← No Offseason: The Athletic Women's Basketball Show
No Offseason: The Athletic Women's Basketball Show
Lynx-Sun Game 5 Predictions, Aces Obit, and Too Early Finals Preview
00:55:45
Loading summary
Transcript81 lines
- [00:00]
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
As a salesperson, the search for the right buyer or buying groups can feel like you're endlessly sifting through leads and hoping they're ready to buy. Thankfully, LinkedIn Sales Navigator is more than just a tool, it's your strategic sales partner. LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a sales intelligence platform that helps professionals effectively prospect and engage high value customers, drive higher revenue and increase sales performance. Sales Navigator helps you target the right buyers, surface key signals such as job changes or which accounts you should prioritize, and shows you hidden allies so that you can find those buyers that are most likely to convert. Whether you're looking for new clients or strengthening relationships of current accounts, LinkedIn Sales Navigator has new AI features designed to help sellers find the right people and get right to the right conversations, all at scale. Fueled by LinkedIn's 1 billion-member platform, Sales Navigator gives you the most up to date first party data, enabling you to unlock conversations with the people that matter. Ready to get right to the right conversations? Try LinkedIn Sales Navigator now with a 60 day free trial at LinkedIn.com NBashow23 that's LinkedIn.com NBashow23 for a 60 day free trial. Terms and conditions apply.
- [01:22]
Wayfair
Summer is almost here and there's no better place to go for outside furniture than Wayfair. Wayfair's huge selection of outdoor essentials will help you make your outdoor space more comfortable, functional and most importantly, more you. Get your outdoor space ready today so you can enjoy it all season long. When you have kids, they love to be outside, so you gotta be out.
- [01:44]
Zena Kada
There to watch them.
- [01:45]
Wayfair
Wayfair. You can have outdoor sofas, maybe a set of chairs, a gazebo, some umbrellas because it's really hot down here in the South. No matter the need. Wayfair's huge selection of home items makes it easy to find exactly what's right for you. There's something for every style and every home, no matter your space or budget. Wayfair makes it easy to tackle your summer home goals with endless inspiration for every space and budget, including the outdoors. Free and easy delivery even on the big stuff. No more huge delivery fees for patio furniture. Get big stuff like patio sets, gazebos, hot tubs, outdoor dining sets and more shipped free. Find all your outdoor must haves from seating to pool lounges to trampolines all in one convenient place. Shop a huge selection of outdoor furniture online this summer. Get outside with wayfair. Head to wayfair.com right now. That's W A Y F A I R.com Wayfair. Every style, every home.
- [02:52]
Liquid IV
Love looks different for everyone, especially when it comes to all the ways you treat and celebrate yourself. I'm a big hammock head. Sunshine a hammock, a paperback western. That's my kind of everyday indulgence. And you can gift yourself the everyday indulgence of extraordinary Hydration with Liquid IV powered by Liv Hydro Science. Visit LiquidIV.com to fall in love with flavors like the zesty new hydration multiplier, sugar free Raspberry Lemonade and use Code no dunks to save 20% off your first order. Liquid IV is easy and convenient. You just tear, pour and enjoy. It's my go to when I'm getting a pump in or handing out buckets, but it's great for staying hydrated during long days, enjoying the outdoors or any other time you need some hydration in your body. Liquid IV offers so many true to fruit flavors, whether they be hydration multipliers like acai berry, lemon, lime and pina colada, or sugar free like raspberry lemonade, white peach and rainbow sherbet. The flavors are always true to fruit, break the mold and your own ritual. Just one stick and 16 ounces of water hydrates better than water alone because Liquid IV is powered by LIV Hydroscience, an optimized ratio of electrolytes, essential vitamins and clinically tested nutrients that turn ordinary water into into extraordinary hydration. You're getting three times the electrolytes of the leading sports drink plus eight essential vitamins and nutrients. And Liquid IV is always non gmo, vegan, gluten free, dairy free and soy free. So treat yourself to extraordinary hydration from Liquid IV. Get 20% off your first order at Liquid IV when you go to liquidib.com or and use code no Dunks at checkout. That's 20% off your first order with code no Dunks@liquid I.com.
