Speaker 1: In Case You missed It with Christina Williams is an
Speaker 1: iHeart women's sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports
Speaker 1: and Entertainment. Welcome to another episode of In Case you
Speaker 1: missed It with Christina Williams. And I am super excited
Speaker 1: because there's so much that has been happening in and
Speaker 1: around the WNBA, and so we're going to break down
Speaker 1: this week's headlines. And it's been a minute since Nikaya
Speaker 1: Is Duncan has been on the show. The last time
Speaker 1: he was on, we were talking all things WNBA, Finals, links, liberty,
Speaker 1: and so it's great to happen back in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1: Contributing to us, Welcome back to the show, Nikaias, how
Speaker 1: are you?
Speaker 2: I am doing well. Always a pleasure to chop it
Speaker 2: up with you. Excited to dig it to some who's
Speaker 2: because as you mentioned, there's a lot going on right now.
Speaker 2: Got all Star voting happening, Commissioner's Cup, play Cup lay ending,
Speaker 2: getting ready to set up, see who's gonna be in
Speaker 2: the championship game. I'm just decided to dig into all
Speaker 2: of them.
Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly what you said. Lots to get into. But
Speaker 1: before we do that, we like to start each show
Speaker 1: with every guest sharing their win of the week. So,
Speaker 1: what's something that was a win for you this week?
Speaker 2: Getting this invite to the pod? Honestly? But I think
Speaker 2: beyond that, like, I've just been in basketball bliss for
Speaker 2: the last month and a half. Honestly, this w season
Speaker 2: has been awesome when we're coming off of on the
Speaker 2: NBA side a tremendous Game five of the NBA Finals.
Speaker 2: So just getting to soak all this hoop in and
Speaker 2: talk about people that I appreciate and respect has been
Speaker 2: a blast for me. So I think that's kind of
Speaker 2: where it starts me this week.
Speaker 1: I love that you are just such a basketball head.
Speaker 1: You're like being on this show, the NBA and the WNBA.
Speaker 1: That's all that makes me happy. There's always a one
Speaker 1: way when good basketball is happening, all right, So let's
Speaker 1: dive into the first headline of the week. The WNBA
Speaker 1: announced that fans could now vote for their favorite All Stars,
Speaker 1: and the submissions opened from June twelfth and they closed
Speaker 1: June twenty eighth. And here's a little bit of the
Speaker 1: vote breakdown. So fans voting account for fifty percent of
Speaker 1: the total All Star votes, and then twenty five percent
Speaker 1: of the media vote counts towards the All Star vote,
Speaker 1: and then the players themselves they can vote for players
Speaker 1: that they think should be All Stars as well, and
Speaker 1: that accounts for the other twenty five percent of the vote.
Speaker 1: And so with fans being able to vote, they can
Speaker 1: vote every single day for their favorite ten players, and
Speaker 1: then there are some days where their vote counts twice
Speaker 1: and so I think that's super exciting. I always get
Speaker 1: so excited when it's time for WNBA All Star voting.
Speaker 1: So we're going to dive into some All Stars chatter.
Speaker 1: The All Star Game will return to its regular format.
Speaker 1: So in the past it was the top two players
Speaker 1: who get the top fan votes, they are captains, and
Speaker 1: then they draft their roster. So that's going to happen
Speaker 1: on July eighth. So we're about a month away from
Speaker 1: w NBA All Star and it's going to be in Indianapolis, Nicias.
Speaker 1: So who's one player that you think is on track
Speaker 1: to make their first All Star parents first.
Speaker 2: All Star fans? I think, especially since the fan vote
Speaker 2: counts for half of the split, are we just going
Speaker 2: to get Paige Beckers in?
Speaker 1: Like?
Speaker 2: Is that cheating to have page you com.
Speaker 1: Fans don't play, so I think I think she she
Speaker 1: could get a popular vote for sure, but like.
Speaker 2: I think, even beyond the U convent, she's been really
Speaker 2: good on both ends of the floor. Like I thought
Speaker 2: heading in she was gonna end up being the rookie
Speaker 2: of the year, she seems to be on track with
Speaker 2: that if she stays healthy. She did have the injury
Speaker 2: a little bit earlier in the season, but seventeen four
Speaker 2: and six, two steals and nearly a block per game,
Speaker 2: and she's been efficient forty percent on two. She shooting
Speaker 2: forty two percent from three. I would like her to
Speaker 2: take more threes that she's been taking, but you know,
Speaker 2: we got a long season to go, but she's been
Speaker 2: everywhere on both ends. Defense has been good, the on
Speaker 2: ball defense has been good. The playmaking his pop like
Speaker 2: Becky Hammin ahead of the game against the Wings said,
Speaker 2: she already that Page already has like her doctorate in
Speaker 2: pick and roll reads, and that's not something that you
Speaker 2: see from rookie guards this early. So like just her
Speaker 2: feel for the game with both ends of the floors pop.
Speaker 2: She has the box score numbers, she has the efficiency. Uh,
Speaker 2: the Wings don't have the wins at the moment a
Speaker 2: lot of time. Yeah, but I think she has legit
Speaker 2: been All Star good and so we're just talking about
Speaker 2: the guard pool right now, especially with some other players
Speaker 2: dealing with injuries and stuff like, I think there's room
Speaker 2: for Page to sneak in as a year one player.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think so as well as Yeah, despite the
Speaker 1: Dallas Wings record, she has been super efficient and one
Speaker 1: of their most important players single handedly. Another rookie that
Speaker 1: I was gonna mention was Keiki epp And and the
Speaker 1: Washington Mystics. They do not necessarily have the record. They're
Speaker 1: four to seven as of today, ninth over roll in
Speaker 1: the league. But she's averaging a near double double. She
Speaker 1: won Rookie of the Month in May averaging a double double,
Speaker 1: and she was shooting forty seven percent throughout her debut
Speaker 1: momth as a rookie. I think that she's on pace
Speaker 1: as well, one of my early favorites to snag that
Speaker 1: Rookie of the Year. So I don't know when it
Speaker 1: comes to her position necessarily, if she will make the
Speaker 1: All Star I would love to see her get some nods.
Speaker 2: What do you think about I think I've enjoyed the
Speaker 2: Kiki season. Like you know, similar to Page, I didn't
Speaker 2: expect her to have this kind of poise offensively, she
Speaker 2: has not been afraid of anyone. Washington has dealt with
Speaker 2: a lot of front court talent from their opponents, and
Speaker 2: Kiki is just driving at everybody and that's splashing in
Speaker 2: more of these mid rangs.
Speaker 1: Not afraid. Yeah, she's so tough.
Speaker 2: No, she just does not care, not really respect to
Speaker 2: appreciate that about her. So, like, I think that's a
Speaker 2: good shout. I think to your point about her being
Speaker 2: in the front court room, I think that's where it
Speaker 2: kind of gets dicey, since the w is just flooded
Speaker 2: with a bunch of front court pieces. So like, if
Speaker 2: I had a mystic, it's probably Britney Sykes from me
Speaker 2: who you're talking about driving all over the place. She's
Speaker 2: avaging ten free throws a game. I think her and
Speaker 2: Kelsey Plumber top two and drives per game right now.
Speaker 2: But the fourth quarter scoring has been huge. He has
Speaker 2: still remained very good defensively in spite of how big
Speaker 2: her offensive roll is grown this year. So like I
Speaker 2: think between Keky and Brittany Sykes, like Washington probably gets
Speaker 2: at least one in the All Star Game this year.
Speaker 1: So you kind of answered my question a little bit
Speaker 1: because you mentioned Brittany Sykes. Because my next question was
Speaker 1: going to be fans can vote for ten players daily,
Speaker 1: what's one name you think should you think fans should
Speaker 1: be voting for. I don't know if Britney Sykes was
Speaker 1: your answer, but I feel like it pretty much answered that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, like Brittany was top of mind for me if
Speaker 2: I wanted to give another one, Like I guess I'll
Speaker 2: toss this to uniform of a question, how have you
Speaker 2: felt about the Gabby Williams season?
