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 back to another special edition of In
Speaker 1: Case You Missed It with Christina Williams. Here on the
Speaker 1: iHeart Video app and the WNBAS and my finals are
Speaker 1: underway and I'm super excited to be here or break
Speaker 1: it all down with my friend who is a member
Speaker 1: of us. We call it the Hougi Brunch Crew, but
Speaker 1: my good friend. He is a WNBA reporter at the
Speaker 1: local w and producer of the ninety four fifty Women's
Speaker 1: basketball podcast. Please welcome in Kevin lewis akak dot because
Speaker 1: that's how that's what we call him, and he's a
Speaker 1: friend to the show. Now, So k do I welcome
Speaker 1: into the show?
Speaker 2: Hey? What out?
Speaker 3: What it is? Was poppin? Listen? The first thing that
Speaker 3: I do want to say is I need to give
Speaker 3: you your flowers, Christina, because you you have been such
Speaker 3: a pioneer and trailblazer to this game and you deserve
Speaker 3: all the things that you have been given and all
Speaker 3: the things that you're going to be receiving in the future.
Speaker 3: We thank you and continue to push the envelope, continue
Speaker 3: to move mountains. We love you dearly in this space
Speaker 3: and we want you to continue to do that. So
Speaker 3: thank you so much, but thank you for having me
Speaker 3: on listen.
Speaker 1: I appreciate you and thank you so much for those
Speaker 1: kind words. It means so much, and I appreciate the
Speaker 1: work that you do. Of course, as a friend, I'm
Speaker 1: proud of your growth from start to finish. To see
Speaker 1: how much you've grown over the last few years and
Speaker 1: your coverage and especially as a black man in this space.
Speaker 1: Just to approach from the intention behind your coverage, and
Speaker 1: for those of the people who are listening right now
Speaker 1: who may not know about you, kto, can you just
Speaker 1: tell them your journey into breaking into this space one
Speaker 1: and your journey with basketball.
Speaker 3: Absolutely so. Basketball has always been ingrained in me. I mean,
Speaker 3: let's face it, we're both New York kids, originally born
Speaker 3: and raised in the Bronx, New York. But I would
Speaker 3: consider myself more of a country boy. Now. I've been
Speaker 3: down in the country way longer than I have been
Speaker 3: in New York. However, I learned this game, surprisingly not
Speaker 3: from the men's side. I learned it from the women's side.
Speaker 3: So I value it much more because I do believe
Speaker 3: that the women's game is the purest form of the
Speaker 3: game itself. And I have pioneers like Don Staley shout
Speaker 3: out to the Charlotte Sting that raised me up and
Speaker 3: taught me how to be a point guard, Tammy Reese
Speaker 3: who were on those Virginia teams, Cheryl Swoops who was
Speaker 3: on that Texas Tech team, and other great pioneers like
Speaker 3: t Spoon who was obviously a member of the New
Speaker 3: York Liberty and a live tech legend, and Cheryl Miller,
Speaker 3: who is everybody is considered one of the greatest basketball
Speaker 3: players of all time. So I learned this game from
Speaker 3: the women's side, and it taught me how to have
Speaker 3: a high IQ. It taught me how to be, you know,
Speaker 3: very very mindful of the space that we're in. And
Speaker 3: a good story to add on to that is I
Speaker 3: was also raised by a single mother, a grandmother, a grandfather,
Speaker 3: and all aunties in all in the majority women cousins,
Speaker 3: and they taught me the value of how to be
Speaker 3: respectful not only just to you know, people in general,
Speaker 3: but how to be respectful to black women and understand
Speaker 3: that sometimes we look in spaces and black women are
Speaker 3: the most disrespected. Black women are the least to put
Speaker 3: attention to. So that's how my mindfulness and that's how
Speaker 3: my respect for black women in particular came about. And
Speaker 3: I do value and appreciate you all in the way
Speaker 3: that you are care yourself and how you gotta work
Speaker 3: ten times harder to get half of what you received.
Speaker 3: So that's what I was brought up on, and that's
Speaker 3: how my journey as a basketball player came about. And
Speaker 3: I'm here to this day four years ago. I wasn't
Speaker 3: necessarily covering on the media side. I was more of
Speaker 3: a consultant. I did a lot of training, training both
Speaker 3: the boys and the girls side on the middle school
Speaker 3: to high school level, and it led me to being
Speaker 3: in that passion and covering the WNBA. And here I
Speaker 3: am today, and I have part of you to think
Speaker 3: as well. If I haven't, if I didn't meet you
Speaker 3: in that clubhouse room that we had way back in
Speaker 3: the day.
Speaker 1: So said, I was just about to say, Kaita and
Speaker 1: I met on a clubhouse during the pandemic and around
Speaker 1: that time, you know, it was crazy for everybody, but
Speaker 1: clubhouse was a thing and there was no like Twitter,
Speaker 1: spaces or any other like audio centered apps rather where
Speaker 1: you could have these live conversations. And so I'd take
Speaker 1: about myself to build a community of women's basketball media
Speaker 1: and fans and athletes and agents and everything. Long story short,
Speaker 1: I would host these weekly conversations called Women's Basketball Weekly
Speaker 1: on Clubhouse, and it just afforded me the opportunity to
Speaker 1: meet so many new people and voices in the space.
Speaker 1: And now I have some lifelong friends from that experience.
Speaker 1: But also now I have this podcast here on I Alredio.
Speaker 1: But I'm so grateful that you know, we met, and
Speaker 1: just excited for your journey. And you mentioned all of
Speaker 1: the legends that came before us, and I think that
Speaker 1: you know, especially when we're in this space, you have
Speaker 1: to acknowledge those that came before us, to acknowledge how
Speaker 1: far we've come and how much further we need to go.
Speaker 1: All right, I want to get into the w NBA
Speaker 1: Playoffs k dot because that is why we are here.