- [04:57]
Zena Kada
For the athletic I'm Zena Kaeda and this is the athletic women's basketball show brought to you by at&t. Welcome back to the athletic women's basketball show. I'm Zena Gaeta. I got Ben and Sabrina here in the building. We got to get right into this because you know guys, it's playoff times. Usually I have a whole spiel to start off the show, but folks we are right at the finish line and we got things to talk about because now we know one half of the finals picture the New York Liberty are going to take on potentially the Minnesota Links, potentially the Connecticut Sun. The order in which I said that has no impact on what I think may be happening. Okay, folks, Ben, Sabrina are in the building as always, to break down what they think is going to happen in the next game against the Minnesota Links and the Connecticut sun, as well as talk a little bit about some predictions for either team going up against the Liberty. And we got to talk about this as team just a little bit. You know, we got to talk about how they closed out this year and what this means for the larger WNBA picture for a team of that caliber to close out their year the way they did. All right, folks, let's just get right, right into it. Since we last spoke, if you listened to our last show, it was a lot of fun. But since we last spoke, there's been two games in both series, one of them closing out the New York Liberty, of course, closing things out against the Las Vegas Aces. But the Las Vegas Aces did their job in saving away the elimination game. They were able to get game three three and they routed the Liberty 95 to 81. But Liberty made some adjustments and they came back and did what they did all season long offensively, powerhouses against the Aces and making sure that their star players were not quite the stars that they could be getting the final win in the series. 76, 62 and winning 3:1. On the other side of the semifinals, the Connecticut sun and the Links are still battling. Okay, last two games once again split. If you guys remember, Sabrina Merchant set. I genuinely don't know who's going to win every time we go into a matchup between these two. And that's what happened with these last two games. Minnesota Links got one win, 90 to 81 in Game 3. And then in Game 4, the sun came back 92, 80, 82. That's enough for me. Let's talk about what this series is going to look like potentially in game five. Sabrina, Ben, I'm going to bring you in for this one. When you think about this particular last game four, the game looked as if it was going to go Minnesota's way. Everything felt like it was falling for them. The ball was moving the energy up and down the court like they were locked in on the Sun's court. The sun were down seven at the half. How did Connecticut shift the momentum their way in the second half? Sabrina?
- [08:25]
Sabrina Merchant
Well, I thought Minnesota's defense just wasn't quite good enough in that particular stretch. Alyssa Thomas was really good at getting to the basket and either facilitating from there or just sort of powering through whoever her defender was. There was one possession you know, early in the half where she just went right through Bridget Carlton and like, that's a switch that Minnesota can absolutely not let happen. They have a lot of sturdy defenders on the Lynx roster, but Bridget Carlton is not one that can hold up individually against Alyssa Thomas. I thought, you know, some of it is just like shots not falling. You know, Minnesota didn't hit a three during the entirety of the third quarter. That's something that you wouldn't expect to necessarily hold. They only ended up hitting 13 in the entirety of the second half. And like, like we said, you know, it's just one team goes up, the other one goes down. And then like 10 minutes later it seems like the tide has shifted yet again because these teams are so good at adjusting. And you know, I'll let Ben speak to what he thought Connecticut did well this particular situation, but I thought it was interesting that Connecticut got Minnesota so desperate that they actually ran to this three big look for stretches of that second half with Maisha Hines Allen, Alanna Smith and Nafisa Collier all on the court together. And that was pretty surprising to me that a team that has been so solid and consistent in its system this entire season would throw out a look that like I hadn't seen for the entirety of the postseason. I can't even remember the last time we saw a three big look during the regular season, you know, whether that was with Dorka Juhais or Maisha Hines Allen as that third big. So it is interesting to me that Minnesota got a little spooked in that second half and I wonder if, you know, that's just they're going to leave that in Connecticut and they go back to Target center and things will go back to the same old ping pong passing brand of Minnesota basketball. Or if Connecticut has actually figured something out there, I'm inclined to believe it's the former. And we're just going to see like another, you know, one two possession game between these two teams in Game five. But I'll let Ben pick up on that.
- [10:17]
Zena Kada
Yeah, Ben, I really feel as if what Sabrina is referring to, that Minnesota had to shift their approach from who they are versus to become someone that needed to beat Connecticut, right. Rather than relying on what they could do. How did you see Connecticut kind of shift and make Minnesota have to change their makeup in order to play against them.
