Phoenix Mercury get worst possible injury news day before regular season begins

The Phoenix Mercury kick off their 2024 WNBA season tonight against the Las Vegas Aces but they'll be without center Brittney Griner, and they maybe for a while. The team announced Monday (h/t ESPN) that she had fractured her toe and was out indefinitely.

This is a big blow to a team hoping to elbow it's way back into championship contention. The Mercury finished 9-31 last season, the worst record in the league but were hoping for a bounce-back. Last season saw Griner's return to the court after the emotionally fraught saga of her months-long detention in Russia over the possession of less than a gram of hash oil for personal use.

On a per-minute basis, Griner's numbers were extremely similar but it was clearly an adjustment for her and she played about five fewer minutes per game than she had in 2021. The Mercury also suffered through a down year from Diana Taurasi and a bench that couldn't keep up with some of the more talented units in the league.

Can the Phoenix Mercury stay competitive without Brittney Griner?

The WNBA season is just 40 games long so losing Griner for any extended period could have a huge impact on the standings and their playoff hopes. But Taurasi is back for one more run and they Mercury worked to overhaul their depth this offseason. They signed guard Natasha Cloud and acquired Rebecca Allen, Kahleah Copper and Morgan Bertsch in trades.

Copper is coming off a breakout season where she emerged as one of the best perimeter scorers in the league. She is the centerpiece of the next iteration of this team and having her to run offense through will help remove at least some of the pressure of Griner's absence in the halfcourt offense. Cloud is a ferocious defender who will help push the pace and both Allen and Bertsch are floor spacers who can open driving lanes for Copper and Taurasi.

The issue is going to be their complete lack of size at both ends. Griner was the only nominal center on the roster and their next biggest player is 6-foot-5, second-year forward Liz Dizon who played just 78 minutes as a rookie. Bertsch adds height but she's a floor-spacer on offense and not much of a rebounder or shot-blocker.

The Mercury can get creative and perhaps buy themselves some time with speed, shooting and well-spaced, up-tempo attack. But if they're going to make the postseason, they need Griner back ASAP.