Speaker 1: And so right now, the New York Liberty holds the
Speaker 1: Aces to zero and the best of five series, and
Speaker 1: they meet tonight for Game three in Las Vegas and
Speaker 1: potentially a game f in Vegas. How have you assessed,
Speaker 1: you know, these first couple games in this series, and
Speaker 1: just what are your overall thoughts on this Vegas Liberty
Speaker 1: series in the semi finals.
Speaker 3: Well, first and foremost, the first thing that I want
Speaker 3: to talk about regarding this series is the growth of
Speaker 3: the New York Liberty from last year to this year.
Speaker 3: And not just from a team and camaraderie standpoint, Let's
Speaker 3: talk about from an organization standpoint. Jonathan cob did an
Speaker 3: amazing job in acquiring a catalysts of this team, Leoni
Speaker 3: Phoebish and coos. Sandy Brondello has done an amazing job
Speaker 3: making the right adjustment in bringing Leaoni Phoebish in not
Speaker 3: only from a standpoint of in the regular season bringing
Speaker 3: her off the bench first, but knowing and understanding her
Speaker 3: abilities and her versatility and moving her into the starting
Speaker 3: lineup and a potential six Player of the Year candidate.
Speaker 3: She has done an amazing job. Leoni Phoebish has in
Speaker 3: just doing her she understands her role and overall for
Speaker 3: the New York Liberty, the maturity you see it firsthand
Speaker 3: and against this juggernaut in this Las Vegas Aces team,
Speaker 3: I know they're the four seed this year, we've seen
Speaker 3: a little bit of a regression from a standpoint of
Speaker 3: we haven't seen the effort and coach Becky Hammond had
Speaker 3: talked about that throughout the season, even after the Olympic break,
Speaker 3: and we do have to be mindful that this is
Speaker 3: an Olympic break year, So of course there's going to
Speaker 3: be different aspects of how we assess the Las Vegas
Speaker 3: Aces this year. And on top of that, they're on
Speaker 3: a mission two three P and that is one of
Speaker 3: the hardest things to do. We haven't seen a three
Speaker 3: P since the Houston comments of the initial part of
Speaker 3: this WNBA league. So yes, this overall standpoint of the
Speaker 3: New York Liberty just understanding and how to just finished games,
Speaker 3: in their composure, in the way they've been resilient even
Speaker 3: when the Las Vegas Aces have pushed them to the
Speaker 3: brink and been on runs. The third quarter in these
Speaker 3: in this series in particular, has been the telltale story.
Speaker 3: If we go to last year, we might not see
Speaker 3: the composure or the resilience of the New York Liberty
Speaker 3: and you might see more of that dog aspect than
Speaker 3: the Las Vegas Aces and actually taking control of the
Speaker 3: game and finishing the game off. This year is a
Speaker 3: different story. You see mature and more developed Sabrina you Nescue,
Speaker 3: a healthy Sabrina you Nescue, and to your credit, had
Speaker 3: definitely advocated for her to be most improved as well.
Speaker 4: Which what did you say that?
Speaker 3: Yes, I will repeat it. You were one of the first,
Speaker 3: if not the first, to say that, hey, let's consider
Speaker 3: Sabrina you Nescue as most improved, like she has shown it,
Speaker 3: and it's been proven. You've seen in those third quarters,
Speaker 3: even when they may have led the game and turnovers
Speaker 3: in the third quarter, which I think they have, You've
Speaker 3: seen a Sabrina you Nesku come in the third quarter
Speaker 3: and actually just take over games. She did it in
Speaker 3: Game two in the fourth quarter, scoring eleven points in
Speaker 3: the fourth quarter, and I think the last seven that
Speaker 3: the Liberty indeed needed, because the Aces did pull within
Speaker 3: one and actually toided the game at eighty one on
Speaker 3: a fast break layup by Asia Wilson, if I'm not mistaken,
Speaker 3: So for Sabrina you Nescu to come in and be
Speaker 3: that closer that everyone expected her to be when she
Speaker 3: was drafted, right, she has come in, she has matured herself.
Speaker 3: She is now healthy, and now you see that Brianna
Speaker 3: Stewart doesn't have to do everything right Compared to last year.
Speaker 3: We've seen john quol Jones mature and she's healthy as well,
Speaker 3: because a lot of people did not realize that Yanpo
Speaker 3: Jones had a foot injury that she was recovering from.
Speaker 3: And it's just been a great overall effort and for
Speaker 3: the New York Liberty to mature in the way that
Speaker 3: they have, it's been a really good sight to see.
Speaker 3: But again, the Las Vegas Aces, we know that they've
Speaker 3: been here before, not necessarily been down oh two, but
Speaker 3: they've been to where their backs are against the wall.
Speaker 3: And obviously Game three is going to be pivotal for them.
Speaker 3: Even though we know that they said that Game two
Speaker 3: was pivotal, Game three is incredibly pivotal and I just
Speaker 3: can't wait to kind of see what goes on.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and to your point, you know, last year, this
Speaker 1: New York Liberty team was new, the group was new,
Speaker 1: and we knew it would take more than one season
Speaker 1: for all of this talent to finally gel and come together.
Speaker 1: And you know what we're seeing this season is the
Speaker 1: continuity part of it, right, Like chemistry is there, they're
Speaker 1: playing more fluid, the maturation of Sabrina Nescu. She's a
Speaker 1: three level scorer, but also last season when I talked
Speaker 1: to her at training camp, she emphasized the importance of
Speaker 1: working on her lateral defense, get into her spots quicker.
Speaker 1: We've seen her become a better on ball defender, where
Speaker 1: when you insert a player like Leoni Fievich into the lineup,
Speaker 1: sa Brinda is no longer more of a liability on
Speaker 1: the perimeter as she was last year when you had
Speaker 1: that lineup with Courtney Vanderslute, and myself and other media
Speaker 1: members or analyst would say, you know, that was the
Speaker 1: kind of a kryptonite to the liberty was their perimeter defense.