- [10:42]
Ben
I mean, in both Games 3 and 4, like Minnesota did not play defense up to the level we have seen thus far. Nafisa Collier said as much after game four, commenting not only, you know, that they really struggled and didn't play subpar defense after game four, but also game three and just their offense was much better in game three. So much so that it, you know, overshadowed some of the struggles they were having on the defensive end. I mean, Sabrina hit the nail on the head, right? That like, basically after halftime, Minnesota stop playing defense. And their defense, then their lack thereof, also translated into poor offense. They made four field goals in the third quarter, and basically for the majority of the fourth quarter up to like the three minute mark or so, they had made just three field goals. And so when you have defense that is struggling and offense that is struggling, that is a bad combination. The two things that I would say, like, heading into game four, from being around the sun at shoot around and even, you know, kind of all weekend, like, there was always a belief, there was always a confidence. And I think a lot of that stems from experience, right? The Connecticut sun have made six straight semifinals, and in each of the last two years before this one, they had actually lost Game 3 at home in one one series, right? In 2023, they lost Game 3 to the new York Liberty and ended up losing that series in four games. But the year before that, they lost Game 3 to the Chicago sky at home in Connecticut one Game 4, and then went on the road in Chicago and won game five. And Stephanie White is new to this team. She's only in her second year with Connecticut, but there definitely is a confidence between Bree Jones and Alyssa Thomas and Dewana Bonner, Dijonay Carrington, and just the organization as a whole that, like, they've been there before, that there's urgency and they need to play with desperation, but they didn't press nearly as much. And that was something, actually, Dewana Bonner said after in game three that she felt they pressed a little bit. We didn't see that really in game four, even when they were down at halftime. So just from a, like, vibes and energy standpoint, I think that's one thing to note. The other actual schematic change that they made was Stephanie White and the coaching staff deciding to insert Ty Harris back into the starting lineup. And Ty Harris had been their starting point guard pretty much all season long. And she went out in the Indiana Fever series, their first round series, with an ankle injury. And she missed the end of that series and kind of was slowed at the start of this series. And basically Stephanie White and I asked her this post game at the press conference, I was like, when did you decide to insert Ty Harris in the lineup? And she kind of gave a great answer and it was longer and more elaborate than I thought. And she basically said that, like, she and the coaching staff spent all day on Saturday deliberating and debating different lineup combinations. And it wasn't until midnight on Saturday night around then that they finally made a decision that they were going to start Harris. And they told her on Sunday morning, like the morning of the game. Added early morning. Shoot around, I should say shoot around was around 9:00, 9 to 10, which is very early on the WNBA schedule for this game. And just that, like, by inserting Harris into the lineup, they thought she could get more of an opportunity, she could settle in and just like be a little bit more comfortable in the role instead of just like having to come in and be a spark plug off the bench without kind of getting her legs under her. And we saw a huge change right in the first half, I think she only had seven points, but in the second she really came alive. She had 13 points in the second half. She scored a team high 20 points for the Connecticut sun. And she was the difference, like, like Minnesota. And they, they knew she would be an effective shooter and a playmaker, but, like, we hadn't seen it. And Marina Mabry had struggled in games two and three. And so the. Harris was four or five from three, seven, eleven from the field. That was a huge boost for the Connecticut Sun.
- [14:07]
Zena Kada
Absolutely. And you saw Ty Harris being used as a tool to get Courtney Williams in more foul trouble, which I think derailed the Minnesota offense quite often. Even though Natisha Heideman did come in and score well for the Minnesota Links, ending up with 16 points off the bench, it still is a factor to have your veteran point guard like Courtney Williams out there on the floor. And Ty Harris did a great job attacking her consistently.
- [14:32]
Ben
And the effects, like, are more than just what Harris brought. It was moving Mabry, who still played 34 minutes in game four, she played more off ball. Right. She didn't have to create as much offense for both herself and everybody else. And I asked her actually in between game three and four, like, she was one of 11 from three. She kind of scoffed at that number about just how disgusting it is because it's not exactly the scoreline you want if you're a shooter, the stat line. And she was basically saying like, she liked the look she was getting, but she realized like, like her legs just weren't like, in them as much as she thought. And, you know, I think that's pretty reasonable considering, like, legs kind of go if You're a little fatigued or you're having to do a lot, and she had to do both. A lot of, you know, the three point shooting providing that, but also playmaking with Harris out. And we kind of saw when Harris slides back into the lineup, like everyone kind of moved into the more naturals. Like Veronica Burton, for instance, who's been really good this postseason. Like she played 14 minutes. She chased Courtney Williams, she chased Kayla McBride like she was very good defensively. And you know, she took one shot, which is a little bit more like what she's done all year. She did, you know, have four free throws. So she still was aggressive, but she didn't have to do as much playmaking either. So, you know, there was kind of a multitude of effects by just making that one decision. And it really did pay off for Connecticut.
- [15:45]
Sabrina Merchant
And just to add on about slotting everybody into their proper roles, I think having Ty Harris available makes it easier for Connecticut to hit its small lineup, which they kind of went away from in game three, where Bree Jones played a lot more minutes. She did score a lot more points, but I think their defense still struggled as a result. You saw Minnesota break loose for a lot of threes just because Bree can't really handle the perimeter defense it takes in this series to keep up with Minnesota at the three point line. Whereas when you have at the five DB at the three and the three guard lineup that Connecticut has been running for such long stretches in this series, their defense is just so much tighter. So, you know, they've been playing Veronica Burton a lot in these smaller lineups. But as Ben mentioned, her offense really isn't up to snuff for this particular series. So when you get to use a little bit less Veronica Burton, you can put Ty Harris in those lineups. All of a sudden you have the spacing of Harris, Mabry and Bonner all together in the lineup. And that's an offense that can really make Minnesota sweat. You know, in terms of this particular matchup, I mean, Ty Harris, I think had zero points in this series entering game four, and then she breaks free for 20 points in that game. And you know, I think there was another stat they cited on the broadcast that Connecticut in its playoff history had been Owen 15 when they trailed by at least seven at halftime of a playoff game. So this is the first time this has ever happened for the Connecticut sun that not even a double digit halftimely, we're talking about seven points. That's how much they were trailing by thanks to that ridiculous Natisha Heideman heave at the end of the first half. So you just think about like what they were capable of doing in this particular game and what Ty Harris contribution meant in this situation. Like Bree Jones was back to, I want to say, yeah, 14 minutes in this game, which is very strange to think about if you're, you know, a Brie Jones apologist. She's been an all Star multiple seasons, had a really great year this year. But again, I just don't think this is a series for her. They had to rely on her a lot in game three just because the offense wasn't coming from anywhere else. But to get that offense from Ty Harris and not compromise your defense, I think is so important to what the sign are trying to do.
