The Phoenix Mercury will embark on their 19th all-time playoff appearance and second under second-year head coach Nate Tibbetts.
With Alyssa Thomas, Kahleah Copper and Satou Sabally leading the way, the Mercury have shattered expectations and become one of the WNBA's top teams.
The Mercury's preparation for the playoffs, which begin on Sunday, Sept. 14, has started.
New to this season, the first round will be a best-of-three series with the first game and potentially third game at the higher seed, and the second at the lower seed.
The last home playoff game in Phoenix was on Oct. 13, 2021, when the Mercury hosted the Chicago Sky in the WNBA Finals. A lot has changed since then, but the goal remains for the Mercury to win the last game of the season.
Tibbetts sat down with The Arizona Republic to answer some key questions.
Question: What are you most excited about for this team in the postseason?
Answer: We're not there yet, but we're headed into the right direction. We're healthy. We've had so many early injuries that we've talked about. We've got into a rotation that we like and we just need repetition, mostly together. Collectively and individually, most everyone has been in the playoffs; we just haven't done it together. These big games that we have gone through, the game against New York (on Aug. 30) and the loss against Las Vegas (on Aug. 15), those games help us prepare for what's ahead. Obviously, when you get to the playoffs, the level of play rises, but we've been there individually. Now, it's how are we going to handle it as a group.
What are the differences in preparation for a playoff game versus the regular season, especially when you don't know the opponent until the season is over?
The closer it gets to the playoffs, who we might play will narrow. We've got different coaches working on teams that we might see. The first game of the playoffs is awesome. You've played a team three or four times throughout the year. Maybe you've seen them, maybe you haven't. Game 1 is huge. The thing that I like most in a playoff series is the game-to-game adjustments. I also like the storylines after a playoff win or a playoff loss, and just being able to handle the highs and lows of a playoff series is a ton of fun for the players and coaches, in my opinion.
Last year, this team didn't get to experience a home playoff game. Now with the WNBA updating the format, what are you looking forward to with a home playoff crowd?
I'm excited for our fans and for our players and organization. I thought it was terrible last year for our fans and organization that we didn't get it. The WNBA has made the right change to reward teams with a playoff game for sure in the first round. This is why you work so hard all season is to get in these playoff atmospheres. To not give an organization that opportunity to be awarded a home playoff game was sad. I'm just happy for the X-Factor, our organization and everyone involved that we're going to get a home game because those are the best.
There are several proven playoff performers in Kahleah Copper, Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner, who have all gone far. What about their experiences makes them so vital to this team?
That's why you go and get those types of players is because of their experience. The playoff situations aren't new to them, they've been through everything, they've seen it, they've felt it. There's going to be some things like it's Mo's (Monique Akoa Makani) first time going through it, but you also need those experiences. Just relying on your veterans in highs and lows of a game or game to game, you've got to have that to go through it. There are some young teams where the new opportunity isn't too much for them, but the calmness and experience of veteran players is huge.