Speaker 1: And to your point, you added that Sandy Brundelo has
Speaker 1: done a great job in making those adjustments, realizing that
Speaker 1: it's better for a player like Courtney Vanderslute to come
Speaker 1: off the bench in just the different rotations that she's
Speaker 1: been able to work through this postseason to just kind
Speaker 1: of figure it out. I think that one thing outside
Speaker 1: of New York's length and depth that makes them dangerous
Speaker 1: is just their ability to play interchangeably, but also their
Speaker 1: ability to win a variety of ways, finding ways to win,
Speaker 1: finding ways to crawl back if it's close. Having a
Speaker 1: mature leader in Sabrino, Florida to do a challenge or
Speaker 1: encourage her coach to do a challenge on the out
Speaker 1: of bounds playoff was crucial to them getting that, you know,
Speaker 1: couple of final possessions to be able to you know,
Speaker 1: steal a win at home and win the first two
Speaker 1: at home. So it's a team that's number one for
Speaker 1: a reason, a team that's starting to click on all cylinders.
Speaker 1: But you know, as you mentioned, you don't count Vegas out.
Speaker 1: This is the defending champions. I don't think that they
Speaker 1: don't go down without a fight. You know, these next
Speaker 1: two at home potentially will be very important when we
Speaker 1: talk about, you know, their legacy. But no team in
Speaker 1: the history of the WNBA has crawled back down two
Speaker 1: games in the postseason. And so I think that if
Speaker 1: Asia Wilson can do that, we're putting her in the
Speaker 1: goat conversation now, yes, because because no team has ever
Speaker 1: been able to do that yet alone against a number
Speaker 1: one team. But yeah, I think that you know, the
Speaker 1: Las Vegas aces last and Game two. Holly Row alluded
Speaker 1: to Zaki Young having some sort of injury. Kia Stokes
Speaker 1: was also suffering from a concussion after she went down
Speaker 1: really hard in the game. So looking at these next
Speaker 1: two games, I mean, obviously the health of the Las
Speaker 1: Vegas acies is going to be a priority. But when
Speaker 1: I'm looking at it is does Becky Hammond trust in
Speaker 1: her bench? You have a player at megastofson who is
Speaker 1: on the bench right now. She has in length, she
Speaker 1: can defend, she can shoot the three. Will we see
Speaker 1: her get more minutes in these next couple of games
Speaker 1: where Becky needs to trust her players more. But before
Speaker 1: we talk about that, I want to get more into
Speaker 1: a statement she said postgame. Take a listen.
Speaker 5: Well, quite frankly, we haven't had the edge. Well, you know,
Speaker 5: we found it the last month. I feel like we've
Speaker 5: gained a lot of ground, but the feeld was different
Speaker 5: from the jump. And this is why three beating is are.
Speaker 5: Let's be real, like the whole league has been pissed
Speaker 5: off for the last eight months, and my players are
Speaker 5: in commercials and this and that and being.
Speaker 2: Freaking celebrities, and you get distracted. That's why it's hard,
Speaker 2: because human nature is distracting. And conversely, you know, you
Speaker 2: think about the Spurs. I do all you know the
Speaker 2: Spurs with the Miami Heat. They lose a absolute heartbreaker
Speaker 2: in Miami off a basic thing, offensive rebound, kick out three.
Speaker 5: They should have walked away with the title that year.
Speaker 5: They lost it that year. The next year they came back.
Speaker 5: They came back with so much drive, so much discipline,
Speaker 5: so much focus, that there was no way somebody would
Speaker 5: beating them in twenty fourteen. I mean that ball was popping,
Speaker 5: but they took a huge loss. Liberty took a huge
Speaker 5: loss last year, and I liken it to that a
Speaker 5: little bit where they had it, they felt like they
Speaker 5: had it and we walked away with it. I did
Speaker 5: think we were the better team, but we were dealt
Speaker 5: really freaking tough hand last year in the finals, losing
Speaker 5: Chelsea and Kia. So I'm sure they feel like something
Speaker 5: was on a little bit at the end of the day.
Speaker 5: In two years, we've won here one time, game four.
Speaker 5: Other than that, they've kicked our ass.
Speaker 1: She kind of is saying that her players aren't focused
Speaker 1: in the postseason. I think that it's a little while
Speaker 1: for a coach to say that, you know, down two
Speaker 1: games and the semi finals. Maybe that's something that a
Speaker 1: conversation I could have been had not in the public eye.
Speaker 1: I don't think the Las Vegas isn't focused as a team.
Speaker 4: You know.
Speaker 1: You know they've dealt with a lot of adversity this season,
Speaker 1: not having Chelsea Gray in the first half the season.
Speaker 1: The burden is so heavy for a player like Asia Wilson,
Speaker 1: who has so much responsibility on the offensive end and
Speaker 1: the defensive end. Chelsea Plumb, there was clips around social
Speaker 1: media Becky Hammond kind of giving it to her on
Speaker 1: the bench. But you know, this is a team with
Speaker 1: multiple Olympians. I believe there's six Olympians on that team
Speaker 1: right now. This is a very mature team, a team
Speaker 1: that has players who know how to win. I think
Speaker 1: it's just more about trusting their game and trust each other.
Speaker 1: But what was your thoughts about, you know, those comments
Speaker 1: from Becky Hammon in the post game.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I one hundred percent agree with you, Christina, because
Speaker 3: at the end of the day, they're all professionals and
Speaker 3: that's the job, right. A lot of it is not
Speaker 3: necessarily just to play basketball, and I know that that's
Speaker 3: the focus, right The focus is basketball, and they are
Speaker 3: in those positions because of basketball, but at the same time,
Speaker 3: they are again professionals, and I believe that they can
Speaker 3: have that control and have the balance to do the commercials,
Speaker 3: they can playball, and I know that that is just
Speaker 3: something for coach Becky Hammond to kind of wake her
Speaker 3: team up, and we'll see if they respond to that.