- [17:36]
Zena Kada
Absolutely. And you look at, you talked about the three ball getting away a little bit for the Minnesota links. The sun didn't really have to give up too much on that end. Yes, 26 three point shots compared to just I think 15 for the sun. But they're shooting 38.5%. If you've got Matisha Hines Allen putting up two as well and not hitting, it's like, all right, I think I'll take that. I'd prefer that. Actually. I want to ask a little bit. You alluded to this at least what I think the answer to this question is. But I want to hear your guys's opinion. When you're looking at these two teams, thinking about them being so evenly matched overall, of course defense didn't quite show up that way in the last game. But when you think about these two teams being evenly matched, if you're not thinking about players, what stands out to you as a quality or an ability that each team has as an advantage to get Game five? I can give you my opinion on this before or after, but I'd like to hear your thoughts.
- [18:38]
Sabrina Merchant
I think it's just the confidence they have in their system. They're so willing to stick to their particular brand of basketball. Like I did mention that it was strange to see those few minutes of the three bigs with Minnesota. But otherwise what we've seen from them over the course of this regular season, over the course of the playoffs, you know, even when they were in those games against Phoenix in the first round and Leeds sort of disappears, they still play the same like keep moving, keep screening, keep flashing in the paint. Constant, just body movement, body movement to make defenses work. And it's the same way they play defense. Honestly, they're just so confident in their system and if the shots aren't going in, they're going to take those exact same shots over and over again. It's a real commitment to how they want to play. And I think Connecticut's the same way, right? Like Alyssa Thomas, maybe she'll miss a couple shots at the rim. She's still going to provide pressure at the basket over and over again. Get your defenses in foul trouble, get them in rotation, just physically wear on you. And that's what I like about both of these teams is, I mean, it's not that they're not adaptable, it's just that they're very confident in what they do and what they think they can do well, and they really just believe in it and continue to power through regardless of the state or the situation of the game.
- [19:41]
Ben
It's a great point because Cheryl Reeve was asked about this, I think, you know, while she was in Connecticut. I don't remember if it was before game three or game four. Like, the two teams are similar in some ways. In a lot of their metrics, their records are very close. Like 0.1 point per 100 possessions is what separates them in terms of net rating through the seven games that they have played in both the regular season and in the postseason. Now, just one point separates them in total score margin. It's Connecticut plus one defensively, like they're one and two overall in the league. But like, for all that commonality and similarity, the teams are very different. Right. Like Minnesota, for instance, you know, they're a really good three point shooting team, right. For just like one example, they rely on the three. They shoot the three really, really well. We don't see that necessarily from the Connecticut sun. Right. We see Connecticut, for instance, playing at a slower pace and often they play three bigs in a way that like Sabrina has talked about. Minnesota does not do. So, like, you know, there are both similarities and very clear differences between the two. But what is shared, as Sabrina alluded, is like this belief in self and belief in system. And so that's what's made this kind of stylistic clash so interesting is because, like, neither team seems like they really want to or is trying to kind of break the habits that have gotten them here. And it's kind of why this series has been so interesting from the beginning and why this game 5 sets up to be very interesting as well.
- [21:10]
Zena Kada
It's funny. So you guys are saying exactly what I think and I love that you've put confidence in it because that's exactly what's required. I was going to say dedication to execution. Right. Like, just dedication to. Let's run our stuff until we find what we want. I particularly think that for Minnesota is equality of them is just the dedication to execution. You can see Sheryl Reeves, like, brain power out there on the court. And then from a Connecticut sun perspective, I would say the veteranship. Ben, you alluded to this earlier of the semifinals. Having been in the semifinals, having been in these situations, understanding that there's highs and lows, there's runs to be had, you can come back from these things. I absolutely believe that that's going to be the thing that's going to elevate Connecticut in Minnesota over Minnesota or for Minnesota. It's just their dedication to their execution to elevate themselves over Connecticut.
- [22:09]
Ben
Zena, you know how I like to play, like, some of these anonymous games on this podcast sometimes. Okay. And this is going to test how much how close you read my story on the Athletic. Okay, I'm going to read a quote out, and I want you to tell me which team said this quote. Okay. A Coach after Game 4 said, Tonight's effort is not going to be good enough in game five.
- [22:28]
Zena Kada
I think that's Cheryl Reeve.
- [22:30]
Sabrina Merchant
I think the game is that it's got to be Steph White.
- [22:32]
Ben
Yeah. The game is. It had to be Steph White. You had to know. I was only asking because it was a Step White quote. But it's a good example because, like Shao Reeve basically said, we just didn't present ourselves in the way that you need to. To really.
