2010 phoenix mercury playoff media guide - WNBA.com
2010 phoenix mercury playoff media guide - WNBA.com
2010 phoenix mercury playoff media guide - WNBA.com
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JUNE SHOWERS BRING JULY FLOWERS<br />
<strong>2010</strong> PHOENIX MERCURY POSTSEASON MEDIA GUIDE<br />
44<br />
<strong>2010</strong> REGULAR SEASON<br />
June proved to be a difficult month for the defending champions as the Mercury posted just a 3-8 record, but like the two championship<br />
seasons (2007, 2009) July was the best month of the year as the club averaged 105.3 points per game on its way to a 6-3 record. In<br />
2007 and 2009 June was the worst month of the summer as the teams <strong>com</strong>bined for an 11-10 (.524) record. In both seasons, however,<br />
the drought was im<strong>media</strong>tely followed by the season‘s best month with a <strong>com</strong>bined 16-5 (.762) record in July. Here‘s a look at the<br />
team‘s performance by month in <strong>2010</strong>:<br />
NOT FAR OFF<br />
MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST<br />
RECORD 2-2 3-8 6-3 4-6<br />
PPG 92.5 91.2 105.3 87.0<br />
FG% .420 .456 .508 .474<br />
3PT% .371 .352 .366 .365<br />
RPG 42.5 34.8 36.6 34.1<br />
APG 16.3 20.6 23.2 18.2<br />
Based on the Mercury‘s record (15-19) you might not consider them in the hunt for another title run, but if you take a closer look at the<br />
stats you will notice they weren‘t far off of the numbers from the 2009 championship season. Below is the <strong>com</strong>parison of those numbers.<br />
DOWN BUT NOT OUT<br />
2009 SEASON <strong>2010</strong> SEASON<br />
PPG 92.8 93.9<br />
FG% 46.0 47.3<br />
3PT% 38.6 35.9<br />
RPG 35.0 35.7<br />
APG 18.4 20.2<br />
FAST BREAK<br />
PPG<br />
13.9 15.6<br />
The Mercury‘s six-game losing streak from June 18 – July 1 was the longest setback in a single season since July 2-25, 2003 when the<br />
club lost a franchise-record seven consecutive games. It was certainly not an insurmountable hole, however. Four teams in <strong>WNBA</strong><br />
history have over<strong>com</strong>e seven-game losing streaks to eventually make the <strong>playoff</strong>s including a <strong>WNBA</strong> Finals appearance by the Charlotte<br />
Sting in 2001. Below is a look at those four teams and how they finished the season.<br />
PLAYOFF BOUND<br />
TEAM YEAR LOSING STREAK REG. SEASON FINISH PLAYOFF FINISH<br />
Orlando 2000 7 Games 16-16 (3 rd Place) First Round<br />
Charlotte 2001 7 Games 18-14 (4 th Place) <strong>WNBA</strong> Finals<br />
Washington 2002 7 Games 17-15 (3 rd Place) First Round<br />
New York 2007 7 Games 16-18 (4 th Place) First Round<br />
The Mercury defeated Los Angeles 78-77 in its season opener on May 15. In the 14-year history of the franchise, every season in which<br />
the Mercury has won its season opener, the club has qualified for the <strong>playoff</strong>s. Conversely, every season in which the Mercury has lost<br />
its season opener, the club did not qualify for the <strong>playoff</strong>s.
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