A’ja Wilson Couldn’t Ignore What Kahleah Copper Has Done Over the Last Two Games For the Mercury

It has been a forgettable season for the Phoenix Mercury until now. But their star player, Kahleah Copper, is putting an all-out effort to stem the tide in their favor. Her performance against the Las Vegas Aces turned some heads, so much so that she has received the flowers from none other than the reigning MVP, A’ja Wilson.

Although the Mercury lost to the Aces, Copper left no stone unturned. She finished the night with 26 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists, with 56.3% shooting from the field. But that was not enough, as Mercury lost by 10 points with Wilson scoring 33 points and closing the game in their favor. But, as they say, game recognizes game.

“Kah’s always gonna be Kah. I have so much respect for Kah, the way that she just attacks the game, approaches the game,” Wilson said to the media after the match.

“It’s always professional and also a bucket. She’s obviously been a three-level scorer, and that’s sometimes very, very hard to guard. So it’s one of those ‘pick your poison’ things…” she added. “So her success does not come by a surprise to me because I can only imagine the work that she puts in.”

So it seems that A’ja Wilson has been a long-time admirer of Copper. And why would she not be? Copper is leading the offense of this Mercury team. She is their highest scorer, averaging 18.8 PTS, 3.4 REB, and 1.9 STL per game this season. She is also generating many free-throw attempts in her drives in the paint, converting 80.4% of them. At the wing, she has been instrumental in running the Mercury’s offense. She has a usage rate of 30.9%.

In the last matchup against the Sparks, Kahleah Copper dropped 41 points for the night. This was her career high. But it was not enough for them to get over the line. It was a heartbreaking loss in which Kelsey Plum also put up more than 40 points. First time in WNBA history both opposing players scored 40+ in the same game.

So these back-to-back signature performances from Copper invited the warm comments from A’ja Wilson after their matchup.

The Mercury Have a Good Squad on Paper

While the current record of 4-12 does not speak for it, the Mercury has a good squad. On a good night, they look capable of beating any top-tier team.

Other teams are struggling against the new officiating system and rules adopted by the league before the start of the season. Mercury is surprisingly doing well in that category. They are ranked 4th in the league when it comes to free throw rate.

They have struggled in terms of turnovers and late-game execution, and this is where the results have gone against them.

In the match against the Aces, they had 21 turnovers, which Vegas converted to a staggering 28 points. In the May 27 game against the Liberty, the Mercury’s fourth-quarter collapse cost them the win, when they committed 9 turnovers in the last 10 minutes.

So if the Mercury intends to snap this losing run, they need to fix their error-prone ways. It’s high time they utilize Kahleah Copper’s rich form to get some wins.

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