Alyssa Thomas was in visible discomfort with her left hand in the final minutes of Game 1. She went down with 2:31 on the clock to break a 7-0 run by the Aces and went down briefly, rubbing her left hand. She was repeatedly shaking it after too, causing some concerns. Her injury history doesn’t do any favours. 

Her two labrum tears make things more complicated. When asked what the update was regarding Thomas’ fitness immediately after, the coach, Nate Tibbetts, had no clue. “I don’t (have an update). I’m sorry.” He told the media, while Thomas reportedly said she was “fine”. Mercury fans still waited on an official word about their star’s status, craving clarity amid the silence.

While it’s not an official update yet, we have one from Kendra Andrews of ESPN. “Alyssa Thomas underwent an MRI on her left hand last night, and the results are clean, sources tell ESPN. She was flexing her hand throughout the end of the game, appearing to be in some discomfort. But she’s cleared to play Game 2, per source.” She wrote. Well, that is a relief to Mercury fandom as well as the neutrals tuning in to watch the final.

Thomas is undoubtedly the best player on the Mercury going up against A’ja Wilson band for band. In the first game, Thomas finished with another almost-triple-double, 15 points to go with 10 rebounds and 9 assists despite her discomfort. She even drove to the basket in the final minute to finish with her sore left hand. However, that might have played a role in her missed free throws, which probably cost Mercury the game. But will those haunt Thomas? Her teammates aren’t sweating it. “Nah, she good,” Kahleah Copper said. 

Alyssa Thomas Primed For A Comeback

Becky Hammon switched to zone; Alyssa Thomas and the Phoenix Mercury couldn’t do anything about it. Going into Game 2,  Mercury will be licking their wounds to bounce back, and their history suggests they will. Thomas only had 5 second-half points out of her 15, and she also missed three of her four free-throw attempts in the fourth quarter. The clutch miss was just a final dagger in the loss, but Thomas knows this story all too well.

Their round 1 against the New York Liberty started with a heartbreaking OT loss. Even in that game, it was Alyssa Thomas who missed a go-ahead layup with 2 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter as the ball spun out of the rim. How did Thomas respond? She led the Mercury to a daring comeback over the defending champions. 

That included a 20-point, 11-rebound,11-assist triple-double in a must-win Game 3. Then the Mercury lost Game 1 in the Minnesota series as well, despite Thomas leading them with an 18-point, 7-assist, 8-rebound performance. They fought back yet again, winning that one without even a Game 5. 

“I’m really not too down on myself,” Satou Sabally told reporters postgame. “We go back. We’ll practice tomorrow, we’ll walk through our mistakes and find better solutions for some things, and then we’ll just come back on Sunday and win this game.”

It is as easy as that. Thomas and Co. have a 7-game series on the cards, and 1 game is not the end of the world.  Alyssa Thomas has been the ‘Engine’ of this team throughout the postseason, averaging 18.1 points,9.4 assists, and 8.6 rebounds. Yes, she is facing 4-time MVP A’ja Wilson, who is scripting history with every game. Thomas has shown she is up for it.