Kalani

Brown

Sabally is back after missing Sunday’s win over the Sky for personal reasons. Her return means Kalani Brown will head to the bench after grabbing nine rebounds as a spot starter against Chicago. Fantasy managers with Sabally rostered must ensure she’s in their active lineups before tipoff.

Due to Satou Sabally being away from the team for personal reasons and the Sky starting Kamilla Cardoso at center, the Mercury gave Brown her first start of the season. While she did not offer much value as a scorer, the Mercury center did a good job on the glass in her 18 minutes on the court. Brown did fall out of the rotation before Sunday, but there may be a consistent role for her if Sabally remains away from the team. Phoenix returns home to host Connecticut on Tuesday.

Following Friday’s blowout loss to the Dream, Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts has made two changes to his starting lineup. Whitcomb and Brown are in, with Kathryn Westbeld moving to the bench and Satou Sabally out for personal reasons. Of the two starters, Whitcomb offers a far higher streaming ceiling in this matchup.

For the most part, Brown hasn’t been much of a factor in fantasy basketball this season. However, she was fantastic in just 19 minutes against Minnesota, recording her first double-double of the season and contributing three defensive stats in a limited role. It was an impressive showing, but don’t expect this to become the norm for Brown, who has played just 13.9 minutes per game this season.

Musa recently suffered a right ankle injury, which is why she appeared on the Mercury’s injury report. Her absence does not significantly impact Phoenix’s frontcourt rotation, as Kalani Brown and Natasha Mack already play more minutes off the bench than Musa.

Thomas played a major role in getting the Mercury back into the game in the fourth quarter when they trailed by as many as nine points at the beginning of the quarter. She scored an and-one after rebounding and driving the ball coast-to-coast in transition to tie the game up at 62 with 7:06 remaining in regulation. Thomas followed that by scoring back-to-back Mercury field goals a couple of minutes later, and found Kalani Brown and then Satou Sabally near the rim to keep the game within a score with under two minutes left. Thomas also passed former player Michelle Snow for 15th on the WNBA’s All-Time rebounds list during the third quarter.

Brown, who will miss a second straight game due to illness, did not travel with the team to Las Vegas. The good news for the Mercury is that they have the depth needed to compensate for the backup center’s absence, as Natasha Mack made her season debut on Wednesday after missing time with a back injury. She’ll absorb the minutes that would have gone to Brown.

For the first time this season, the Mercury will be without their backup center. Brown will not play due to an illness, but the Mercury should have the depth needed to compensate for her absence. In addition to the return of starter Alyssa Thomas (calf), Phoenix welcomes Natasha Mack into the fold. The veteran forward will make her season debut after missing the first ten games with a back injury.

Mack has been cleared to make her season debut after missing Phoenix’s first 10 games with a back injury. The veteran forward’s return comes at a good time, as the Mercury will be without backup Kalani Brown due to an illness. Fantasy managers should not expect Mack to be an impactful performer in her season debut, but she will play rotation minutes.

Yet to appear in a game this season due to a back injury, Mack resumed basketball activities on Thursday ahead of the Mercury’s home win over the Valkyries. At the time of her injury, the veteran forward was given a recovery timeline of 2-3 weeks. With Alyssa Thomas (calf) and Kahleah Copper (knee) also out, the Mercury can use an infusion of frontcourt depth. Mack’s absence has resulted in more playing time for Kathryn Westbeld and Kalani Brown, with the former being part of the starting lineup.