Mercury return home with playoff seeding at stake against Los Angeles

The Mercury hold the No. 4 seed — 27-15 — just below the No. 3 Las Vegas Aces — 28-14. A win against the Sparks would keep Phoenix in contention for the No. 3 seed, with the final seeding potentially coming down to the last game.

However, the Mercury would also need to depend on Las Vegas to lose against the Chicago Sky the same night. A loss to the Sparks would lock Phoenix at No. 4

Despite the results, the Mercury are already guaranteed home-court advantage to begin the playoffs. For head coach Nate Tibbetts, it comes down to how the staff wants to approach the final two games. Phoenix is no stranger to injuries, with many of its top players missing time this season. Some teams will rest key players to avoid injuries before playoff games.

“The plan is to stay with the eight [player rotation],” Tibbetts said pre-game on Sept. 6, according to the team’s recording. “I think we’re maybe a game away from expanding that rotation a little bit to try to get some players some minutes before the playoffs. I think there’s just a lot more that can happen before we play [Los Angeles], just to kind of see how things play out a little bit here.”

Phoenix fell to the Connecticut Sun 87-84 later that day, and after the game, Tibbetts said the loss could probably influence how the team decides to finish the rest of the season.

“We’ll need to talk as a staff and front office [on] how we want to manage the last two games,” he said.

The Sparks come into the desert with their own playoff hopes on the line, as a win on Tuesday would keep them in the hunt for the final spot. Los Angeles is 20-22 and hopes to outlast the Seattle Storm, who are 22-21.

Tuesday’s game offers both teams a key opportunity to improve their position heading into the postseason.

Phoenix and Los Angeles tip off on Tuesday, Sept. 9, at 7 p.m.