Kris Habbas of SB Nation's Bright Side of the Sun was on the scene at the U.S. Airways Center for Game 1 of the 2014 WNBA Finals and took note of the Phoenix Mercury's defense during their 83-62 rout of the Chicago Sky.
Defense was the catalyst for them in game one with six blocks (five from Griner), one steal, two 24 second shot-clock violations, and forcing six turnovers as a whole. The length was on full display shutting down the Sky's offense on every possession...The length was disrupting and the rotations were so crisp that whether the Sky went for ball movement or traditional pick-n-roll they were not able to get any offensive momentum.
Habbas' article also included an interesting comment from Pokey Chatman about how that length allows the Mercury to bait opponents into difficult spots: "It's their length. There is a difference between swarming and length. They give you a step and they make up with their length."
For more on the game from a Mercury perspective, check out the recap at Bright Side of the Sun. For more on the series as a whole, check out our Mercury-Sky storystream.