A look at the off-ball action from the Phoenix Mercury vs Los Angeles Sparks

The Phoenix Mercury held off the LA Sparks 89-86.  The Mercury were buoyed by their stars Alyssa Thomas, who had 19/5/7, and Satou Sabally, who continues her great start with 25 points.

Phoenix's good start through two games is encouraging for a team that is missing Kahleah Copper, a dynamic 20 point per game scorer from all facets of the floor, and is relying heavily on role player production from overseas players and rookies.  Considering a bevy of minutes are coming from players who either missed significant or all of training camp and preseason, Phoenix could easily fall back on the excuse of not having enough time to gel for lackluster play.  But that isn't the case.  As mentioned earlier, Satou Sabally has started great, scoring 30 and 25 points in her first two contests, and Alyssa Thomas has been the all-world, all-versatile MVP candidate she's proven to be.

Still, basketball is a team game.  Without role players primed for success, a team can quickly sputter.  There's just too many shots in a basketball game for a top heavy team to have any long term success.  Below is a video of clips from last night's game showing how Phoenix is laying the foundation of an offense that enables role players to find shots and keep opponents honest.

Watching a lot of early season games, you can tell which teams are working towards sustainable success, and which teams are heavily reliant on one or two players to carry the offensive load.  Phoenix did an excellent job last night of consistently setting up an offense that utilized multiple actions off the ball, springing open players for cuts, shots at the basket, and open threes across court.  It didn't always bring points to the scoreboard, but this kind of honest offensive action makes it difficult for opponents to hone in on Thomas and Sabally (and eventually Copper.)  Along with gaining 23 points off turnovers, integrating role players so well bodes well for future success in Phoenix.  Thomas will be an MVP candidate at the end of the season and Sabally is showing how great she is.  Both players have no problems scoring on their own.  But by buying in to getting role players shots and opportunities, the Mercury stars are investing in the future of the team--eventually these shots will go in and role players have a habit of winning a game or two in the playoffs when it matters most.  But that opportunity doesn't happen if the foundation isn't in place, and it seems coach Nate Tibbetts and the Mercury leadership is committed to making that happen.