Happy Wednesday! We’re halfway home, and I hope your week is going well.

I’ll get to the Mercury below, but first, it’s been a rough week for Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon, who first suffered an embarrassing defeat at home on Sunday, and then was fined $100,000 by the team for his sideline outburst toward running back Emari Demercado.

Gannon addressed the exchange during his weekly press conference on Monday, stating he apologized to both Demercado and the team. It’ll be interesting to see how this dynamic carries over into Arizona’s trip to Indianapolis this weekend.

On to the show!

Gotta Have It: Mercury Host Aces in Critical Game 3

The Mercury are in dangerous territory.

Phoenix trails the Las Vegas Aces 2-0 in the WNBA Finals, with a critical matchup tonight at Mortgage Matchup Center (5 pm, ESPN). The Mercury dropped a close one in Game 1, but were defeated comfortably by 13 in Game 2.

It’s now or never.

It’s a tall order, no doubt. Phoenix defeated Vegas just once in the regular season, and 2025 Most Valuable Player A’ja Wilson wasn’t in the lineup. The four-time MVP has been as effective as ever through two Finals games, notching a combined 49 points and 24 rebounds.

You’re not going to stop Wilson — there’s just no way — but that doesn’t mean the Mercury can’t rally.

Mercury Can Make it a Series With a Game 3 Win

It’s a cliché for a reason, but you just can’t count this team out. Here’s how they can bolster their chances of grabbing a crucial victory:

• Make the Vegas bench step up

Wilson rolled off 21 points in the Aces’ three-point Game 1 win, but the rest of the starters were held mostly silent from a points perspective. Las Vegas is an incredibly deep team, though, as Jewell Loyd and Dana Evans combined for 39 points off the bench to help secure a narrow win. Fast-forward to Game 2, and the combination of Wilson, Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray accounted for 70 of the Aces’ 91 points.

If they could keep Wilson to under 25 points, though, that would be ideal, because the Aces are 13-1 in the playoffs when she hits that benchmark.

• Phoenix bench NEEDS to step up

The Big 3 of Alyssa Thomas, Satou Sabally and Kahleah Copper has performed as needed, combining for 110 points over the first two games of the series. The rest of the bench? 24 points. For the sake of comparison, DeWanna Bonner, Sami Whitcomb and Kathryn Westbeld put up 22 points in the Mercury’s Semifinals-clinching win over Minnesota on Sept. 28, and 25 points in their Game 1 win of that series.

Phoenix doesn’t need an outburst of scoring from the bench, but role players need to step up and complement the Big 3’s output.

• Engage the X-Factor early

Fans, it’s now or never! The Mercury were 15-7 at home in the regular season, compared to 12-10 on the road, and a date on their home court couldn’t come at a better time. Mortgage Matchup Center has provided a huge advantage, and a strong start will set the stage for a raucous crowd.

My Take: You gotta believe. That’s it. You gotta believe!

Spike in Competition: The No. 8 ASU women’s volleyball team has a pair of tough opponents visiting this week, beginning with No. 16 Baylor tonight before hosting No. 24 Colorado on Friday. The Sun Devils are 12-2 on the season and have won their last six matches, winning 38 games while dropping just two.

Like a Pro: Arizona men’s tennis star Jay Friend won his Round of 32 match at the Fairfield Challenger yesterday, defeating Aryan Shah 6-2, 3-6, 6-2. The Wildcats senior is ranked 722nd in the ATP world rankings, and became Arizona’s first-ever ITA All-American Champion earlier this year. He’ll face eighth-seeded Michael Mmoh in the Round of 16 on Thursday.

Green With Envy: Jalen Green’s arrival in The Valley has been met with mixed reviews, but the PHNX Suns team outlined quite clearly why Phoenix was the right place for him to end up. Stephen broke it down here, and the debate continued right into today’s pod. Check it out!

Stephen is an incredible basketball mind — give him a follow!