- [22:44]
Zena Kada
Oh, wait, you said after game four.
- [22:46]
Ben
After game four.
- [22:47]
Zena Kada
After game four.
- [22:49]
Ben
The point holds that, like, these coaches, even after game four, basically said the same thing. Like, neither one was too thrilled, neither one was too high, neither one was too low. Like, it just speaks to the commonalities between them that, like, you know, they. They both are realist. There's no complacency. There's no, like, there's no joy that is speaking, like, to them right now. They just. It's like a fifth game. It is a fifth fight. And, you know, they're just. It was always going to take place is kind of the moral, I think, of this series.
- [23:18]
Zena Kada
Right, Right. I mean, I think that's where we ended up with our predictions when we started this out was that this series was gonna go to five. I think I was very middle of the road and I said, it's gonna be split, split, split. Even in the fifth game, it's gonna be split. Like, it's gonna come down to, like, a buzzer beater situation. But I think it's time for our final prediction on this series. Like, we've gotta. We got to figure out where do we land on this, the game. The series is going back to Target Center. Minnesota Links will have home court advantage, but that hasn't been necessarily historically an advantage for them against the Connecticut Sun. So we'll see if that. That does hold true. But either way, Ben, Sabrina, who wants to go first, predictions for this series.
- [24:05]
Ben
I can go first. I mean, from the beginning, I'm not going to bear the lead here. I had Connecticut in five games winning in Minnesota, so, you know, I'm going to stay true. That prediction I made at the top of this series. I mean, they won an elimination game, a do or die elimination game in Minnesota last year. And I think, you know, while this is a different Connecticut team and a different Minnesota team, like, I do think that matters in terms of going into an environment that's amped up. And obviously they've won in Minnesota this series. I know we're looking at X factors and maybe I'll just throw it in real quick. I mean, the two names I've circled on Minnesota, Bridget Carlton, she was two of 11 from three in game four. If Minnesota is going to win, she's going to need to shoot it better. And Kayla McBride, two of six from the field, which, you know, is an okay percentage, all things considered. But, like, she's an all star, right? She's one of their best players. She's such a creator for them. I think she's gonna need to generate some more offense if they were gonna win on the Connecticut side. I just think Harris Mabry's due for another good game and, you know, 80 is just a freight train in transition, and I think Connecticut will grind this one out and move on to the final.
- [25:12]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah, I struggle to pick against Connecticut because they have so much experience and Minnesota collectively doesn't have any. Like, this franchise won its first playoff series since 2017 this year. Nafisa Collier had never won a playoff series until this year. Courtney Williams, her experience in Atisha Heidemans came from Connecticut. Kayla McBride from Vegas. Like, none of it has happened collectively with this particular roster and yet, you know, as Ben said, I. I'm just going to stick with my earlier pick. I did say links in five. I'm going to go with it. The one thing that would concern me is the sun are 2 and O in this series when Steph White wears a leather jacket and if she pulls out, another one could be in trouble.
- [25:51]
Ben
Sabrina seems like an Eye. Seems like you need to text some people at the sun that stat. Like you gotta let the PR staff know about that one or find a way to get in contact with Steph White because I think they've already left for Minnesota. I assume they have. We're taping this on Monday evening, East coast time.
- [26:07]
Zena Kada
There's a source somewhere.
- [26:09]
Ben
Yeah, there's.
- [26:10]
Zena Kada
There's a store somewhere that this.
- [26:12]
Sabrina Merchant
Literally watching game four in Las Vegas. Alexa Philippe, who our friend from espn turns to me and she's like, steph White's in the leather jacket. I was like, I know this board's.
- [26:20]
Zena Kada
Wow. Okay, I, I don't. I mean, leather jacket at this time of the year in Minnesota works. So yeah, I'm, I'm not against this. I, I think I said links to start. I think I'm flipping to the Connecticut Sun. I think I'm flipping to the Connecticut sun and I think my X factor is Marina Mabry for the sun, getting her to go off for three. But I also do believe that Ty Harris, in the way that she showed up in game four completely gave another level to the Connecticut sun that we had not seen in this series yet. So I think I'm gonna stick with Connecticut Sun. So, Sabrina, you're outmatched, but we'll see what happens. All right. All right, let's shift the page. Let's go talk to the other side of the semifinals before we get to the actual finals. And we know the New York Liberty are moving on to the finals. Congratulations to them. They were my pick to get to the finals in that series. And I believe we also predicted that that would be the case, that they, New York would go to Las Vegas, but Las Vegas would not get both of their home games. And that's exactly what happened. They split. Now it is time for an in honorarium basically for the Aces on this season particularly. And you think about the back to back champions, you think about how hard it is to do that. I'd like some help to put that into context, Sabrina. When you think about the teams that have been able to do this, Houston Comets or win multiple championships in short periods of time, Houston Comets, Minnesota Lynx, and of course the Aces. Just how hard was this for this franchise and does not achieving it indict them in any way in terms of how well they performed this season?