Speaker 3: Sometimes there's that positive reinforcements and then sometimes there's those
Speaker 3: particular reinforcements that will help, you know, at the snap
Speaker 3: of a finger lock in and maybe that was the
Speaker 3: strategy that coach Becky Hammond was trying to possess in
Speaker 3: her team, and we'll see if that particular strategy, you know,
Speaker 3: coming to fruition in Game three, For me, I think
Speaker 3: that it's almost like, h do you really want this
Speaker 3: particular SoundBite to be out in the in the atmosphere
Speaker 3: or do you want, you know, you chewing out Kelsey
Speaker 3: Plumb to be out in it. We're in the social
Speaker 3: media age, right, is very very different, So everything is
Speaker 3: under a microscope and not only you know, the media
Speaker 3: is looking at it, you have the entire world looking
Speaker 3: at it now, so everybody has an opinion, you know,
Speaker 3: So my reaction to to what you know, what was
Speaker 3: said was, I was, you know, a little bit surprised.
Speaker 3: But when you have coaches, you know, like coach Becky
Speaker 3: Hammond doing that, you you look at it in other leagues, right,
Speaker 3: you look at it from a coach Popovich standpoint. She
Speaker 3: comes from that tree. Coach Popovich has done that before.
Speaker 3: And you know, you see it in the Steve Kerr,
Speaker 3: you see you see it in a Phil Jackson back
Speaker 3: when he was coaching the Bulls and the Lakers. So
Speaker 3: h you're seeing it in the Joe Tory when he
Speaker 3: was managing the Yankees, things of that nature. So you know,
Speaker 3: from that standpoint, I think that it could have been
Speaker 3: a little more private, if you will.
Speaker 1: Yeah, So in this series, what do you think will
Speaker 1: be the X factor on both sides?
Speaker 3: So to start off with the liberty, the bench has
Speaker 3: to be the factor. It has to be you know,
Speaker 3: I call the Las Vegas care for the Funky four
Speaker 3: plus one more and that's a o to hip hop,
Speaker 3: you know, you know me? So I think that one
Speaker 3: more is always going to be either a Kia Stokes
Speaker 3: or an Alisha Clark. Right, So with Alisia Clark having
Speaker 3: the game, that she had in Game two. She was phenomenal.
Speaker 3: I know she got in foul trouble in Game one,
Speaker 3: but you have Megan Gustuson even put Kate martin In
Speaker 3: into the lineup. You've seen that in trust that they
Speaker 3: can actually give you solid minutes to help spell some
Speaker 3: of those runs that the Liberty gone. And on the
Speaker 3: Liberty side, it definitely has to be Benigelani. Benigelani has
Speaker 3: been incredible in this series from a defensive standpoint, from
Speaker 3: a versatility standpoint, bringing the ball up, calling some of
Speaker 3: the sets. But you want to see more of Benige
Speaker 3: Lane Hamilton because she, to me, has always been the
Speaker 3: catalyst of this core that we see in the New
Speaker 3: York Liberty and Courtney Vanderslow has been so great off
Speaker 3: the bench. I know that from a lineup standpoint, it's
Speaker 3: kind of difficult putting in your core players in the
Speaker 3: fourth quarter, and we saw that in Game two where
Speaker 3: we didn't see Benige Lane Hamilton in those clutch moments,
Speaker 3: not necessarily the last five minutes, but maybe the last
Speaker 3: two minutes of the game. But benigelne Hampmilton to me,
Speaker 3: has always been the X factor of this New York
Speaker 3: Liberty team. And I think that she will continue to
Speaker 3: be the X factor. She's done an incredible job on
Speaker 3: guarding ninety four feet on Chelsea Gray, so she's definitely
Speaker 3: the X factor to me. We know that Leoni Phoebish
Speaker 3: has been incredible, she has been incredible, but I think
Speaker 3: it's Benigelane Hamilton that's going to add her mix into
Speaker 3: it and we may see, we may or may not see,
Speaker 3: you know, a victory in Game three. So that's that's
Speaker 3: who on both sides. I think my X factors are.
Speaker 1: I think it's so crazy that you bring up a
Speaker 1: Naju Lady Hamilton because we talked so much about Asia
Speaker 1: Wilson's impact for the Aces. But you know, when you
Speaker 1: really think about it, if you cut the snake at
Speaker 1: the head, which is Chelsea Gray the point god and
Speaker 1: disrupt the flow of the game, the pace of the
Speaker 1: game because Chelsea Gray is responsible for controlling that for
Speaker 1: the Aces, absolutely put Benigu Laney Hamilton on her for
Speaker 1: ninety four feet that instantly, you know, puts the game
Speaker 1: at an advantage point for the Liberty. And so I agree,
Speaker 1: I think that you know, Benajulane and Hamilton shes to
Speaker 1: just continue to do what she does on both sides
Speaker 1: of the floor. I mean, obviously the Liberty and Sandy
Speaker 1: Kina alluded to this and some of the practices and
Speaker 1: media availability abilities. How much Benigelane Hamilton has had to
Speaker 1: adjust her game situation to situation for this team. But
Speaker 1: they rely on her a lot for defense, but she
Speaker 1: can definitely get a bucket if needed, so absolutely so.
Speaker 1: So I think that you know, it's twofold, and you know,
Speaker 1: I'm ready to see that breakout game on that end.
Speaker 1: But I also think that, you know, a lot could
Speaker 1: be said about John cwel Jones and her composure employees
Speaker 1: throughout this series. You know, the Liberty are playing so
Speaker 1: well when they play through her, when she gets her
Speaker 1: double double. She made a joke about it in the
Speaker 1: last post game press conference about not really hitting that
Speaker 1: stride the last game, but just her being a leader
Speaker 1: on the floor. We know how she can play when
Speaker 1: she's in her MVP. And I think that, you know,
Speaker 1: this series probably means a lot to her because when
Speaker 1: she was a part of the Connecticut Sun, you know,
Speaker 1: they lost to the Aces, and then she came back
Speaker 1: joined the Liberty they lose to the Aces again. So
Speaker 1: this series means something to her, and so I'm ready
Speaker 1: to see, you know, JJ also have a breakout game.
