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Aces-Mercury open first seven-game WNBA Finals amid recovery concerns
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- Aces-Mercury open first seven-game WNBA Finals amid recovery concerns
LAS VEGAS — After the Las Vegas Aces punched their ticket to the WNBA Finals for the fourth time in six years on Tuesday, head coach Becky Hammon said "there's little time to celebrate."
"We play again in two days," Hammon said. "That's a really quick turnaround."
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The postseason is moving at a blistering pace, with the best-of-three first-round series (1-1-1) and best-of-five semifinals (2-2-1) already in the books in a little more than two weeks. Next up is the 2025 WNBA Finals between the Aces and Phoenix Mercury , which expands to a best-of-seven game series for the first time in league history. It tips off at Michelob Ultra Arena Friday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).
The new playoff structure has drawn mixed reactions from players and coaches in its first season, as concerns of travel, rest and player safety have emerged as the playoffs have worn on.
"It's tough. It's not ideal, but it is the playoffs," Phoenix Mercury guard Sami Whitcomb said after the Mercury played four games in seven days on Sept. 23. "It's something that should be looked at moving forward. Absolutely. We're not here to make excuses. We're here to win."
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The league expanded the WNBA Finals from a best-of-five series to best-of-seven as the popularity and appetite for women's basketball continues to skyrocket. "The incredible demand for WNBA basketball makes this the ideal time," WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said at the announcement in 2024.
"It's exciting to be part of the first one," Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas said on Thursday. "We talk about how a best-of-five is a tough series. ... We don't know what a best-of-seven brings, but nothing changes. We still approach it the same way."
Becky Hammon disliked first-round format
Neither Phoenix nor Las Vegas' path to the WNBA Finals has been easy. Both teams were pushed to the brink of elimination and faced a decisive Game 3 in the first round of the playoffs. The Mercury went on to defeat the defending champion New York Liberty , while the Aces outlasted the Seattle Storm to keep their season alive.
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Aces head coach Becky Hammon told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday she's "not a fan of the 1-1-1" structure in the first round, which gives every playoff team a home game this season, instead of the previous 2-1 format that only rewarded the lower seed a home game if they were able to steal one game on the road.
"This conversation came up last year when the Indiana ( Fever ) didn't get a (home) game and they were upset," Hammon said, referring to Caitlin Clark and the Fever being swept by the Connecticut Sun in the first round in 2024. "But for me, you got to finish better. ... Either move it to five (games) or move it to a 2-1 format. It puts the higher seed at a huge disadvantage."
Hammon pointed to the "brutal" first-round series between the Mercury and Liberty as an example, where both teams traveled cross-country, adding an additional strain on top of an already extended regular season and expanded WNBA Finals series. "I mean that's tough on both squads," Hammon added.
Aces forward A'ja Wilson and Mercury guard Alyssa Thomas lead their teams in the WNBA Finals.
Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts, however, said he "loved" the new format despite his team dropping Game 1 to the Liberty at home, setting up an elimination game on the road in New York. The Mercury went on to rout the Liberty 86-60 at Barclays Center in Game 2 to secure home court advantage again.
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"We were the higher seed and should've protected home. We didn't, so we've got to come here and earn it, right?" Tibbetts said. "Everything that we have to go through, New York's got to do the same, so I don't think a team has an advantage. Both teams have one on the other team's floor."
He added: "I think everybody should get a chance to get a home game. Last year was my first year in this league and for us not to get a home game in the playoffs I think is wrong. I think the league did the right thing... So I'll give the league credit on that."
Is fatigue a factor in the WNBA playoffs?
The Mercury ousted the Liberty in Game 3 at home on Friday Sept. 19 at 11 p.m. ET. Phoenix flew to Minnesota the next day at 2 p.m. ET ahead of their semifinal series against the Lynx and touched down at 5 p.m. ET that Saturday, followed by a quick film session at 6 p.m. ET. The Mercury had a team breakfast and a walkthrough on Sunday before Game 1 of the semifinals tipped off at 5 p.m. Talk about a whirlwind.
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After losing Game 1 to the Lynx, which Tibbetts attributed to "physical fatigue and mental fatigue," Phoenix stormed back to take Games 2 and 3, and made it a priority to close out the series at home in Game 4.
"We wanted it so bad today. We need some days off," Tibbetts said after clinching a Finals bid following a 14-point comeback win over the Lynx in Game 4. "We wanted days off and we've just been going. It's the W schedule. This is what it is. Obviously if you lose today, you go to Minnesota and you figure it out, but the carrot was to win today to get some rest, and we all need it. We all need it physically, mentally. So I'm really happy for the group that we're going to get some time off."
Phoenix Mercury guard Kahleah Copper said their day off "was much needed" and pointed to the importance of recovery throughout the postseason to remain in optimal shape, despite the demanding schedule. "This was much needed just seeing how every series went, dealing with the physicality and just the pace," Copper told USA TODAY Sports.
'Keep the main thing the main thing'
Travel won't be a concern for the 2025 WNBA Finals, which features a battle of the desert on the West Coast. And although the championship is expanding to best-of-seven games for the first time, Hammon said the preparation won't change much at all, calling it "an evolving game plan."
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"You cannot get too far ahead of yourself and be like, 'Oh, there's seven games now,'" Hammon told USA TODAY Sports. "Whatever game you're playing, you want to make the next adjustments for the next game. ... So you just stay open-minded and just putting in the work just to win the next game. All that matters is Game 1."
The Aces are going into the WNBA Finals on two days rest after winning a decisive Game 5 against the Indiana Fever in the semifinals on Tuesday. The Mercury last played on Sunday. Sure, rest is incentive enough to close out any series early, but it remains to be seen if the playoff format can be improved to allow for more recovery time.
"It's the first time being done," Hammon said. "I think you have to take a serious look at how (the format) plays out this year and then go back and revamp and say, 'Hey, we could do this better, this better, this, that.'"
Others are withholding judgement until the season is over.
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"I'll let you know after the championship round," Aces guard Chelsea Gray told USA TODAY Sports. "The turnaround is quick. You have to get your mind right, you have to get your body right. There's not time to take a day off of not recovering. The games are coming quick, especially those afternoon games, but you got to be ready and alert right away. So I'll let you know how I feel about the format afterwards."
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Aces-Mercury open first seven-game WNBA Finals amid recovery concerns