- [28:31]
Sabrina Merchant
I don't think that losing in the semifinals to the Liberty is any, you know, puts any negative light on what the Aces were able to accomplish over the last two years. Winning the titles in 2022 and 2023, they were the number one seed in both those years heading into the playoffs. You know, Asia Wilson has been MVP twice over that stretch. Defensive Player of the Year twice over that stretch. Becky Hammond won a coach of the Year. They've had two sixth women of the year during that time with Alicia Clark and Tiffany Hayes. Just like series of accolades have rolled through Las Vegas and you know, I'm sure tons of teams would have killed to be in the playoffs in the semifinals going to a game four against the number one seed New York Liberty at this point of the year. And they're at home earlier even than the Las Vegas Aces. So the fact that they, you know, come up short of what has been the standard set over the last two years, I don't think indicts anything that they've accomplished to this point. I think it just more so highlights how much better the league has gotten since the Aces started this run. Like you think about what the aces were in 2021 when they lost in the WNBA semifinals to the Phoenix Mercury with head coach Bill Lambert. How different that team is from what we have seen from the Aces during the Becky Hammond era. Like they stopped this whole like Asia Wilson power forward, Sherrod playing her next to Liz Cambage and just made her a full time center and you know, put a lot of space around her, empowered Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum to just shoot a lot of threes, be really aggressive as scorers. Just I mean the growth that we've seen from Becky, I mean from Jackie Young from that period to what she has become now, you know, multi time, all star, multi time gold medalist was on the MVP ballot last year. Just all of the great things that have happened for this franchise I think you just see mirrored around the rest of the league. Like the way New York plays is very similar to what the Aces have tried to do over the last three years. The way Phoenix plays, the way like even Minnesota has started bombing threes. Like a lot of it is this pace and space that Becky and Tyler Marsh and Natalie Nakase like brought over from their NBA time and just a little bit of a different style of offense they brought to the W that we just hadn't seen much of, you know, before this current like five or so year stretch of WMA basketball. I mean like before Stewie got, you know, over the last three years like she was a small forward for long stretches and you know, Seattle and now she's a power forward. Like everything sort of evolves and changes as you know, the years go By. So I think you can just see, like, the influence of the style of play that the Aces have created around the rest of the league. Like, Sabrina Nescu alluded to it during the post game press conference on Sunday when she said, like, the standard of excellence that they've set, you know, the way they play, the way that they forced us to play, it's all just made us a better team. And, you know, we thank the Aces for forcing us to get better. And I think that's just, like, what's happened to a lot of the teams that have run up against the Aces during the playoffs. So, yeah, like, the problem was, is that they forced everyone else to get better and they didn't get better in the interim. Right. And whether that happened because of complacency, of overuse, of, you know, just, like, over, like, working. You know, it takes a lot of effort to constantly get every team his best shot. And, you know, there were six players on this team that were in the Olympics and all of that. There's a lot of things you can point to as to why they just didn't have it this particular year, but they didn't have it this year. And I think what's kind of beautiful is that they couldn't just flip the switch. Like, Becky Hammond said, she was actually really happy to see that the work always pays off. Like, you have to have the habits all throughout the season in order for you to be able to dig into that during the most stressful times of the postseason and when they had to, like, dig in and become the truest versions of themselves. In Game four against the Liberty, the version of themselves was a team that couldn't shoot the ball really well and made a lot of miscommunications on defense, and that is what revealed itself against the Liberty, because that's what they had been for most of the regular season. So, like, I don't think any of them were particularly, like. I'm not gonna say they weren't heartbroken, but, like, none of them felt like it was an unfair outcome. What happened, you know, like, this was the deserving team won the series, and what should have happened, happened.
- [32:45]
Zena Kada
I love your breakdown of the way that the league evolved around them. I'm hesitant to say that the Aces were the blueprint, because when I think blueprint, I feel like it's a copy and paste. But what I more so feel like, it's almost as if when you're looking at European architecture and you're seeing influences scattered throughout different countries, and it's like, clearly someone looked in France, clearly someone looked in Germany. So clearly someone looked and got some influences and then created and built a team based off of what they would also see to be successful. And absolutely, you're seeing the remnants of that now. You also talked about overuse, and this theme has been coming up a lot in conversations around players that played in the Olympics. Whether it's been Seattle, whether it's been Phoenix, whether it's been the Aces that feel like they, they kind of sputtered out at the end of the season. Ben, I want to ask you, what are your thoughts on the potential impact of the Olympics on the way that the Aces close out their season?