Speaker 1: That is a tough question to kaya, so I'm the
Speaker 1: one who asked questions here. No, I think it's fair
Speaker 1: in terms of assessment. I think she could be a
Speaker 1: really good reserve. You know, Seattle's kind of in that
Speaker 1: middle tier of teams in terms of what they've been
Speaker 1: able to do throughout the first ten or eleven twelve
Speaker 1: games of the season. I still think that it's more
Speaker 1: that we have not seen from Gabby Williams. But I
Speaker 1: think for what is worth and what Seattle has been
Speaker 1: able to deal with in terms of roster turn around
Speaker 1: and just adjusting to each other and this new season.
Speaker 1: I like where Gabby Williams d is right now.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Like I think she has been, if not Seattle's
Speaker 2: best player. I think she's been their most consistent player
Speaker 2: this year if you want to get the best player,
Speaker 2: not the sky, but yeah, like she has been of
Speaker 2: the world lead defensively and has had to defend a
Speaker 2: little bit of everyone. She's been fantastic and career high
Speaker 2: from three, career high inside dr She's play making more,
Speaker 2: she has more of date usage. She's just been really
Speaker 2: good and the storm she was.
Speaker 1: Expected, right because Team USA nearly lost the gold medal
Speaker 1: because of Gabby Williams. Yeah, it's not like we didn't
Speaker 1: expect this high level of play from Gabby Williams. Like
Speaker 1: this was expected of her, and I think I love
Speaker 1: that she did not go to EuroBasket. I love that
Speaker 1: she started training camp with Seattle because I think the
Speaker 1: chemistry just hits different when you were there from start
Speaker 1: to finish with the g So I think it was expected.
Speaker 1: But yeah, I like that. I like that Gaby Williams
Speaker 1: shout out from you. All Right, let's say that you're
Speaker 1: building your personal starting five because we know that there's
Speaker 1: gonna be ten starters. But if you had to pick
Speaker 1: five players who has impressed you the most this season,
Speaker 1: who would you pick for your starting five?
Speaker 2: Okay, So, in typical Nikaya spashion, I had a tough
Speaker 2: time with this one because one, there are just a
Speaker 2: lot of great seasons happening in the league. And then
Speaker 2: beyond that, because I always kind of get tied up
Speaker 2: to like, am I going traditional positions? Am I just
Speaker 2: picking the five best players that I've enjoyed, et cetera.
Speaker 2: And so I went with more of a traditional setup.
Speaker 2: Give me two guards, give me three front court players.
Speaker 2: And so in the back court I have sabrinian Nescu
Speaker 2: and Alisha Gray right now, and in the front court,
Speaker 2: I have the Fisa Collier, Alyssa Thomas, and Asia Wilson.
Speaker 2: And I say that with the obvious caveat, like, I
Speaker 2: think Caitlin when she's been on the floor has been
Speaker 2: the best guard in the w I think it's between
Speaker 2: her and a Lisha Gray this year, but I think
Speaker 2: Katelyn's been the best guard's played five games, so like,
Speaker 2: that's literally the only reason why I wouldn't include her
Speaker 2: right now. But she has obviously impressed me with the
Speaker 2: playmaking the drives. The defense feels better this year, so
Speaker 2: I wanted to make sure I said her name at
Speaker 2: the very least. But yeah, just going to the guards
Speaker 2: real quick. Sabrina back to knocking down shots inside the heart.
Speaker 2: The drives are hitting a little bit more. She's sprinkling
Speaker 2: in these floaters. That was growth that we saw from
Speaker 2: her last year. And the defense has just been legitimately good.
Speaker 2: And I don't know if she is getting enough.
Speaker 1: From year over year. It's consistent from last year to
Speaker 1: this year.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't think that's getting enough pup Like she
Speaker 2: is the fourth or bet or fifth best defender in
Speaker 2: her starting lineup, which speaks to how well this liberty
Speaker 2: roster's constructed. But she is doing her job. She's holding
Speaker 2: up against drives better, she's navigating screens better to help.
Speaker 2: Defense is more consistent for her, Like she isn't someone
Speaker 2: that you could just say put her in action, let's
Speaker 2: get an ISO and we're gonna get a good shot.
Speaker 2: Like you just can't really do that to Sabrina in
Speaker 2: the way that you could two or three years ago.
Speaker 2: And so I think she deserves legitimate credit for that
Speaker 2: defensive growth. In addition to can still bomb away from
Speaker 2: three v. Me two, can still play make and make
Speaker 2: all the passes you need her to. Really good cutter
Speaker 2: Willie screener for Brianna Stewart. They want to invert action.
Speaker 2: She's just been super impactful of both ends of the floor.
Speaker 2: And Alisha Gray, I don't we could do an entire
Speaker 2: podcast on what she's done. Like just it's not easy.
Speaker 2: It's easy, you know, with me with a microphone or
Speaker 2: whatever to say, Hey, I wish this player was more aggressive.
Speaker 2: I wish this player would shoot more. It's not easy
Speaker 2: to take on more defensive pressure, take on more offensive responsibility,
Speaker 2: and do so consistently and efficiently. And like, that's what
Speaker 2: Alisa Gray has been able to do. And this is
Speaker 2: while maintaining all defense caliber defense on the other end
Speaker 2: of the floor. And so for her to rev up
Speaker 2: the drives the way she has, I think among players
Speaker 2: with a minimum of forty drives this year, she has
Speaker 2: been the best driver in basketball this year. That plus
Speaker 2: the three point shooting. Yes, that plus the three point
Speaker 2: shooting ticking up, She's taken more than she ever has
Speaker 2: and she's draining nearly forty percent of those. The playmaking
Speaker 2: has perked up to a real deg because she's getting
Speaker 2: downhill more and seeing more attention. She's making the basic reads.
Speaker 2: She's not turning the ball over as she's making more
Speaker 2: of these playmaking reads. It's just not easy to ramp
Speaker 2: up volume and somehow get more efficient with your touches.
Speaker 2: And that's what she's done for a really good Atlanta
Speaker 2: dream team. So those are my back court. I don't
Speaker 2: know if I need to spend much time.
Speaker 1: I say one thing about Ali Shagray. I mean, last
Speaker 1: All Stars, she was the first play in w MEA
Speaker 1: history to win both the skills competition and three point Contest.
Speaker 1: So no surprise that she's having an amazing season. She's
Speaker 1: an amazing arrival season as well. I think that we're
Speaker 1: finally seeing her step into her prime and she is
Speaker 1: a force to be reckoned with. I think ever since
Speaker 1: she has been in Atlanta year over year, we've just
Speaker 1: seen her turn it up a new level every season,
Speaker 1: every season. And I think that Karl Smesco and we'll
Speaker 1: get into it later, he's just bringing out the best
Speaker 1: and Ali Shagray, So I like that pick for your
Speaker 1: back court.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I've just had a lot of fun watching her
Speaker 2: and Bill Lar watching her interacts with they're just trading
Speaker 2: the water bottles being splashed to each other in post
Speaker 2: game interview, Like the vibes are just tremendous in Atlanta overall.
Speaker 1: Yes, walking it to them, Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2: It just feels different. And then beyond that, AT's been
Speaker 2: tremendous in Phoenix. I think the Mercury hav exceeded a
Speaker 2: lot of people's expectations to start the year, and she's
Speaker 2: been a big part of that. On both ends of
Speaker 2: the floor. The FISA Collier is just your MVP front
Speaker 2: runner right now. Like, if you don't want to give
Speaker 2: her best Player in the World title right now, I
Speaker 2: think that's fine. She has at very at least been
Speaker 2: the best player in the league so far this season.