Speaker 1: Stuie's gonna be Stewie and listen, playoff sab is activated,
Speaker 1: So she's putting the whole WNBA on notice, and she
Speaker 1: just has to just continue to play with that fire
Speaker 1: and that edge. They have to come out punching. You
Speaker 1: already said those third quarters compared to this year and
Speaker 1: last year has been such a huge growth for this
Speaker 1: New York Liberty team. They got to play all forty
Speaker 1: minutes with their foot on the gas, no breaks. You know,
Speaker 1: Stuie was leading around this time last year and minutes
Speaker 1: for the Liberty. But because as you mentioned, Jonathan Cole
Speaker 1: went out and you know, did some additions by subtractions,
Speaker 1: adding Leoni Feebach, adding another overseas player in Kennedy Burke. Yes,
Speaker 1: KT like has been great for this team. Defensively, this
Speaker 1: is a team that did just what Jonathan Cole intended
Speaker 1: to do, was to get better by adding length, size
Speaker 1: and versatility. I even like when Jalen Sharads sometimes is
Speaker 1: in and she kind of shakes things up for the
Speaker 1: Liberty as well.
Speaker 4: And so I'm.
Speaker 1: Excited to see this series go to distance. Honestly, I
Speaker 1: don't think that the Aces are gonna let up easy.
Speaker 4: But the New York Liberty.
Speaker 1: Are on the great run right now, and you know
Speaker 1: it'll be hard for any team to disrupt that. All right,
Speaker 1: Moving right along this series between the Minnesota Lynx and
Speaker 1: Connecticut Sun's tied one to one and the best of
Speaker 1: five series, this series is going back to Connecticut right now.
Speaker 1: What have you seen in this series between the Links
Speaker 1: and the Sun? What stands out to you?
Speaker 3: Defense? Defense? Defense? Did I mention defense?
Speaker 4: Listen?
Speaker 3: This particular series has been so great from a defensive standpoint,
Speaker 3: and for all of my defense lovers out there, I
Speaker 3: know this series is the series for you. I know
Speaker 3: that from an offensive standpoint, the Connecticut Sons sometimes can
Speaker 3: get stagnant because there's not necessarily, you know, that go
Speaker 3: to player. But Marina Maybury has come in with that
Speaker 3: midseason trade and she has proven that they needed the
Speaker 3: shot creator in which they brought her in for, you know,
Speaker 3: the GM, Darius Sailor. He's been such an incredible GM
Speaker 3: in bringing that dynamic in. But more importantly, I think
Speaker 3: that from you know, Connecticut standpoint, they do have an
Speaker 3: offensive identity in the fourth quarter. Now you know that
Speaker 3: there were some times in the fourth quarters Connecticut will
Speaker 3: be up and then their offense would get so stagnant.
Speaker 3: They didn't have someone that can just go and get
Speaker 3: a bucket for you. Now they have that person in
Speaker 3: Marina Maybury. And that was the catalyst in Game one
Speaker 3: in which they were up one and it was about
Speaker 3: like four or three seconds left in the shot clock.
Speaker 3: Melissa Thomas gives her the little handoff and she hits
Speaker 3: the shot to go up four, and that's really what
Speaker 3: did it for the Connecticut Son to win Game one
Speaker 3: and steal home court advantage. But to go on to
Speaker 3: Minnesota side. They've been a defensive juggernaut all season long, right,
Speaker 3: and I think this particular matchup is just a little
Speaker 3: bit tougher for them because they can match defense for
Speaker 3: defense and sometimes when you go one on one and
Speaker 3: not have the ballpop like the Minnesota Link have been
Speaker 3: doing all season long, that's what brings them back to
Speaker 3: morality a little bit, because they have been superhuman, you know,
Speaker 3: all throughout the season. And the biggest thing about the
Speaker 3: Minnesota Link, says making sure that the ball movement continues
Speaker 3: to be the ball movement. Do not play one on
Speaker 3: one basketball, because that's what Connecticut forces you to do.
Speaker 3: They force you to play one on one basketball, and
Speaker 3: that sometimes gets you out of your rhythm. It gets
Speaker 3: you out of the continuity of what has brought you
Speaker 3: that second seed throughout the regular season. So the biggest
Speaker 3: thing that sticks out to me in this particular series
Speaker 3: is Dowanna Bonner. She hasn't had the best from a
Speaker 3: numbers standpoint, from an efficiency standpoint, but she's doing a
Speaker 3: lot of things on the defensive end, being a defensive
Speaker 3: anchor on the back end if Alissa Thomas has to
Speaker 3: switch the communication that she has the willingness to guard
Speaker 3: in the feast of Collier, who was second to Asia
Speaker 3: Wilson in MVP and the defensive Player of the Year.
Speaker 3: She's been doing such a great job that the Connecticut
Speaker 3: Sun has been in each game that we've seen. I
Speaker 3: know they lost by seven in Game two, but again
Speaker 3: they've been in these games. And the growth of Veronica
Speaker 3: Burton and that acquisition of Veronica Burton after being waived
Speaker 3: from the Dallas Wings, she has been such a great
Speaker 3: part of this team. With Ty Harris still trying to
Speaker 3: get back from the ankle injury. So I think overall
Speaker 3: in perspective, and I will be remiss if I didn't
Speaker 3: talk about Maysha Hans Allen right Haines Allen's has been
Speaker 3: a great asset to the Minnesota Links as well. But overall,
Speaker 3: this is just a flat out defensive game and I
Speaker 3: think it's almost like the first to seventy will win
Speaker 3: the game pretty much. So what do you think.