- [33:55]
Ben
Can I just say, Xena, I think we might be the only women's basketball podcast that is both giving you stats about Stephanie White's leather jackets and also references to European architecture. Like, I think that's, that's a wide breadth of knowledge and expert expertise on this show that I'm proud to be a part of from, from you guys that are. You're bringing it today. I mean, like, I think Sabrina hit it. Like, this is a confluence of factors kind of led to their defeat. Did the Olympics and the, you know, condensed schedule play a role in their fatigue? Potentially. Like, I think it's certainly fair. That didn't help, right? But I also think, like, the Las Vegas Acers were not the only team that dealt with the Olympic break. Right. Look at New York's roster. Brianna Stewart played in the Olympics. Sabrina Unescu played in the Olympics. Leonie Fevich, I like that. Xena, whether you knew it or not, you talked about, you know, going to find influences in Germany. Well, yeah. Jonathan Colb and the New York Liberty front office picked Leonie Fievich from Germany and from Spain, where she was playing last offseason, brought her over. And she has just been the plus minus star of the postseason overall. Niara Sabali, you know, has not played nearly as big of a role, but she played in the Olympics, too. And Santa Brandella coached in the Olympics. Like, Minnesota has some Olympians still and Cheryl Reeve as well. So, like, Las Vegas is not the only team that sent players over to Paris and has had to deal with the fatigue coming back home. I think it's more of just what Sabrina said. Like, yes, the Aces kind of were missing Chelsea Gray at the start of the year, but there were signs throughout the season that they were not the dominant first quarter team that they had been in the past. They were not the dominant defensive team in the past. Sabrina wrote in her story, like, their defense led the league in 2023. It was fifth at the all Star break. And certainly other defenses improved. But, like Las Vegas didn't match what it had been. Their three points shooting suffered. You know, just overall, the record, right? They had six losses through their first 12 games. They lost six games all last year. Like, some of that is because Gray had to work way back. And the whole plan, you know, the entire year was to have Chelsea Gray playing her best when it mattered most. But, you know, just listen to Becky Hammond throughout this series of press conferences. Like, it started in the lead up to Game one, where she was pretty open about acknowledging New York as the best team all year and New York as, you know, the better team kind of entering the series. And maybe that's her playing some mind games. And obviously, like, she had full belief and trust in her staff that, you know, they could pull this out. But there was also an open acknowledgment that, like, the Las Vegas Aces of this series were not the Las Vegas Aces of the past. And, you know, I think that's kind of the learning experience for them to move forward to. I mean, she kind of talked about it after. Right, Sabrina, like, they've never really had exit meetings before. They've only had exit celebrations. Like exit parties. Exit parties. Right.
- [36:33]
Zena Kada
Like, that's a good point. You're not really truly reflecting in the same way that other teams have to.
- [36:40]
Ben
Right. And like, I'll have a story coming out later this week about, you know, Sabrina Ionescu and her improvement. And, you know, that's not to say that when the Aces won, they didn't end up meeting with their players and talk about ways they can improve. But. But it's just different, you know, it's just a little different. Right? And like, you know, the exit meeting and the early conversations that Sabrina had really set her on the course for what she worked on in the off season and how she came back this year. Right. So look, I would expect a renewed hunger from the Las Vegas Aces next year, a renewed energy. And, you know, I think we're going to see what happens. I mean, Asia Wilson joked that, like, okay, now we're going to have to go start and try to have a three peat next year.
- [37:18]
Sabrina Merchant
And Chelsea Grace Face was not happy at that.
- [37:21]
Zena Kada
She was like that. Chelsea Gray is thinking about, what is that impact gonna be on my body trying to make another three piece.
- [37:29]
Sabrina Merchant
Just wanna get to the pool with my little infant.
- [37:31]
Zena Kada
You know, I bet, I bet and, and they deserve this break. It's been non stop for not only, of course, this league, but particularly for the Aces. Before we switch over to the finals, I do want to talk about the closing of this season for Asia Wilson because this has been a historic season the likes of which are gonna be very difficult to replicate, not only for her herself, but anyone else coming in or in the league right now. And when you think about flipping the page, as you alluded to earlier, Sabrina, I don't know that the Aces have the tools to flip the page on the things they need to flip the page on. I'm thinking about, you know, they've got Elizabeth Kitley, she's not a three point specialist, you know, shot under 30% in college. Thinking about the, the people that they can bring onto this team to help plug the holes that they have and ensure that they're getting the best out of Asia Wilson in the, the prime years that they have her. What can the Aces do to help flip the page not only around their superstar but for their entire organization to be successful next year?
