Mercury's Nate Tibbetts drops ‘tough' assessment on adding new players

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4 hours ago

The post Mercury's Nate Tibbetts drops 'tough' assessment on adding new players appeared first on ClutchPoints.
Injuries, players leaving for Eurobasket, and a myriad of other things have Phoenix Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts's head on a swivel. As a result, he's looked to players like Haley Jones, Megan McConnell, and Murjanatu Musa for support.
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Tibbetts was brutally honest about the challenge of integrating new players immediately into the teams.
'I think when you add those players, you get to see them move and try to make plays,' Tibbetts said on the team's postgame zoom following a 88-65 loss to the Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday. 'It's tough. You haven't had the practice time …
'Because when you're adding these players and they don't know our stuff, it just makes it tough… We had three (new) players in the rotation. They're trying, and we're trying to help them. But it makes it extremely tough to put a well-executed group out there, just because I mean, everyone's learning on the fly.'
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With McConnell and Jones they joined the team on the road. They haven't had the chance to practice and get assimilated with the team dynamics, along with learning plays.
They've been thrown into the fire. After all, the Mercury signed Jones to a contract only hours before the team's game against the Los Angeles Sparks.
The morning before Tuesday's game against the Minnesota Lynx, the team signed McConnell. She was a part of the team's training camp before being released.
Furthermore, Musa was overseas for the beginning of the season. Although Musa was supposed to a Mercury X-factor, she hasn't had much playing time.
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The rebounding specialist has practice only a handful of times. However, with injuries to Kahleah Copper, Natasha Mack, and Alyssa Thomas, she, and McConnell and Jones have been thrown into the fire.
Nate Tibbetts sees Mercury's challenge with adding new players
© Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
Tibbetts's points haven't been about the lack of skill. After all, the trio of new players have exceeded tremendously wherever they went. Whether it was college or overseas, they have quality experience.
Still, being a key contributor is understanding the system. The Phoenix head coach has a balanced approach, that has been heavily emphasized on the defensive end this season.
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The Mercury are amongst one of the top defensive teams, in terms of points per game and defensive rating. Regardless of the defensive philosophies, the team is a well-oiled machine, offensively.
Without Thomas, though, easy shots have been hard to come by. That, and adding new players to the mix could be a recipe for disaster.
Either way, Phoenix will likely have to rely on more newcomers moving forward. After McConnell collided with Alissa Pili during Tuesday's game, she left with a knee injury.
That might force the Mercury to have to sign another player to a training camp. That could only amplify Tibbetts's concerns about integrating players into the team system.
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The team will hope for a reset against the Golden State Valkyries on Thursday back in Phoenix, and in front of the X-factor fanbase.
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