After all the wizardry throughout the game from Alyssa Thomas, she stumbled at the line. With 25 seconds on the clock and Mercury down 1 point, Thomas stole the ball off A’ja Wilson and drove to the basket in transition. Jackie Young stepped in to foul, and Thomas went to the line to potentially win the game. With all Mercury’s expectations on her shoulders, the point guard buckled under pressure. Or did she? There might be a reason for her off-the-mark free throws. 

The point guard was seen repeatedly shaking her left hand in the final minutes. Although that is not the shooting one, you feel the pain even more when it comes to occasions like this. You could see Thomas was fighting through it. Looking forward, this was just Game 1 of the 7-game series, and Thomas dominated the majority of Game 1, finishing with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists. The Mercury fans hoped for an update regarding Thomas’ injury from coach Nate Tibbetts, but he said, “I don’t (have an update). I’m sorry.”

Fortunately, Thomas herself did not feel the injury worsen immediately after the game, as she told Doug Feinberg of AP that her hand was “fine.” But don’t take her word for it. Thomas is used to playing through the pain. She has played with a torn labrum, the ring of cartilage that stabilizes the shoulder joint, in both arms for 8 years. She refuses to get them fixed because, she says, “They said the surgery and recovery is harder than the Achilles.” 

And of course, she has experience with that too. In January 2022, she tore that tendon in her left leg, which required eight months of grueling rehab. Her pain tolerance level is unusually high, but in the finals of a physical league, the hand is bound to get sore in the final minutes. While it could have affected the missed free throws, that was not Thomas’s reason. “It happens,” Thomas simply said. 

While Thomas will likely play through any injury she faces, her injury should be monitored. Tibbetts wouldn’t want his star player breaking down in a must-win hypothetical Game 7 or even earlier. Moving on to their on-court display, the Mercury played a Game of two halves as the Aces stormed back in the second. Nate Tibbet’s gave Becky Hammon credit for her tactical change in the second half. 

Alyssa Thomas And Co. failed to adapt

The Phoenix Mercury were giving A’ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces a run for their money in the first half, going into the second leading 50-45. Alyssa Thomas was consistently penetrating the paint along with Natasha Mack as the entire Mercury scored 18 of their 50 first-half points from the paint. However, in the second half, the Aces abandoned their scoring-heavy approach and adjusted their tactics, something Tibbetts had no answer for.  

“They went zone. You know, we got up, I don’t know if it was nine, something like that. And, uh, they went zone. Kind of made us stand a little bit. I thought we had some good looks. You know, give them credit for mixing up their defense. Thought it was a good adjustment. We didn’t handle it well.” He admitted after the game. 

Typically, you can advance past the zone with some quick ball movement or effective outside shooting. And the Mercury is a decent 3-point shooting team (34% from three). However, they were taken by surprise by the Aces. Their drives were limited, along with movement in the paint. Phoenix went 6-18 in the fourth quarter, converting just two of their 12 three-point attempts. 

Thomas didn’t get as much success as in the first half, with the left hand bothering her. She had five points and three assists in the second half compared to 10 and six, respectively, in the first. In addition, her size advantage against smaller guards (in this case, Dana Evans), which Tibbetts usually deploys, was nullified. However, they will be better prepared for Game 2, while A’ja Wilson and Co will try to bury them by taking a 2-0 lead.