Speaker 2: And then Asia Wilson, despite the defensive attention that she's getting,
Speaker 2: I think among seventy two players that have had at
Speaker 2: least three hundred touches this year, nobody in the WNBA
Speaker 2: is being double team or seeing a second defender more
Speaker 2: than Asia. So, like you see it when you watch games,
Speaker 2: teams just flooding the pain against her. But we do
Speaker 2: have a number about that no one's seen that kind
Speaker 2: of attention leading the aces and everything points rebounds. Assist
Speaker 2: Steel's block is absurd what she's doing. She hasn't had
Speaker 2: the same making that we're accustomed to. We're gonna see
Speaker 2: how much that perks up when she gets back. But
Speaker 2: she's still been very good amidst of tough context right now.
Speaker 2: So like it's hard to leave Age out right now.
Speaker 1: It's a solid five. I would like to firstly publicly
Speaker 1: apologize to the Phoenix Mercury because of the season. Not
Speaker 1: only did I rank them really low and talk a
Speaker 1: lot of shit about not thinking that they would be
Speaker 1: any good this season, you guys are making me eat
Speaker 1: my words, like using that as bulletin material. Like I
Speaker 1: was on with Natalie Squire on NBCV this season preview
Speaker 1: and I was like, I don't think that Mercury are
Speaker 1: going to do anything this season, and I am definitely
Speaker 1: eating my words. So it's definitely fun to see that
Speaker 1: new big three. And we'll get into that a little
Speaker 1: bit later as well. But if I had to choose
Speaker 1: my starting five, I had Sabrina in my back court
Speaker 1: as well. I did put Caitlin Clark only because I
Speaker 1: think by the time the All Star Game one I
Speaker 1: know that she'll get it as a starter because of
Speaker 1: the pan vo and two just her talent, Like even
Speaker 1: though she played the five games and she's injured, I
Speaker 1: think that we'll see her be more consistent by the
Speaker 1: time All Star happens. And then Alice took Gray I
Speaker 1: would put as my three. I know I'm kind of
Speaker 1: doing that small ball, but then obviously no Fisa, and
Speaker 1: then Asia Wilson, and then I did give honorable mentions.
Speaker 1: If I had to choose ten. I think Tyler Diggins
Speaker 1: is playing really well. I think she deserves to be
Speaker 1: an All Star. John cwel Jones because the New York
Speaker 1: Liberty are at their best when JJ is on the floor.
Speaker 1: Aliah Boston deserves some love. I think that she's been
Speaker 1: really great in her position for the Fever. Stat too Sobbly,
Speaker 1: I mean know you mentioned at I think so Too
Speaker 1: Sobbily is one of the most important players for the Mercury,
Speaker 1: and then Bryanna Stewart of course for the Liberty. If
Speaker 1: I had to choose ten, those will be my five
Speaker 1: honorable mentions. But yeah, all right, So moving right along,
Speaker 1: which team and I think that we probably both know
Speaker 1: the answer to this, but which team do you think
Speaker 1: will have the most All Stars voted in this year?
Speaker 2: Who most All Stars voted in? Like, I feel like
Speaker 2: it kind of has to be between between the Liberty,
Speaker 2: the Fever, and the Dream. If I had to guess,
Speaker 2: like that feels right, I.
Speaker 1: Think the Liberty will be the team with the most.
Speaker 1: And here's why. One thing Natasha Cloud, I mean doesn't
Speaker 1: necessarily show up in like the overall stats per game, right,
Speaker 1: but I think what she's been able to do and
Speaker 1: just the early part of the season, the intensity that
Speaker 1: she brings for leadership, the defensive tone that she sets
Speaker 1: for the Liberty, her playmaking. I think that this is
Speaker 1: some of the best basketball that we've seen Natasha Cloud play.
Speaker 1: I think that she deserves to be a reserve. I
Speaker 1: think Sabrina will make the All Star Game, John Paul Jones,
Speaker 1: and Brandon Stewart. So I have the Liberty having four
Speaker 1: players in OK so, I think that they will. And
Speaker 1: you know, they went undefeated, you know, for really for
Speaker 1: nine games games they were undefeated. So I think they
Speaker 1: deserve to have some All Stars. The Links I think,
Speaker 1: of course fee and Court deserves to get some votes.
Speaker 1: But yeah, I think in terms of the Indiana Fever,
Speaker 1: you got Caitlin Aliyah Kelsey. Maybe the Fever and Liberty
Speaker 1: will have the same amount to Wanna Bona.
Speaker 2: I worry about the the Wana year just because she's
Speaker 2: gotten off to such a slow start offensively. But yeah,
Speaker 2: the fan vote counts for half, so if there is
Speaker 2: enough that she springs highly enough among the players, then
Speaker 2: the other split may not matter as much. But like,
Speaker 2: I think the dream ends up being a sneaky one
Speaker 2: because I think Alisa is just in the people love Ryan.
Speaker 2: BG historically gets a lot of votes and Bree Jones
Speaker 2: has just been very good and this is what especially
Speaker 2: when BG was out, Like, I think Bree Jones has
Speaker 2: done a really good job on both ends of the floor.
Speaker 2: So like, the sneaky for All Star team for me
Speaker 2: is probably Atlanta.
Speaker 1: Okay, I like that, and we'll get into Atlanta's season
Speaker 1: because I'm super excited to talk about them. I haven't
Speaker 1: really talked about them at all this season on the show,
Speaker 1: and so I'm super excited to die been to all
Speaker 1: things Atlanta last thing on All Star. So we talked
Speaker 1: about how the fifty fan votes count towards designating the
Speaker 1: captains for All Star and that's the top two players
Speaker 1: in the league who received the most votes. So who
Speaker 1: do you think will win the popularity with the fans?
Speaker 1: My pick is Kaitlyn Clark and Asia Wilson. I think
Speaker 1: that the Iowa fans, the Fever fans, the Aces fans,
Speaker 1: South Carolina fans, they show up and show out. Asia
Speaker 1: has been the captain for the All Star Game for
Speaker 1: a while now when this format has been set in
Speaker 1: as long as she's been in the league, so I
Speaker 1: think she's having one of her best yets yet on
Speaker 1: and off the court. So I see those two as
Speaker 1: being the captains possibly. And I'm not even go to
Speaker 1: kind of out Angel Reese because we haven't talked about her.
Speaker 1: But if she is a reserve in terms of the
Speaker 1: popular vote, right, like, maybe she can get in there.
Speaker 1: I don't know, but I think the top two players
Speaker 1: the popular vote would be Asia Wilson and Kaitlyn Clark,
Speaker 1: both twenty two's. We're going to get like a Nike cap.
Speaker 2: And kind of thing, going, yeah, would be very happy
Speaker 2: with that one, Like that feels right. I think. My
Speaker 2: only thing, especially as we've gotten to we're more in
Speaker 2: the traditional voting this year compared to uh, team w
Speaker 2: versus the Olympic team, et cetera. If I remember correctly,
Speaker 2: weren't Kaitlyn and Aliyah the top two vote getters.
Speaker 1: The numbers and then you know what, to your point,
Speaker 1: to your point, Caitlyn Clark and fewer fans they do
Speaker 1: show up and show out. So if two Fever players
Speaker 1: end up getting the most popular votes, because we don't
Speaker 1: know the first round of turnout yet for the votes
Speaker 1: from week one, we don't have those numbers yet, I'm
Speaker 1: all recording, but that would be a freaking game changer.
Speaker 1: If two Fever players are able to get the popular
Speaker 1: vote and in Indianapolis at that that would be crazy.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Like I was, I was looking at some of
Speaker 2: the results from last year, and again different format last
Speaker 2: year compared to this year. But like Kaitlyn was certainly
Speaker 2: up there. Aliah Boston I think was also up there.
