WNBA: GOAT Diana Taurasi makes Phoenix Mercury think about beating Lynx

Her critics will say that at 42, she can't possibly have that much of an impact. That she can't consistently make her bold shots. That those shots will instead look stupid and ruin any chance the Phoenix Mercury had of winning the playoffs.

But Diana Taurasi has made the postseason four more times after turning 35, playing in 20 games, and only once in that time has she made a real mistake from beyond the three-point line. Aside from her 1-for-8 performance in Game 3 of the 2021 Finals, she has shot 27.3 percent or better in every game and 39.3 percent overall, including an 8-for-11 masterpiece in Game 2 of the 2021 semifinals, without which the Mercury won't even make the Finals.

What a postseason 2021 was for Taurasi, as she nearly won a championship that would have tied her with fellow GOAT legends Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes and Maya Moore with four titles. No one is a tougher competitor than Taurasi — sometimes over the top — as she demonstrated by repeatedly slamming and punching a door at Chicago's Wintrust Arena after the Mercury fell short of that title.

DT showed in Game 1 that she still has what it takes

On Sunday, the GOAT was back in the playoffs for the first time since her breakthrough, and she showed that her hunger for a fourth title is in no way diminished by Phoenix's regular-season losses (19-21). She doesn't care which path the Mercury take to get there, she just wants to win it all, and she backed up her determination with her play, sinking 5 of 10 three-pointers en route to 21 points as the No. 7 Phoenix took everything from the No. 2 Minnesota Lynx in Game 1 in a 102-95 loss.

Taurasi turned 42 on June 11, and the Mercury community treated their final game of the 2024 regular season last Thursday as if it were their last professional game in Phoenix. When the Mercury face the Lynx for Game 2 on Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN), they will be battling for at least one more game this season for their beloved basketball behemoth at the Footprint Center. If they lose, they're eliminated, and we'll have to wait for Taurasi's decision on whether to continue playing.

Whether she secretly knows it's her last season or not, Taurasi showed on Sunday that she's not going to give up the win without a fight. Her 21 points were the key to making the game so close; the Mercury overcame a 23-point deficit to lead by one point with 2:06 left. Will DT and Co. be able to cause problems for the Lynx again?

Can DT's teammates help her force a third game in PHX?

If that happens, it'll likely be because Kahleah Copper steps up and has a big game in Game 2. Aside from Napheesa Collier, who scored a career-high 38 points in Game 1, Copper might be the second-best player on the court in this series. She was hot for a while in Game 1 and made it look like Phoenix had a good chance to win. Her 3-point shooting, combined with her ability to attack the basket, is deadly. And then there's Brittney Griner, who, like Taurasi, made her first playoff appearance on Sunday since the 2021 Finals (which the Mercury lost to Copper and the Sky) and her first since her wrongful imprisonment in Russia. Griner was phenomenal in the 2021 regular season (second in MVP voting) and the playoffs and has returned well to professional basketball, averaging over 17 points per game over the past two seasons and even posting the best field goal percentage of her illustrious career in 2024, leading the league at 57.9 percent.

Copper had 16 points in Game 1, while Griner struggled, scoring just 10. Their season averages were 21.1 and 17.8, respectively. The Mercury need more of them and less reliance on Natasha Cloud, who scored 33 points in Game 1 but is typically more of a distributor than a scorer. That being said, Cloud has scored 33 points in each of her last two playoff games (going back to 2023 with the Washington Mystics), proving she can be a scoring star in her own right. Another Mercury star is Sophie Cunningham, who scored 21 points in a 2021 playoff game — before she was as good as she is now. Her career high in a regular season game is 36. She is the Mercury's most accurate 3-point shooter (37.8 percent in the regular season) and hit 2 of 3 threes in Game 1.

Phoenix had what it takes to be better than 19-21 in the regular season, and I think they have what it takes to force a third game. I've mentioned a number of players besides Taurasi who will decide the Mercury's fate. But DT sets the tone. Her drive was never in question. And for the non-haters, her ability to make difficult shots — even at age 42 — was also not in question, given her solid 14.9 points per game this season (33.3 percent on 3-shots) and her previous lack of time in the playoffs.

Taurasi has scored in double figures in 66 of her 72 playoff games and scored at least 20 points in 44 of them. Her career playoff average is 20.5 points, meaning her first playoff game at age 42 was actually slightly above average by her lofty standards.

Completely normal for the greatest player of all time.