Phoenix Mercury agree to contract with potential X-factor
The Phoenix Mercury locked in one of their backcourt rotation pieces as they get ready to make a push in the WNBA playoffs. Guard Celeste Taylor agreed to a contract with the team “for the rest of the season” on Friday, according to Underdog WNBA.
Taylor is reaching the end of her third 7-day contract with the team, which is the maximum amount of 7-days you can give. Taylor played a majority of the season with the Mercury before spending one game with the Connecticut Sun. She then returned to the Mercury and has been with the team since their Aug. 23 win against the Dream.
For the season, Taylor is averaging 2.2 points and 1.1 assists in just over 11 minutes a night. She was drafted with the 15th overall pick in this year’s WNBA Draft after serving as a defensive ace in college, and has seen her role with the Mercury grow over the course of her rookie season. On Tuesday, Taylor got the first start of her career due to Natasha Cloud’s suspension, and she played 22 minutes of the bench in a loss to the Mystics on Thursday night.
Mercury skidding as they approach WNBA playoffs
Owen Ziliak/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK
The Mercury are heading in the wrong direction as the WNBA playoffs quickly approach. With just five games to go, Phoenix is just 4-6 since returning from the Olympic break. The slump includes a loss to the lowly Atlanta Dream at home on Thursday night, an outing in which they shot under 40% from the field.
As it stands, the Mercury have been passed in the standings by the surging Indiana Fever, dropping Nate Tibbetts’ squad down to 7th place in the current standings. The good news for the Mercury is that they have already clinched a playoff spot and will be in one of the top seven spots, allowing them to avoid the New York Liberty in the first round.
The bad news is that they will still have to play a team that is going to really challenge them. The Sun and the Minnesota Lynx are both tied for the No. 2 seed. If it does end up being the Sun, Connecticut’s physicality and elite defensive acumen will likely make it very difficult for a Mercury offense that has been struggling to find its rhythm of late.
The Mercury have only reached 80 points in one of their previous seven games, struggling to consistently score against all kinds of defenses, good and bad. The Sun feast on bad offense with their league-best defensive unit, and even held Phoenix to just 47 points in an early-season meeting.
Tibbetts’ team is unfortunately playing their worst basketball at the time where every team wants to be peaking. They’ve got five games to turn things around before the playoffs get underway.
The post Phoenix Mercury agree to contract with potential X-factor appeared first on ClutchPoints.
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