Speaker 2: And then because the split was so weird, where like
Speaker 2: if you were on the Olympic team, your votes counted,
Speaker 2: but you were also already in the game, and so
Speaker 2: they had to go to a like a thirty six
Speaker 2: player pool after that for the coaches to choose between,
Speaker 2: and they had six Fever players in that pool, like
Speaker 2: Timmy was in there, Christy Wallace was in there, Erica
Speaker 2: Wheeler was in there, and it's just like, yeah, so
Speaker 2: I'm just like they literally have most of the Fever
Speaker 2: rotation in that player pool, like naturally, like Kelsey Mitchell
Speaker 2: ens up getting me and stuff like that. But like,
Speaker 2: if it's just more on the fans this year, this
Speaker 2: really does feel like it could be Kaitlyn and Aaliyah
Speaker 2: as your top two vote getters. No, obviously, like I
Speaker 2: think Age is better than Alia, etcetera, etcetera, But like,
Speaker 2: I can't say I would be surprised if it ends
Speaker 2: up being that way. Like the Fever fan base has grown,
Speaker 2: the W fan base overall has grown, but you already
Speaker 2: mentioned like those fans, the Fever fans show out, game
Speaker 2: cop fans show up.
Speaker 1: Ellie is a former game Cock, so that she gets
Speaker 1: a double whammy over Agent when it comes to that.
Speaker 1: But the Aces fans and your friend the two of
Speaker 1: the biggest fan bases and the W, so that should
Speaker 1: be super exciting. And of course it's always an incentive
Speaker 1: for the fans to be able to vote their favorite
Speaker 1: players as captain, so we'll look out for it. I'm
Speaker 1: gonna be looking at the numbers now in the KAYUS
Speaker 1: because I didn't even realize that Aliyah was almost in
Speaker 1: the run into to become a captain prior to the
Speaker 1: All Star USA versus W All Star format. So that's
Speaker 1: something I'll look into too. All right, now, let's get
Speaker 1: down to the nitty gritty. The Atlanta's Dream is having
Speaker 1: a strong start to their season. Newly named head coach
Speaker 1: Carls s Mesco has already been receiving some Coach of
Speaker 1: the Year not from some of our media colleagues around
Speaker 1: the league. Alicia Gray. When people talk about who is
Speaker 1: the MVP this season, I hear three names, and first
Speaker 1: being an a Fisa Collier, Caitlin Clark, and then Alisha Gray.
Speaker 1: Right there, She's averaging twenty one points, six redowns, five assists,
Speaker 1: plus she earned her first Player of the Week honors
Speaker 1: in her career. So far this year, they have you
Speaker 1: mentioned Bree Jones being in the folds, Ryan Howard playing
Speaker 1: out of her mind, Jordan Canada coming back into the Fold,
Speaker 1: and having a player like BG. So I guess my
Speaker 1: first question to you is what stands out about Carl's
Speaker 1: system and how it's already changing the way Atlanta plays.
Speaker 2: I think the big thing for me and I know
Speaker 2: most would just point to the three pointers, and they
Speaker 2: are taking the most threes in the league, But like
Speaker 2: the spacing itself is probably the thing that stands out
Speaker 2: the most about this Atlanta Dream team. Like one of
Speaker 2: my early questions as they signed. They hire carls Mesco
Speaker 2: and you hear about the offense and the threes, etc.
Speaker 2: And then their first two signings are Free Jones and
Speaker 2: Britney Grind. I was like, Okay, that seems to run
Speaker 2: a little bit counter to that. And so heading into
Speaker 2: preseason playoff was like, okay, what is this offense literally
Speaker 2: going to look like? Who are they going to prioritize?
Speaker 2: Where do they want to run? How are they going
Speaker 2: to space these bigs when they're both on the floor together.
Speaker 2: And so what popped in preseason and what continues the
Speaker 2: pop is if Britney Grinder is in action in some
Speaker 2: kind of way, Bree Jones is on the opposite wing,
Speaker 2: She's not always in like the dunker spot in near
Speaker 2: the basket. They space her in the wing and when
Speaker 2: she's underwing, she can dive to the basket late to
Speaker 2: receive some passes, or she can switch places with someone
Speaker 2: else on the perimeter. They just do a really good
Speaker 2: job of moving defenders around that have Bree Jones set
Speaker 2: some screens away from the ball, you can't really load
Speaker 2: up against the Atlanta Dream and I think because of
Speaker 2: how smart they're spacing is, it just makes it tough.
Speaker 2: It makes it difficult to double team any of those posts,
Speaker 2: like if Brie Jones and Action Brittany grind is doing
Speaker 2: the same thing on the opposite side of the floor,
Speaker 2: and because they're space so well, it opens up more
Speaker 2: driving lanes. And I think that's where you see I
Speaker 2: mentioned it earlier. Alicia Gray statistically, at the very least
Speaker 2: has been the most efficient driver in basketball so far,
Speaker 2: or at least as of recording today. Part of that
Speaker 2: is because she's been more aggressive, But I think she's
Speaker 2: more aggressive because the lace are wider for her to
Speaker 2: get to the basket, and she has always been a
Speaker 2: good finisher. Now those opportunities are more fruitful, so you
Speaker 2: can't really send to help her way either, or if
Speaker 2: you're sending it, it's coming late. And from there she's
Speaker 2: making the necessary passes to keep keep defenses in rotation.
Speaker 2: So they've just done a really good job of spacing
Speaker 2: the floor. They empty outside to open up some of
Speaker 2: the picking roles that they're running. Like, I think they're
Speaker 2: just doing a really good job of occupying defenders, and
Speaker 2: I think Alisha Ryan to a lesser degree, but especially
Speaker 2: the post they're seeing more one on one opportunities than
Speaker 2: I anticipated with what the starting lineup is, and it
Speaker 2: just made them all more dangerous and more efficient in
Speaker 2: different ways.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm not gonna lie. I was also questioning the
Speaker 1: signing of both Fiji and Briones. I was like, how
Speaker 1: is that going to work out with the spacing, But
Speaker 1: call figured it out. He figured it out, and so
Speaker 1: it it's definitely showing in the product as being produced
Speaker 1: on the court. But we've been talking about Alisha Gray
Speaker 1: putting up those all star numbers, of those MVP like
Speaker 1: numbers on both ends of the floor statistically, what's working
Speaker 1: for her in your opinion, Like, how is she helping
Speaker 1: to set the tone for this Atlanta Dream team.
Speaker 2: I think it starts with the drives first. I think
Speaker 2: her ability to access the paint and to do so
Speaker 2: more freely is opening things up for everyone else. Like
Speaker 2: one again, she's doing a tremendous job of getting to
Speaker 2: the rim and finishing and getting to the line. But
Speaker 2: beyond that, because she has a smart passer and because
Speaker 2: the floor is spaced as well as it is, she's
Speaker 2: able to make the appropriate reads and kind of keep
Speaker 2: that chain on. And I think just kind of zooming
Speaker 2: back out with the Atlanta Dream their first and three
Speaker 2: point attempts, they're also second in post ups, like they've
Speaker 2: been able to find that balance of we space the floor,
Speaker 2: we make sure our wings can get free, we make
Speaker 2: sure defenses aren't able to double team Bree Jones except
Speaker 2: Jones or Britney Grinder. And depending on what the game
Speaker 2: calls for, we can just go spread, pick and roll
Speaker 2: and space you're out and make you make decisions, or
Speaker 2: we can slow things down and just dumping into the block,
Speaker 2: and we feel like we can get good shots in
Speaker 2: either scenario. And I think those two ideals kind of
Speaker 2: feed into each other, and I think Alicia Gray just
Speaker 2: feels like a perfect midpoint between the two. Can playmate,
Speaker 2: can score, and like she's comfortable being on or off
Speaker 2: the ball, and so even with some of those post
Speaker 2: ups that's going to a Britney Grind or a Bree
Speaker 2: Jones like Alisha Gray isn't too far far away from
Speaker 2: the action, like she's making the entry pass or she
Speaker 2: you know, because they relocate so well off the ball.
