finals triumph over the defending champion Minnesota Lynx. The former Australian Olympian was fortunate to have a healthy team throughout the entire season, and her squad managed to pace the WNBA in scoring (83.5 ppg) while finishing second in assists (19.4 apg) and points allowed (74.1 ppg).
Taurasi was unbelievable in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals against Minnesota, tallying 31 points on 12-of-17 efficiency from the floor, seven assists and five rebounds. The Mercury's only glaring weakness is their lack of depth. Only two of Phoenix's reserves clocked over 60 minutes in its first five playoff games, during which the bench combined for only 10.5 ppg.
Phoenix won both of its matchups against Chicago during the regular season, but the Sky did not have Delle Donne or Vandersloot for either contest. Despite missing two of their most prominent players, the Sky went into the fourth quarter of their July 11 battle at Allstate Arena tied with Phoenix at 51. Griner was held to just 7.5 ppg on 6-of-17 shooting from the floor by Fowles, who is more capable of stopping Griner than any other post player in the WNBA.
[SportsNetwork.com]