Speaker 1: I think that this is a series that can go
Speaker 1: either way, And as you said, these are two really
Speaker 1: really good defensive teams and we know how important defense
Speaker 1: is in this game of basketball. For me, I thoroughly
Speaker 1: enjoy the coaching master classes that's didn't put on between
Speaker 1: Stephanie White and Cheryl Reeve, who's had a career of
Speaker 1: over thirty years in the game. That is the thing
Speaker 1: that excites me the most when I'm watching the atos,
Speaker 1: when I'm watching the adjustments being made, because it's anyone's
Speaker 1: game truly, and I just feel like it's a master
Speaker 1: class between the coaches just as much is the you know,
Speaker 1: the matchup between the players in this series. Ejian A
Speaker 1: Carrington has been so great on both sides of the
Speaker 1: ball in this series, and obviously, you know, when we
Speaker 1: talk about Connecticut, their offense is Yes, Marina Maybury has
Speaker 1: been a great addition, but we know how much Lisa
Speaker 1: Thomas is the engine of this team, how much she
Speaker 1: makes her teammates better, how she is defensively, and so
Speaker 1: I just think that it's just gonna come down to
Speaker 1: who wanted more. But I'm curious before you move on
Speaker 1: to the next thing, who do you have coming out
Speaker 1: of this series?
Speaker 4: And the best of five between the Sun and the Links.
Speaker 3: Ooh, this is really really a tough one, But I
Speaker 3: think I have the Sun coming out of this series.
Speaker 3: I think that because their window is literally closing. I
Speaker 3: think they're literally just going out with a bang, and
Speaker 3: they're saying, listen, win, lose a draw, We're gonna win.
Speaker 3: So I have this feeling that because this acquisition of
Speaker 3: Marina Maybury has done wonders for them, they're going to
Speaker 3: figure out and find a way to actually close this
Speaker 3: out in Connecticut. So it's very, very tough to say that,
Speaker 3: but they have played in both of these games. These
Speaker 3: games were close. I know that Minnesota went up as
Speaker 3: much as I think it was as much as thirteen
Speaker 3: points in Game two, but they could never just blow
Speaker 3: the doors open. So I think that Connecticut will come
Speaker 3: out out of the series surprisingly. I know this will
Speaker 3: be an upset, but it won't be an upset to
Speaker 3: the Connecticut son unlessa. Thomas alluded in the press conference,
Speaker 3: we've been here before, We've heard all of it. We
Speaker 3: don't care. So we're just going to continue to play
Speaker 3: Connecticut Sun basketball. And they have been doing that. And
Speaker 3: that's you to the credit of coach Stephanie White, the
Speaker 3: leader in Alyssa Thomas and Dewanna Bond and and the
Speaker 3: rest of the Connecticut sign on team.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it's great and it's so funny because
Speaker 1: when you look at these two teams, I think it
Speaker 1: just puts in perspective maybe how other teams will start
Speaker 1: to look at the trade deadline in the future, because
Speaker 1: these are two teams who required pivotal pieces to be
Speaker 1: able to make it this far the postseason. When you
Speaker 1: talk about Connecticut adding Marina Mayby or you talk about
Speaker 1: the Links adding on Mayisha, Heinz Allen, gms have to
Speaker 1: be looking at this like, Okay, we're gonna take this
Speaker 1: more seriously moving forward and acquiring the players that you
Speaker 1: need to make your roster successful and to set up
Speaker 1: your franchise for success. All right, Kate, We're gonna take
Speaker 1: a quick little break on in case you missed it
Speaker 1: with Christina Williams and more of the conversation when we
Speaker 1: get back. Kata, I'm thoroughly enjoying you know this hoops
Speaker 1: talk is always great in the guitar pops, But I
Speaker 1: want to get into the latest headlines in this WNBA space.
Speaker 1: Tanisha Wright is the latest head coach to get an acts.
Speaker 4: From the team.
Speaker 1: Earlier this week, the Atlanta Dream announced that they've parted
Speaker 1: ways with head coach Tanisha Wright. The Atlanta Dream recently
Speaker 1: clinched the eighth spot in the WNBA playoffs, was knocked
Speaker 1: out in the first round by.
Speaker 4: The New York Liberty.
Speaker 1: Right release, So, but we have four head coaching jobs
Speaker 1: available right now in the Golden State Valkyries and the
Speaker 1: Expansion Draft next year, the Atlanta Dream, the La Sparks,
Speaker 1: and now the Chicago Scott What do you make of
Speaker 1: this latest firing of Tanisha Wright and who would you
Speaker 1: like to see in a head coaching position in.
Speaker 3: Five I know this is the toughest thing to say,
Speaker 3: You know, regarding Tannisha Wright, you know, for her to
Speaker 3: have the years that she had in Atlanta and the
Speaker 3: results that came behind it, Sometimes we have to just
Speaker 3: put into perspective what the organization is expecting. But organizations
Speaker 3: love to win and they love to be in championship
Speaker 3: contention every year. And when we're looking at it from
Speaker 3: the WNBA standpoint, with it being twelve franchises and soon
Speaker 3: to be fifteen franchises, the weight of the world is
Speaker 3: always on those franchises. Whether you're a big market or
Speaker 3: a small market, it's just what it is. And for
Speaker 3: the years that the Atlanta Dream had with the roster
Speaker 3: that they've had, I know that there have been injuries.
Speaker 3: I know that there had been people in and out
Speaker 3: out of the lineups because of that. But the expectation
Speaker 3: this year, in particular with the acquisite of a Jordan Canada,
Speaker 3: with the acquisition of a legend in Tina Charles, the
Speaker 3: expectations were extremely high. They were expected to be between
Speaker 3: top four, top five, especially with.
Speaker 4: Top four top five to who the organization or I.
