Brittney Griner injured, Diana Taurasi struggles in Mercury loss
In the Phoenix Mercury’s 83-69 loss to the Seattle Storm on Tuesday night, the dynamic duo of Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi had a rare off night in combining for 1-of-11 shooting and only two points.
Griner left the floor with 6:02 remaining in the first half with an apparent hip injury according to the team. She finished the night with two points on 1-for-5 shooting in nine minutes. The 6-foot-9 center returned to the bench early in the second half, but the team ruled her out for the remainder of the contest.
Mercury head coach Vanessa Nygard after the loss said that she did not see a specific play where Griner suffered the injury and did not have an evaluation postgame.
As the nucleus of the offense, Griner has averaged 22.7 points and 7.1 rebounds this season. Her impact on the defensive end was sorely missed as the Storm racked up 30 points in the paint.
However, in a season where Phoenix has started 2-6, Nygard sees no room for injuries to be an excuse and knows sympathy is an afterthought in this league.
“Nobody cares,” Nygard said. “We have to adjust, the players we have are great WNBA players and they've got to step up when they're given an opportunity. They're more than capable.”
Griner's injury comes off the heels of last weekend’s incident at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, where a YouTube personality harassed Griner on the way to Sunday’s game against the Indiana Fever.
Griner’s fellow running mate Taurasi struggled to produce from the floor as well. The superstar finished the night with no points on 0-of-6 shooting. Six shot attempts are a season low for Taurasi and it was only the fifth time the guard has gone scoreless in a game for Phoenix.
Part of the equation for the tough night was also foul trouble. Taurasi struggled with fouls particularly in the first half, picking up a pair in the early going. Sophie Cunningham minced no words in standing up for her teammate, saying she would take the fine for criticizing the officials at this point due to her displeasure.
“It's embarrassing,” Cunningham said. “The first call, the second call, they're just worried about the wrong things. Focus on what you do and call it fairly. I think she's put in enough time, enough blood, sweat and tears that you got to give her a little bit of respect.”
“Right now if I was a ref, I’d be pretty embarrassed.”
Nygard felt similarly, backing up her star immediately.
It's just tough right now,” Nygard said. “It's tough for her. She (Taurasi) gets frustrated and I agree with that.”
WNBA: Phoenix Mercury's struggles highlighted in loss to Seattle Storm
Sug Sutton and Cunningham filled the scoring void left by Taurasi and Griner, posting 15 and 21 points respectively. It was a prime opportunity for the two to rise to the occasion, and the two performed admirably in relief. However, the two still were left hungry for a win, not just a standout performance.
“It's hard when you don't have B (Griner) in the game,” Cunningham said. “You can't predict her getting hurt and whatnot. But you just got to show up, go to work, keep working hard. Eventually things will turn around, but it's part of the process.”
The Mercury will have time to rest and try to get Griner healthy between now and Friday’s game against the Washington Mystics as they hope to turn around their season.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'Nobody cares': Phoenix Mercury have no excuse for 2-6 start
