You have had to get up pretty early in the morning to catch Diana Taurasi and the USA Women compete at the 2004 Olympics, but so far it’s been worth it. With a 10-hour difference between Arizona and Greece, afternoon games in Athens are completed before the sun rises in the Valley.

“I was up at 4 a.m. (Monday) watching the game,” said Mercury forward Plenette Pierson. “It was a good game and Diana did well. She didn’t play too much, but she did all right.”

While the 4 a.m. start was a little early for Carrie Graf, the Mercury head coach is impressed with what Taurasi and the USA squad have done so far, and is hopeful Mercury forward Penny Taylor and her native Australia will be able to keep pace. Both teams are off to 2-0 starts and are projected to meet in the gold medal final.

“Obviously, the U.S. are the gold medal favorites, no question,” Graf said Monday. “As an Australian, I would love to see the Aussies in the gold medal game and you would imagine the U.S. is going to be there. But to see 'Dee' in her first Olympics playing in the gold medal game would be huge.

“For both of them, to see them representing their country and playing at their first Olympics, that’s huge for both of them, and credit to them. They are both worthy Olympians and I’m sure it’s the first of many. I can’t imagine those two won’t be triple-Olympians, if not quad-Olympians, by the time their careers are finished. Hopefully, we’ll get to sit back and watch them battle it out for a gold medal.”

Mercury guard Anna DeForge got a first-hand look at the USA Olympians when she played on the WNBA All-Star squad that lost to the Americans in an exhibition game at Radio City Music Hall in New York on Aug. 5.

“They’re winning pretty convincingly,” DeForge said of the USA women. “They proved that in the All-Star Game. If we were the toughest they were going to face, that’s scary. They’ll do well.”

U.S. Men's Shocker

The Mercury were as shocked as everyone else when the U.S. Men’s Olympic Team fell to Puerto Rico 92-73 on Sunday. While missing shots never bodes well in terms of what ends up on the scoreboard, DeForge believes the likes of Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan and Shawn Marion simply weren’t used to playing Puerto Rico’s style of basketball.

“Our guys are use to one-on-ones,” DeForge said. “They can’t go one-on-one in the zone. It takes them out of their strength. In a zone, you need ball movement, cutters, people hitting open shots. You didn’t have that.

“And when you’re up 14 points against the Americans, what does that do? It only gives you more confidence. The U.S. needs to counter that.”

Graf adds that, zone or not, the U.S. team needs to hit more of those open shots.

“Every team’s going to pack in and play a zone,” Graf said. “If you can’t make open shots, it’s tough to win at that level. You’ve got to knock down the open shots to open up the rest of the game. The other thing is, the U.S. teams, both the men and women, are a target for everyone else. That’s the team you have to beat. They’re the gold medalists; they’re the reigning champs.”

Taylor's Tailor

Looking more like she is competing in an Olympic swimming event than a basketball game, Taylor’s been sporting Team Australia’s signature look out on the court: a bodysuit.

“It’s still that one-piece swimsuit outfit,” Phoenix forward Shereka Wright laughed. “It’s pretty difficult to play in. I don’t know how they do it. You just have to get used to it. It’s different. It might have some good things to it. It takes away from your weight. You are very light. No more of all this loose jersey stuff.”