Speaker 3: Think, I think from an organization, I think from an
Speaker 3: organization standpoint, yeah, reality maybe reality maybe playoffs for sure, right, reality, rightfully,
Speaker 3: so right. But I think from an organizational standpoint, I
Speaker 3: think they were, like, listen, I really believe they said, man,
Speaker 3: we can compete with a Seattle, we can compete with
Speaker 3: the New York, we can compete with a Connecticut and
Speaker 3: even in Minnesota. But it didn't happen. So for that
Speaker 3: and for how you know, contrary to public opinion and
Speaker 3: coach writes philosophies and the way that she's answered certain
Speaker 3: questions and press conferences, I think it was almost like
Speaker 3: that was the straw that broke the camel's back, honestly,
Speaker 3: and they made a tough decision because, mind you, we
Speaker 3: both reported this that it was reported that Atlanta had
Speaker 3: Tanisha Right in mind the next three years from this
Speaker 3: particular season.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I was the one who broke the
Speaker 1: news when team should Right left the Aces bench and
Speaker 1: you know, was acquired by the Atlanta Dream. Obviously, I'm
Speaker 1: all for players, former players getting opportunities at head coaching positions,
Speaker 1: and I appreciate the Dream giving her room to learn
Speaker 1: and grow as a coach. They didn't just fire her
Speaker 1: after one season, like you know, some other organizations may
Speaker 1: have done.
Speaker 4: Two other former players but.
Speaker 1: They gave her room to grow and this season, for
Speaker 1: what is worth, it was very hard for the Dream
Speaker 1: right you had Jordan Canada, Aeriel Power, Cheyenne Parker, Ryan Howard,
Speaker 1: your star player, dealing with injuries and having to overcome that.
Speaker 1: And you know they clinched the eighth seed by a
Speaker 1: little here on their head. But I just think the
Speaker 1: expectations were super high when you look at the other
Speaker 1: talents around the league.
Speaker 4: To think that they would finished top five, I think
Speaker 4: it's a little crazy.
Speaker 1: I mean, these GM's got to be a little realistic. Yeah,
Speaker 1: And you know, as a GM, how can you use
Speaker 1: your assets that you have to improve and get better
Speaker 1: halfway through the season. So it's interesting to see them
Speaker 1: part ways with Tanisa right going back to the first question,
Speaker 1: who would you like to see get an opportunity with
Speaker 1: four head coaching positions available now in the.
Speaker 3: W Well, with that being said, I know right now
Speaker 3: there's only one active black women head coach and Noel
Speaker 3: Quinn in the Seattle Storm. I'm honestly not opposed to
Speaker 3: a recycle in coaching, especially with the black women head
Speaker 3: coaches so out. I don't mind seeing Tanisha Wright getting
Speaker 3: another chance. I don't mind seeing Teresa Weatherspoon getting another chance.
Speaker 3: And I think when you compare coaches to players, you
Speaker 3: have to have that right mold, the right camaraderie, as
Speaker 3: we've always said, the synergy, if you will, because it's
Speaker 3: very important to have representation. And me personally, I do
Speaker 3: think these coaches are good coaches. Sometimes you have to
Speaker 3: fit personnel with coaching personality. So I don't mind seeing
Speaker 3: coach Teresa Weatherspoon getting another chance in LA in Golden State.
Speaker 3: I'm in Atlanta. I also like the idea of assistant coaches,
Speaker 3: you know, making their way up to first chair. Tala
Speaker 3: Marsh has always been a big.
Speaker 1: Time I've been saying Time Marsh, yeah, get a head
Speaker 1: coaching job. I mean when we talk about how the
Speaker 1: head coaching hired has worked in the last time years
Speaker 1: in the w it seems like most teams have outsourced
Speaker 1: to the NBA's assistant coaches to bring in as head coaches.
Speaker 1: And no disrespect, why don't you look in to the
Speaker 1: you know circle that you have already. Ty Marsh is
Speaker 1: someone who has experienced from the NBA work with the
Speaker 1: two time defending champions in the Las Vegas Aces I
Speaker 1: think that you look at who's on that bench and
Speaker 1: Natalie Natalie as well, I think that it would be
Speaker 1: a homecoming if she coached the Sparks because she has
Speaker 1: the UCLA ties.
Speaker 4: Ty Marsh.
Speaker 1: I would love to see him get an opportunity because
Speaker 1: when you look at the development of the Aces players,
Speaker 1: and absolutely we talk about why they've won championships, it's
Speaker 1: a lot to do with the development coaches. How he's
Speaker 1: been able to you know, improve a player like Jackie Young,
Speaker 1: who you know, just bringing out the best in her.
Speaker 1: I feel like he should get some looks if he's
Speaker 1: not already getting looks. And I would like to see
Speaker 1: Kurt Miller back in the fold. I think that the
Speaker 1: w is better when you have a coach like Kurt Miller.
Speaker 1: Maybe Ebanie Hoffman. We talked about Black, I mean, Rebecca
Speaker 1: Brunton if she wants to leave Minnesota of a look
Speaker 1: at you know, links Chewy and the amount of coaches
Speaker 1: who've come from her tree has been you know, pretty
Speaker 1: good as well. James Wade came from her came from
Speaker 1: her tree, who's now in the NBA. But I would
Speaker 1: like to see them look from within when it comes
Speaker 1: to the hiring process and maybe some former players getting
Speaker 1: an opportunity in briand January.
Speaker 3: Who's Connecticut for sure? Brand January, Rebecca Brunson. It's it's
Speaker 3: so many that comes from different coaching trees that that
Speaker 3: should get an opportunity. And I have one hundred percent
Speaker 3: agree with you on Brian January. She has been such
Speaker 3: a great addition to the Connecticut Sun organization and a
Speaker 3: lot of people don't realize like she's done a great
Speaker 3: job with Veronica Burton and her growth. The same with
Speaker 3: with Ty Harris in her growth. She was also in
Speaker 3: my opinion, the most improved candidate. But of course with
Speaker 3: DJ Carrington on the same team, you know, those votes
Speaker 3: are gonna gonna split up some. But but yes, I
Speaker 3: one hundred percent agree with you on all of those names.