Speaker 2: Now she's one pass away from the post up. So
Speaker 2: those are easy kickouts for her. Those catch shoot opportunities
Speaker 2: are going down for and so I just think the
Speaker 2: system kind of feeds into what she does, and what
Speaker 2: she does feeds into what they want to get into,
Speaker 2: both on the interior and from the perimeter. It just
Speaker 2: feels like a perfect meshing of the skill set. And
Speaker 2: again it's a testament to Alisha Gray for also just
Speaker 2: being more aggressive. Some of these shot opportunities were available
Speaker 2: last year in a different offense for whatever reason, whether
Speaker 2: that was just lack of comfort defense is being able
Speaker 2: to load up a little bit more. She wasn't taking
Speaker 2: all of those, like she passed up some threes last year.
Speaker 2: She's taking more threes off the dribble like that isn't
Speaker 2: a spacing deal. That is a comforting and aggression And
Speaker 2: so she has taken some ownership of this as well.
Speaker 2: But I do think the system kind of assituates what
Speaker 2: she already does well.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Now you talked about how balanced the new system
Speaker 1: is and how she's been able to thrive in that system,
Speaker 1: and I agree. I think that they are one of
Speaker 1: the most balanced teams in the league right now. What
Speaker 1: do you think about the duo of Alisha Gray and
Speaker 1: Ryan Howard and do you think that they are going
Speaker 1: to be a dangerous team in the second half of
Speaker 1: the season. Should they upkeep this this level of play,
Speaker 1: in this consistency.
Speaker 2: If they keep this up, like absolutely, like I don't think.
Speaker 2: I don't think there's a better wing tandem in the
Speaker 2: league than Alisha Gray and Ryan Howard, especially if you
Speaker 2: are getting the apex version of Ryan Howard. Because this
Speaker 2: has been at least offensively, it's been an up and
Speaker 2: down season for her. I think the defense has just
Speaker 2: been very good throughout and I think she deserves a
Speaker 2: lot of crad for that. This is we have seen
Speaker 2: these splashes from Ryan Howard before, and so it is
Speaker 2: very exciting to me that it has been a more consistent,
Speaker 2: high level effort defensively for her. And so as we
Speaker 2: saw in that Washington game, as we saw second half
Speaker 2: of the most recent game against the Chicago Sky, once
Speaker 2: Ryan Howard heats up, you know, good luck, hop on Twitter,
Speaker 2: scroll your timeline, make dinner, you know, do your laundry. Whatever.
Speaker 2: Game is just cooked at that point. So like, if
Speaker 2: Alicia Gray is going to be this consistent offensively and
Speaker 2: again she's her name should be written down for an
Speaker 2: all defense team, more at least consideration for an all
Speaker 2: defense team. If Ryan Howard is also going to be
Speaker 2: all defense level good and she has this kind of
Speaker 2: shot making ability at any given moment, and you have
Speaker 2: the dual post up threats of Bree Jones and Britney
Speaker 2: Grinder being as efficient as they are, Like, yeah, like
Speaker 2: you just have an avenue to generating good offense and
Speaker 2: the defense quietly third in the league this year, third
Speaker 2: and offense, third and defense for the Atlanta Dreams so far.
Speaker 2: If we're talking about overall balance, this could absolutely be
Speaker 2: a dual, you know, in terms of Alisha and Ryan
Speaker 2: can spearhead them being contenders but zooming out with the
Speaker 2: team itself, Like this could be a serious threat.
Speaker 1: I like that take. I know it's early in the
Speaker 1: season right now, but you know, we love predictions on
Speaker 1: the show. Do you think that the Atlanta's dream would
Speaker 1: be seen as a real contender as we get deeper
Speaker 1: into the season, I think they can be.
Speaker 2: Like I think for me, a lot of it is
Speaker 2: going to be if there's any kind of regression from
Speaker 2: at least Gray offensively, or if Ryan isn't able to
Speaker 2: consistently score at a high slash efficient level, like what
Speaker 2: does the offense look like then, because there is just
Speaker 2: a natural variance in terms of all the threes that
Speaker 2: they're taking, and so if either one of them doesn't
Speaker 2: hit the notes, like I keep the brow raised on
Speaker 2: that front. I think Jordan Canada, as you mentioned a
Speaker 2: little bit earlier, she's now back. I think the drives
Speaker 2: have been very important. The defense has been solid. It
Speaker 2: hasn't been quite to the level LINE accustomed to with
Speaker 2: her yet, but she is also very young into the season,
Speaker 2: so I'm waiting to see how that perks up. I
Speaker 2: think because of how they're deploying their defensively at least
Speaker 2: Bree Jones and Britney Grinder, like, there is room for
Speaker 2: teams to get more comfortable against those two, and so
Speaker 2: like there is there are some things I'm looking forward
Speaker 2: to as we get you know, two d All Star
Speaker 2: break a little bit after they All Star break to
Speaker 2: see how that holds up. But if they answer those
Speaker 2: questions on both ends, that yeah, they can contend. Like
Speaker 2: I think the Liberty and the Links have separated themselves
Speaker 2: as the clear light top two teams in league, but
Speaker 2: like after that, the Dream can absolutely establish themselves as
Speaker 2: that third team and then from there it's just a
Speaker 2: matchup game. I think they have things that they can
Speaker 2: poke at against both of those teams, even if I
Speaker 2: feel those teams are better right now. So yeah, I
Speaker 2: don't think attentions out of the question if they hit
Speaker 2: the notes.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, we'll keep our eyes on all things Atlanta,
Speaker 1: Dream and Tario. I don't know if you want to
Speaker 1: write down like around twenty nine minutes to edit that part,
Speaker 1: but yeah, all right, let's go on to the next topic.
Speaker 1: Who's in and who's out? Okay, And so with this segment,
Speaker 1: I like to talk about where players who are returning
Speaker 1: from injury and just the moving and shaking in terms
Speaker 1: of the rosters and so back in action this week
Speaker 1: or over the weekend. Some stars returned. Caitlyn Clark we
Speaker 1: talked about her early in the episode. She missed five games,
Speaker 1: and she returned after being out due to injuries, She
Speaker 1: returned against the New York Liberty and led the team
Speaker 1: to handing the Liberty their first loss of the season. Now,
Speaker 1: for context, the Liberty or without their finals MVP and
Speaker 1: John Paul Jones and Starterloni Piebach, who has overseas commitment
Speaker 1: for EuroBasket. But I think Caitlyn had a pretty solid game.
Speaker 1: The Indiana Fever went two three without her in the lineup.
Speaker 1: And so now that she's back, what has stood out
Speaker 1: to you about Caitlyn's game in year two and what
Speaker 1: and how Indiana looks when she's back in that lineup.
Speaker 2: I think the first thing for me is that she
Speaker 2: is noticeably stronger, and I think that pops up on
Speaker 2: the drives, and I think that pops up on some
Speaker 2: of the drives that she's had to defend this year.
Speaker 2: And so I think the added play strength makes it
Speaker 2: more difficult for teams to be physical with her when
Speaker 2: they start possessions with her off the ball. I think
Speaker 2: she's having an easier time of kind of coming off
Speaker 2: of those screens and dealing with that hand to hand
Speaker 2: combat and then flowing into actions from there. And again, defensively,
Speaker 2: she's holding up a little bit better so that's number
Speaker 2: one for me. Number two and I'll give the hat
Speaker 2: tip to my guy, Steve Jones Junior over at the
Speaker 2: dunkor Spot some day. He pointed out very early on Hey,
Speaker 2: shout out Steve. Something that he pointed out was, Hey,
Speaker 2: this feels like a little bit more inside the arc
Speaker 2: stuff for Kaitlyn Clark. She's getting to the mid range
Speaker 2: jumper a little bit more. She seems more comfortable in
Speaker 2: the middle of the floor. And that was I think
Speaker 2: a pretty obvious growth area for her in year one
Speaker 2: where it felt like she's taking these threes or she's
Speaker 2: really working to get deep into the paint and anything
Speaker 2: in that like ten to nineteen foot range. Didn't know
Speaker 2: what it was going to look like. And Christy sides,
Speaker 2: I remember a lot of controversy around this for whatever reason.
