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By KRIS VOSSMER
Cronkite News
PHOENIX – As the Phoenix Mercury prepare to open up their first-round playoff series against the Tulsa Shock at home Thursday, many see it as a start to their title defense. Phoenix forward DeWanna Bonner disagrees.
“We’re not really defending a title. Only a couple people on this team won that title, so this is a totally different team,” said Bonner of the roster that has just five holdovers from the 2014 championship team. “We’re just trying to win another one and a lot of people haven’t been there before. It’ll be great to shut those naysayers down a little bit because from the beginning no one even thought we’d be in this position.”
The Mercury earned the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference by going 20-14, marking the first time in the franchise’s 19-year history that they recorded 20 wins in back-to-back seasons. The Shock are the No. 3 seed after going 18-16 minus star Skylar Diggins.
Phoenix head coach Sandy Brondello realizes the challenge ahead with a team she has already faced five times this season.
“It’s a very dangerous team, particularly on offense.” Brondello said. “They got very explosive guards that can really get to the basket and score some easy points there, but they also got the post players and they got 3-point shooting. They’re very versatile on the offensive end.”
The Mercury have dominated Tulsa at home in recent years, going 10-1 against them at US Airways Center since 2010. Home is a very comfortable place in general for Phoenix. They went 13-4 overall at home this season. The Mercury will look to take advantage of their home court advantage, with “one of the best fan bases in the WNBA,” according to forward Candice Dupree.
The fans mean a lot to Dupree and the Mercury and it gets amplified even more in the postseason.
“They’re huge. They’re a lot of fun to play in front of,” Dupree said. “They always come out and show a lot of support and even more during the playoffs, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Even though she’s sitting out this season, Diana Taurasi is trying to contribute to that home court advantage. The Mercury announced Monday that Taurasi purchased 333 tickets for each home playoff game. The tickets will be free to the first fans to claim them prior to each game.
“I may not be able to support our team on the court, but I wanted assist in another way for this year’s playoff run,” Taurasi said in a statement issued by the team. “We have the best fans in the league and I know how important they have been each time we’ve won a championship. This is my way of ensuring we continue to have the best home court advantage in the entire WNBA.”
While Taurasi will not be on the court for the 2015 playoffs, Dupree is excited about what Taurasi is doing to help Mercury fans.
“It’s great for our fan base. Diana is a great player and great person. I just really hope the fans come out and take advantage of it,” Dupree said.
The Mercury are attempting to be the first team to repeat as champions since the Los Angeles Sparks went back-to-back in 2001-2002. They’re also vying to tie the Houston Comets WNBA record of four titles.
“Obviously it’s not as easy as it was last year, but we still got 20 wins and I still think we have the potential to defend our title,” Brondello said.