Speaker 3: You know, for me, and I'm gonna get into my
Speaker 3: little fandom here. I would love to see Taler Marsh
Speaker 3: in Atlanta because, like like you said, with yeah, with
Speaker 3: his and with his development, especially with with Asia and
Speaker 3: especially with Jackie. You know, imagine Backcourt and Alisha Gray
Speaker 3: and Ryan Howard. Not to say that they don't need
Speaker 3: development because they are stars within themselves, but everybody is
Speaker 3: you know, everybody can develop something. Asia has already said
Speaker 3: that she wants to develop even more even after the
Speaker 3: unanimous MVP season. So I think that you know, all
Speaker 3: of those names that you mentioned, even Natalie on Nicasse,
Speaker 3: she she would be, you know, a great addition to
Speaker 3: the to the Sparks, or even the Valkyries if they
Speaker 3: if they were to you know, consider that. But you know,
Speaker 3: all of these coaches assistant to you know, recycled head coaches,
Speaker 3: they all will be great for any of these franchises
Speaker 3: in my opinion.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and you know, these general managers have a lot
Speaker 1: to think of in the off season. I think a
Speaker 1: lot of pressures on the Chicago Skuy, especially after you know,
Speaker 1: they fired Hall of Famer in first year head coach
Speaker 1: Teresa Weatherspoon, because they already have a bad stain on
Speaker 1: the franchise in terms of how they've handled star players
Speaker 1: within the organization and you know, coaches, So they have
Speaker 1: a lot to make up for, especially when we look
Speaker 1: at the expansion Draft with trying to convince not only
Speaker 1: coaches to want to go and work with that organization,
Speaker 1: but free.
Speaker 4: Agents as well.
Speaker 1: All right, ka Dot, thank you so much for just
Speaker 1: joining me for this special edition of In Case You
Speaker 1: Missed It with Christina Williams.
Speaker 4: Has been a pleasure to chat with you.
Speaker 3: Oh man, It's always a pleasure to chat with you.
Speaker 3: Thank you for having me on and again, continue to
Speaker 3: move those mountains, continue to be a trailblazer in this game.
Speaker 3: We really really appreciate you.
Speaker 4: Appreciate you.
Speaker 1: Look, we're gonna take another quick break and then when
Speaker 1: we get back, it's time for the Things that I.
Speaker 4: Love this week.
Speaker 1: Welcome back to in Case you missed It with Christina Williams.
Speaker 1: And I just want to thank the homely KAO for
Speaker 1: coming through again.
Speaker 4: And it's time for my.
Speaker 1: Favorite part of the show, the Things that I Love
Speaker 1: this week, and so here it goes. So this week
Speaker 1: I was gifted bracelets by Little Words Projects, a cool
Speaker 1: product that is out there if you want to make,
Speaker 1: you know, cool bracelets for your friends or people you
Speaker 1: you know love. But that opportunity to be at Game
Speaker 1: two at Barclay Center, and we talked about Teresa Weatherspoon
Speaker 1: a little bit earlier, and she was at Game two
Speaker 1: in Brooklyn for the Liberty Aces and this was the
Speaker 1: first public appearance that we've all seen her at since
Speaker 1: the news of her firing, and I think that it
Speaker 1: just meant so much to see her in the building
Speaker 1: at Barclays sharing on for the New York Liberty. She's
Speaker 1: in their Ring of Honor, and she's a Hall of Famer,
Speaker 1: so it was just great to see her. And so
Speaker 1: I had some extra bracelets in my bag, and you know,
Speaker 1: on the bracelet it say it's game changer, and I
Speaker 1: was like saying to my friend, I really want to
Speaker 1: give Teaspoon one, because she had walked past me, like
Speaker 1: and it just the thought that came to mind, and
Speaker 1: I so happened to have an extra blank thank you card,
Speaker 1: and so I fout out this little card that I had,
Speaker 1: and I wrote a quick note to Tea Spoon and
Speaker 1: just told her thank you for being a game changer,
Speaker 1: because I'm a huge advocate for giving people their flowers
Speaker 1: while they are still alive, while they are still here
Speaker 1: and while they can still smell them. And I put
Speaker 1: one of those.
Speaker 4: Little game change of bracelets in.
Speaker 1: The bag, and an opportunity presented itself for me to
Speaker 1: give this braceleting card to Tea Spoon at halftime, and
Speaker 1: so I just thanked her for all that she's done
Speaker 1: for the game. And she really took that to heart,
Speaker 1: and you know, she helped me help by hand and
Speaker 1: was like, thank you. I'm gonna where there's everywhere that
Speaker 1: I go. And Colin Kaepernick was behind us, and that
Speaker 1: was really funny because I didn't realize Colin Kaepernick was
Speaker 1: behind us, and he was like building you know, it's
Speaker 1: just crazy, like the New York Liberty's celebrity rows crazy.
Speaker 1: I think at the game I was able to give
Speaker 1: Gail King a game change of bracelet, Robin Roberts a
Speaker 1: game change of bracelet. So many people you know, of
Speaker 1: different levels in their career and statuses, just to be
Speaker 1: able to thank them for all that they've done to
Speaker 1: impact the industry in a positive way. And so that
Speaker 1: is the thing that I love this week, just giving
Speaker 1: people their flowers and just thanking them for you know,
Speaker 1: their positive impact on the game. All Right, that's gonna
Speaker 1: do it for this special edition of In Case You
Speaker 1: missed It with Christina Williams. Please don't forget to rate,
Speaker 1: review and subscribe to the podcast. And next week we
Speaker 1: have lange A Johnson joining us and SUPERB, So make
Speaker 1: sure you subscribe so you don't miss out on all
Speaker 1: the actions that's gonna do it for it. In case
Speaker 1: you missed it with Christina Williams, You're on the iHeartRadio app.
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