Speaker 2: But she's like, no, we want her to get comfortable
Speaker 2: with long twos. And I think a lot of people
Speaker 2: heard that and it's like, oh, it's not the Fisher shot.
Speaker 2: Do you don't want her taking midties?
Speaker 1: None?
Speaker 2: No, No, It's like no, The general point is you
Speaker 2: don't want her to be uncomfortable in any area of
Speaker 2: the floor, not that she needs to start taking fifteen
Speaker 2: mid range shots a game. It's just when teams are
Speaker 2: trying to take away the threes and they're walling off
Speaker 2: the paint, does she have the shot that she's comfortable
Speaker 2: getting to? And I think we have seen real growth
Speaker 2: in the middle of the floor for her, and so
Speaker 2: like the strength of drives and I think the mid
Speaker 2: range comfort will probably be the big things that have
Speaker 2: stood out to me more this year than last year.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and that's kind of the trajectory that Sabrinian Rescue
Speaker 1: took last year and the New York Liberty won the
Speaker 1: championship because of that part of her game that she
Speaker 1: improved on. So I'm excited about this Indiana Fever team. Okay,
Speaker 1: So over in Phoenix, we finally got to see Colea
Speaker 1: Copper make her Phoenix Mercury debut with the new big
Speaker 1: three in Satsu Sabuli. Elisa Thomas, what were your early
Speaker 1: impressions of Ka on the and seeing that big three
Speaker 1: on the floor together.
Speaker 2: My initial thought was, blue boy, this is going to
Speaker 2: be a lot to deal with once cod really gets
Speaker 2: into rhythm. Because again, you've talked about how good Satu
Speaker 2: has been this year. I've talked a little bit about
Speaker 2: what Alysta Thomas has done on both ends of the floor,
Speaker 2: and Cod just feels like a nice counterbalance between the two.
Speaker 2: And I think her presence alone is going to take
Speaker 2: a lot of pressure off of both of those players,
Speaker 2: Like I think I think she's especially going to be
Speaker 2: good for Satu. I think a Satu has certainly worked
Speaker 2: to find the balance between I want to get to
Speaker 2: these threes and more comfortable taking them. I want to
Speaker 2: be able to get to the paint. I want to
Speaker 2: post up Kaliah Copper, just being able to get the
Speaker 2: ball at the top of the key and say I
Speaker 2: can just win my matchup. I can get all the
Speaker 2: way to the pain if I want to. I can
Speaker 2: get to the free throw line if I want to.
Speaker 2: I think it simplifies some things for Satu in particular,
Speaker 2: and it certainly takes some of the creation burden off
Speaker 2: of Alyssa Thomas. And so watching Cod Alyssa Thomas in
Speaker 2: particular kind of operating action together against the Aces. You
Speaker 2: saw that a lot in the fourth quarter. They're flowing
Speaker 2: in the handoffs against each other and seeing how the
Speaker 2: Aces want to deal with that, Like, do we want
Speaker 2: to switch between Kalia Copper and a list Thomas like,
Speaker 2: not really, because one of those two players is going
Speaker 2: to hit my player in the chest. It's not going
Speaker 2: to feel good, and they're gonna generate something good. And
Speaker 2: so like they have those problems in tow, I think
Speaker 2: calls also going to help the transition game. And again,
Speaker 2: as teams have looked to switch a little bit more
Speaker 2: against the Phoenix Mercury overall as the season's gone on,
Speaker 2: cause just a natural counter to that. I can now
Speaker 2: just pick out a matchup that I want and I
Speaker 2: can go to work, and if you send two, we're
Speaker 2: making you rotate. Like talk a little bit about the
Speaker 2: space of the Atlanta Dream. The Phoenix Mercury have done
Speaker 2: a tremendous job of spacing the floor. And again that's
Speaker 2: not just having three point shooters, though that's obviously important.
Speaker 2: It's literally where these players are standing, where they're moving to,
Speaker 2: and when they're deciding to move around, what's happening on
Speaker 2: the floor. And so you combine that with cause ability
Speaker 2: to just win matchups, it's dangerous stuff. And so we
Speaker 2: again we didn't get a plus Collia Copper on Sunday
Speaker 2: against the ass but you saw flashes of that, and
Speaker 2: I think as she gets her feet under her, it's
Speaker 2: going to be pretty scary stuff in Phoenix.
Speaker 1: Okay, So moving right along to EuroBasket, which starts June
Speaker 1: eighteenth and ends on June twenty ninth, there will be
Speaker 1: a lot of different teams impacted by players having to
Speaker 1: go overseas for EuroBasket commitments, and one of those teams
Speaker 1: is going to be the Golden State Valkyries, who are
Speaker 1: going to lose six players, four active players, two inactive
Speaker 1: players to those commitments. But I think the interesting thing
Speaker 1: that I read was four of their top seven players
Speaker 1: in minutes we'll have to go to EuroBasket, and two
Speaker 1: starters in Temmy and Janelle, they also have to go
Speaker 1: to EuroBasket. So when you think about how much this
Speaker 1: Valkyrie's roster is being impacted by players having to leave
Speaker 1: and then signing players are hardship contracts and just the
Speaker 1: disruption of their flow, because right now they're at five
Speaker 1: hundred and record, how difficult do you think a team think?
Speaker 1: How difficult do you think it is for this team
Speaker 1: to stay competitive when that much of their roster is
Speaker 1: going to be out or unavailable.
Speaker 2: Like it's certainly going to be a challenge. I think
Speaker 2: that's why it was smart for them to bring back
Speaker 2: some familiar faces, some players that they had in training
Speaker 2: camp at the very least, Like I know they announced
Speaker 2: to kitlyn Chen signing I think yesterday and latsha Emir
Speaker 2: here is back, and so like, do you at least
Speaker 2: have some familiarity in the room. And I think in
Speaker 2: general looking at this Golden State roster and like I
Speaker 2: say this as a compliment, like this is a team
Speaker 2: of like fourth or fifth starters or role players to
Speaker 2: begin with, and so like there is already a natural
Speaker 2: let me get in where I fit in with this
Speaker 2: roster that may make the translation or transition a little
Speaker 2: bit easier than anticipate it. Like I can just kind
Speaker 2: of step into this because I don't I don't have
Speaker 2: to overburden myself anyway. This is just an opportunity that
Speaker 2: I want already that I may not have gotten with
Speaker 2: some of these players here, like looking at what Karla
Speaker 2: Lade has been able to do since Julie van Lu's
Speaker 2: been out, for example, So like I think there is
Speaker 2: going to be a stepping up, there's still a level
Speaker 2: of familiarity. Like my primary concern with the Valkyries would
Speaker 2: be would probably be the offense, just because it already
Speaker 2: hasn't been a great unit on that end. They are
Speaker 2: obviously taking a lot of threes. They haven't made a
Speaker 2: lot of threes, so they're certainly taking them, and so
Speaker 2: removing Timmy, who's done a really good job of making
Speaker 2: decisions in space and cutting and screening away and Janelle Salon,
Speaker 2: who has been one of their rare good shooters on
Speaker 2: the roster. I do wonder if teams get more audacious
Speaker 2: with how they're helping defensively, let's really wall off the paint.
Speaker 2: We're going to force you to take even more threes
Speaker 2: that you maye me not want to take, but this
Speaker 2: is a shot that's available. So I'm keeping an eye
Speaker 2: on what the offense is gonna look like. But in
Speaker 2: terms of like the mindset and the comfort like, I'm
Speaker 2: not super concerned. I think Natalie Nikasse has done a
Speaker 2: really good job of empowering pretty much everyone on that
Speaker 2: roster when they've been given opportunity, and so I don't
Speaker 2: expect that part to be different. I think the defensive
Speaker 2: effort intense, he's still going to be there. I just
Speaker 2: got to worry about what these departures are going to
Speaker 2: mean for the offense.
Speaker 1: There are also other big names stepping away from national
Speaker 1: team duties. You have Leoni Phoebish from the New York
Speaker 1: Liberty to Yao McCowan the Dallas Wings, Jessica Shepherd Minnesota Links,
Speaker 1: Julie Aldman from the LA Sparks. Which team do you
Speaker 1: think is going to feel that absence the most?
Speaker 2: I think, well, Non Valkyrie Division, just by the volume
Speaker 2: I guess watching that Fever game, I am curious to
Speaker 2: see what the perimeter room is going to look like
Speaker 2: with no Leoni Fetish because she just unlocks so much
Speaker 2: for them defensively. Just here's a six to four player
Speaker 2: that can defend your point guard if you want, and
Speaker 2: kind of engage some of the full court pressure that
Speaker 2: we've seen from the Liberty this year. And as we
Speaker 2: saw in that Fever game, it's a little bit different
Speaker 2: when it's Natasha Cloud and Leoni Phoebish hounding you compared
Speaker 2: to Natasha Cloud and Kennedy Burke, who I think has
Speaker 2: played well and has defended well this year, but it
Speaker 2: is just a different level of defense. Queen Bert and
Speaker 2: Foever so like, I keep an eye on that part,
Speaker 2: especially if John Quayll is going to be out for
Speaker 2: an extend to stretch. I don't know if that's going
Speaker 2: to be a cat.
Speaker 1: So she's returning on Tuesdays, returning on Tuesday, expected to
Speaker 1: return on Tuesday Againstantlanta dreams. So that's good. At least
Speaker 1: they have her because, as you said, the perimeter defense
Speaker 1: for the last several seasons, but the New York Liberty
Speaker 1: was always their Achilles Hill. Back when they had Slut,
Speaker 1: it was Sabrina and Slut and that was not good.
Speaker 1: And then they added Leoni to the fold, and you
Speaker 1: have Sabrina, Leoni, Benica Sabrinet took a step up a notch.
Speaker 1: But now you look at it and you're like, dang,
Speaker 1: you lose some of that size. As you said, in
Speaker 1: not having a permitive defender like Leoni, you can guard
Speaker 1: multiple positions. So it's definitely going to be interested, especially
Speaker 1: as John quall looks to stay healthy and just get
Speaker 1: reworked into the lineup. I know she only missed one game,
Speaker 1: but you know, you want the players to stay healthy,
Speaker 1: so it'll be interesting to see how they improve. But
Speaker 1: I think one player from the Liberty that has been phenomenal.
Speaker 1: I think off the bench in the second unit, although
Speaker 1: she's smaller in size, is Rebecca Gardner just the pride
Speaker 1: she takes on defense and how hard and aggressive she's
Speaker 1: been able to play. I think that she's a player
Speaker 1: that has become one of my favorites and their second units.
Speaker 2: I love the Rebecca Gardner shout. She is going back
Speaker 2: a couple of years. I'm still upset she just didn't
Speaker 2: make an All defense team that you're in Chicago, but
Speaker 2: she should have that that was just a miss.
Speaker 1: I agree she's looks. She's getting her looked back now
Speaker 1: with the New York Liberty, So I agree she's out.
Speaker 1: She's out for goals right now. Okay. Also in some
Speaker 1: roster adjustments, we talked about teams bringing in some players
Speaker 1: for hardship contracts and signing up to fill those gaps
Speaker 1: because of euro Basket. How tough do you think it's
Speaker 1: going to be for those players to step up and
Speaker 1: make a real impact. You brought up Carla making a
Speaker 1: stride for the Valkyries and her time and what she's
Speaker 1: been able to do, But what are your thoughts on
Speaker 1: those players who are trying to fill in the gaps,
Speaker 1: and also players who are really trying to keep stay
Speaker 1: in the league and get more conscious.
Speaker 2: Like I think it's a unique opportunity for some of
Speaker 2: these players. And I think from the team side, it's
Speaker 2: been interesting to track how many of these teams are
Speaker 2: signing players that they already had and just didn't bring in,
Speaker 2: like Lticia me here back in Golden State. I think
Speaker 2: the Seattle Storm bringing back Mackenzie Holmes the Wings. I
Speaker 2: think waving Kyler Charles and then bringing back Kyler Charles. Like,
Speaker 2: I don't think that one really counts, but you get
Speaker 2: the general point, Like they're certainly aiming for familiarity on
Speaker 2: that regard, so there won't be as much of a
Speaker 2: learning curve during distretch while players are out and so
Speaker 2: through that lens, I don't think it's going to be
Speaker 2: as difficult as it could be, since there's already a
Speaker 2: familiarity with the system and the personnel, and so it
Speaker 2: should just be Okay, you're going from zero minutes to
Speaker 2: eight or ten, play hard, do what we ask you
Speaker 2: to do, make open shots, et cetera. I think it's
Speaker 2: a little bit more simplified versus like Hayley Jones, I
Speaker 2: think was picked up from Dallas a little bit earlier,
Speaker 2: like Haley started Atlanta gets waved those the Phoenix get
Speaker 2: waighd like going to an entirely new system that feels
Speaker 2: a little different, especially with someone like Haley that has
Speaker 2: such a unique skill set, like you kind of need
Speaker 2: the tailor some of the stuff to get the best
Speaker 2: out of her. So I think for the familiar folks,
Speaker 2: like it's just going to be stepping into doing your
Speaker 2: best and the opportunity is going to be there.
Speaker 1: You never know what can happen. I mean, I think
Speaker 1: about Odyssey Simms last season when she was getting bounced
Speaker 1: from Dallas to the Los Angeles Sparks, and now she
Speaker 1: has that full season contract with the spark So you
Speaker 1: just never know. You can be auditioning for this season
Speaker 1: or future seasons to come. We have two expansion drafts
Speaker 1: coming up, in a free agency period where a lot
Speaker 1: of the league will be free agents, so every team
Speaker 1: will look different next season. So I have no dog
Speaker 1: in this fight, but just play your best basketball where
Speaker 1: you get these contracts all right? With so many roster
Speaker 1: gaps right now, is there a player maybe a recent
Speaker 1: signing or someone who's still waiting for a call that
Speaker 1: you would like to take take advantage of this window
Speaker 1: and earn a bigger role, or you get an opportunity.
Speaker 1: Is there a player that's signed right now or not
Speaker 1: even signed?
Speaker 2: Uh? Yeah, I would go. Actually I go to trade route.
Speaker 2: The Wings just traded for Lee Yaru, which comes at
Speaker 2: a great time for her with Tiera McCowan Luisa Gosisolda're
Speaker 2: going over for playing euro Basket as well. Like, I
Speaker 2: think there are just big minutes available, and she primarily
Speaker 2: wanted to leave Seattle because she wanted playing time, And
Speaker 2: so if there's a golden opportunity for anyone, it's probably Lee.
Speaker 2: Like I think this is where she can step in
Speaker 2: and see, Okay, what does the scoring look like? What
Speaker 2: does the shooting look like? I am curious to see
Speaker 2: what this defense is going to look like for Lee
Speaker 2: because it's been kind of inconsistent in her minutes and
Speaker 2: this Dallas group has honestly given me a headache with
Speaker 2: what they've attempted to do on defense this year. So like,
Speaker 2: that's going to be interesting to track. But she's probably
Speaker 2: figuratively and literally the biggest name that I'm looking at
Speaker 2: during this net couple of weeks.
Speaker 1: No, I agree with that, and I had a China
Speaker 1: Robinson on last weekend. We talked about how for Dallas
Speaker 1: their front court, like their success is going to start
Speaker 1: and end with their front court and how they can improve.
Speaker 1: And I like the league signing to Dallas one because
Speaker 1: we've seen a little bit of the flashes of how
Speaker 1: she can stretch the floor, right like not saying that
Speaker 1: she's the best stretched big in the league or whatever,
Speaker 1: but you know there's splashes there and it could be better.
Speaker 1: But Dallas is an undersized team, so to add someone
Speaker 1: likely I think it would be dope. I think it
Speaker 1: is dope. But they were able to add her into
Speaker 1: the fold. Gives them a bit of size that they
Speaker 1: desperately need. And as you said, this is her opportunity
Speaker 1: to show you know how good she is or what
Speaker 1: she can provide to a team before you know, players
Speaker 1: like Tiana McCowan comes back. I think Mattie Secrets is
Speaker 1: also injured or there was an update about Maddie Secrets.
Speaker 1: Did you see that?
Speaker 2: Yes? And I kind of chose at the press release
Speaker 2: because it was just they listed what the injury was
Speaker 2: and it is we have hopes that she will return
Speaker 2: later this season. It was like, well, thanks for the timeline.
Speaker 1: I mean, that's still a huge blow right to this
Speaker 1: Wings lineup, Matty Seegars and what she's able to do
Speaker 1: with the team. So I think that Lee, this is
Speaker 1: a goalsen opportunity. It couldn't have gone a better way
Speaker 1: for her. And in terms of her trade, I know
Speaker 1: that the Connecticut Sun was also a front runner in
Speaker 1: trying to acquire her, but ultimately it was the Wings
Speaker 1: who had the most I guess draft compensation to sent
Speaker 1: over to Seattle. So yeah, I'm excited to see the opportunity,
Speaker 1: and as we get deeper into the season, there'll be
Speaker 1: other opportunities. As you said, for trades to happen. The
Speaker 1: trade deadline is in August, so we may see teams
Speaker 1: switch up things a little bit in the second half
Speaker 1: of the season. I think last season one good example
Speaker 1: of a trade that worked out was the Minnesota Links
Speaker 1: and they traded for Maisha hinz Allen and then they
Speaker 1: ended up not saying that they wouldn't have gone to
Speaker 1: the finals had she not been on a team, but
Speaker 1: at that point in how she was playing, it kind
Speaker 1: of boosted what they were doing and it worked out
Speaker 1: for them. So I think that we could see more
Speaker 1: trades happen or gms taking advantage of that time period
Speaker 1: to get better, should the opportunity present itself. One more
Speaker 1: topic before you get out of here, in Nicias, I've
Speaker 1: been enjoying this conversation, but I do want to give
Speaker 1: Angel Reaes her flowers. She broke the triple double record,
Speaker 1: the second youngest behind you guessed it, Caitlin Clark and
Speaker 1: getting a triple double. What have you seen from angel
Speaker 1: this season that stands out to you in terms of
Speaker 1: the positives. I know that a lot of people like
Speaker 1: to talk about the negatives and all of that stuff,
Speaker 1: but what positives have you seen from angel?
Speaker 2: Oh? I think what really popped in the triple double
Speaker 2: game and you've kind of seen the growth progress throughout
Speaker 2: the season. I think she is starting to make better
Speaker 2: and quicker decisions with the ball. Like this has been
Speaker 2: a season of expansion for her. With her offensive role,
Speaker 2: She's able to grab and go more. She's been trusted
Speaker 2: to initiate more handoffs. They sprinkled in some random picking
Speaker 2: rolls for her, but ultimately she just has the ball
Speaker 2: in her hands A lot more, and I think she
Speaker 2: is starting to learn when and where to attack. I
Speaker 2: think that comfort is getting there, and I think even
Speaker 2: with the scoring, the efficiency hasn't been there, But like
Speaker 2: the process has mostly been fine in my opinion, Like
Speaker 2: I have loved her, She's maintained her aggressiveness as a driver.
Speaker 2: I think as she's trying to set up post positioning.
Speaker 2: The seals have been very good for her. She's done
Speaker 2: a really good job of putting herself in position to score.
Speaker 2: Now it's just up to her to complete, you know,
Speaker 2: finish her dinner on that front. But like she's doing
Speaker 2: the process things offensively, and I think the playmaking growth
Speaker 2: has kind of been apparent, and the defense is starting
Speaker 2: to perk back up for her, because I think last
Speaker 2: year she was someone that ultimately didn't make an All
Speaker 2: Defense team last year, but someone if I had a ballot,
Speaker 2: she at least would have been on my short list.
Speaker 2: She would have been in that eleven to fifteen range
Speaker 2: for those ten spots, and so like seeing her get
Speaker 2: back to that level of the last two three games,
Speaker 2: the thing has been encouraging. So still very versatile on
Speaker 2: both ends of the floor, and like the triple double
Speaker 2: game against Connecticut. You saw the high end of ball
Speaker 2: of that, you saw the high level defense, you saw
Speaker 2: the play making, you obviously saw the rebounded and so
Speaker 2: I think things are starting to get back on track
Speaker 2: for her overall.
Speaker 1: You know what I wonder, I wonder if her wrist
Speaker 1: was bothering her because I know for several games I
Speaker 1: noticed her wearing the brace on her wrist, and we
Speaker 1: knew that last season she missed a good chunk of
Speaker 1: the second half of the season because of that injury.
Speaker 1: So I wonder if if it was reaggravated or something
Speaker 1: in the early parts of this season, and if that
Speaker 1: impacted how she was able to finish at the rim.
Speaker 1: Not saying it's an excuse, but like it's just something
Speaker 1: the eye tests you see, you can see her wear
Speaker 1: the brace, and you just wonder. But yeah, I think
Speaker 1: that in year two, there's a lot of upside to
Speaker 1: what angel Rees has been able to do, as you said,
Speaker 1: offensively and under Tyler Marsh's system, like just seeing her
Speaker 1: tap into some of her old guard skills, being able
Speaker 1: to bring the ball up the floor. Her leadership, of course,
Speaker 1: she sets the tone for this Chicago Sky team and
Speaker 1: although they don't have the best record. I I like
Speaker 1: watching Angel and Camilla, just the growth from year on
Speaker 1: the year two.
Speaker 2: Going back to the trade deadline, Dan, I'm going to
Speaker 2: put you on the spot. Is there a team that
Speaker 2: you expect to be aggressive by the deadline to make
Speaker 2: something happen.
Speaker 1: I think Chicago has assets to trade if they put
Speaker 1: together good enough package. They have players. I think that
Speaker 1: could be successful on other teams and other systems. If
Speaker 1: I'm Chicago and I want to get better for the
Speaker 1: second half of the season, especially with Sloop being out,
Speaker 1: I'm putting together some of them guards, those backcourt players
Speaker 1: and putting together a package and trying to make a
Speaker 1: trade happen at the deadline. I think that the success
Speaker 1: on the team is it's crucial for them to get
Speaker 1: a player that can create their own shot, who can
Speaker 1: shoot efficiently. They need some shooting, they need some help.
Speaker 1: They have the bigs, they have the front court players,
Speaker 1: they have e Will, they have Angel, they have Camilla.
Speaker 1: They need players who can shoot and playmate. I like Hayley.
Speaker 1: She's great, but that's too much of a responsibility for
Speaker 1: a rookie, I think, and she still has a lot
Speaker 1: of learning to do. And so I would like to
Speaker 1: see them package together some players and make and make
Speaker 1: a run for it or try to sign someone to
Speaker 1: a hardship, uh, pending Mariah Jefferson's health, and like, what
Speaker 1: what is going on with that? She's missed a huge
Speaker 1: chunk of the of the season and you have slewed out,
Speaker 1: you have Marian Jefferson out, so they need to make
Speaker 1: something shake. So I'm gonna say Chicago, Okay, I like that.
Speaker 2: I like that?
Speaker 1: All right, Nikayas. Thank you so much for joining us
Speaker 1: this week on In Case You Missed It with Christina
Speaker 1: Williams here on iHeart Women's Sports. You that's gonna do it.
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