- [38:45]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah, it's interesting. We talk a lot about how power forward is the toughest position in the wnba and I guess Asia sort of fits because like she does guard a lot of fours and can theoretically play that position, you know, when Kia Stokes is on the court. But really what the Aces are missing on their lineup is like a good power forward, you know, like one more of those to really help just balance out the roster so that they're not completely small, you know, with Alicia Clark there or those four guard lineups that they were running a lot against the Liberty. You know, I think, I imagine Melissa Smith is going to be in some off season conversations, you know, just some player who can provide a little bit of a jolt of athleticism there or in size. I don't know. It's something that they're going to have to consider. I'm not exactly sure like if they're going to retain like everybody on their roster, you know, because Tiffany Hayes is a free agent. Alicia Clark is a free agent. Kelsey Plumb is an unrestricted free agent. I mentioned this in the piece that I wrote today or that's up on the site on Monday. I guess that Kelsey Plumb is the only one of the core four to ever hit unrestricted free agency as a member of the Las Vegas Aces. So the fact that they didn't reach an extension with her isn't like sound the alarm or anything because they can still use the core provision on her. But it is interesting that it didn't happen Yet. And does she want to try out a different situation? I'm not entirely sure. This is, again, purely speculation. It's just considering that Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray and Asia Wilson have all continued to sign extensions through their time with Las Vegas, and Kelsey Plumb also signed one extension, it's just somewhat surprising that she's the first one to not make that decision. But yeah, there's potential for a lot of changes. You know, we mentioned all those coaching vacancies that have popped up in the W. Like, I would assume that Tyler Marsh and Natalie Nakase are going to be on teams list for coaches to interview. You know, nice, good young coaches who have definitely done a great job with player development in Las Vegas. So maybe, maybe the coaching staff even looks different. You know, when you think about the next iteration of Las Vegas expansion draft, someone is going to be taken away, presumably from this team. So like Becky Hammond, she said, like, you know, we've never really had exit interviews. This is like a thing I'm gonna have to think about in a week, you know, once I've just processed all of this. But she was just like really upset that this team, like this iteration is not going to exist again because she's just very fond of this group and she got very emotional talking about how they weren't able to come through for Asia in the season that Asia Wilson was, you know, had this year. But maybe it's good, you know, to just like inject a little bit of new blood. You know, when I was talking to them before game three, Kelsey Plum was saying, like, you know, it's. You can't just rely on internal improvement to keep repeating. Like, things have to change and so something, something will change. They have, you know, much smarter basketball minds than me in Las Vegas. I'm sure they'll figure something out. They have over the past couple years, you know, like, they basically drew a rabbit out of a hat and got Candace Barker and Alicia Clark to come last year. And, you know, even Kayla George proved instrumental during the finals. So I'm sure they have other things in mind.
- [41:50]
Zena Kada
Hell, they drew a rabbit out of the hat by getting Tiffany Hayes out of retirement. Exactly. To come in and be a six woman player of the year.
- [41:58]
Ben
But like, what that speaks to, and Becky talked about this during the series is like, they needed Tiffany Hayes. Like, she was open about if we don't have Tiffany Hayes, who had announced that she was leaving the wnba, that they're not in this position. Right. And like, what does that say? That you entered a season and you picked up this player who proved to be so impactful. I mean, Sabrina hits it on the head. Like, you know, look at the bench discrepancy between New York and Las Vegas. It's just a prime example, right? Like, New York was able to withstand some foul trouble in Game 4 because they had Courtney Vandersloot, who was really, really good all series long, coming off the bench, and Kennedy Burke gave them, you know, at least 13 minutes. You know, Kayla Thornton played almost 13 off the bench and like, there were times when they were not as productive as they have been in the past. And like, you know, they have negative plus minuses to Thornton and Burke, but they were at least able to like spell John Paul Jones and Leonie Phoebus with some competency. And New York's offense did slow down a little bit when they were in the game and it didn't flow as much as it did, but like it wasn't a total disaster and that the game slipped away. Whereas, you know, Las Vegas, Tiffany Hayes played 20 minutes, but Sydney Coulson played less than three and Megan Gustafson played less than seven. Right. Kia Stokes, we should mention, was out with a concussion, but New York had basically played her off the floor anyway. So, you know, I think it's interesting to see what Las Vegas does to retool their bench. But, you know, again starting next year with Asia Wilson, three time league mvp, assuming Kelsey Plum comes back, which, you know, I'm going to assume at this point, and two other Olympians and Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray, like, it's a pretty good foundation that I'm pretty sure every team, or almost every team in the league would trade and take you.
- [43:36]
Zena Kada
In a bad spot if you're starting with those four on your team.
- [43:39]
Sabrina Merchant
Okay.
- [43:40]
Zena Kada
I know there's a lot of coaches that would wish that that would be their starting situation, but the point of starting a season without someone that was as pivotal in this series, in this season for you definitely reveals holes are there. And you've got to look at this roster construction and you've got to realize, you know, you can't keep a roster now based on vibes because let's just be real, a lot of it. I would say that some of those players were there because of the chemistry that they provided and the locker room culture and just how comfortable it felt for all of them to be together as opposed to them being difference makers on the court for what the Las Vegas Aces do. So I am very curious to see what their GM does and, and what decisions are Made particularly as Asia Wilson is in her prime. All right, let's shift a conversation over to the finals. And of course, we don't know who New York is playing yet. As of the time that we're recording this, it's Monday. We don't know if New York is going to go up against Connecticut or Minnesota. I ain't got my flights booked, y'all. I genuinely have no idea where we're going after New York. Okay, but thinking about both of these teams matching up against Connecticut, I mean, against New York, am I. Is that Freudian slip? Let me stop. Let me back up. Not against Connecticut, against New York. Let's think about first New York and where they are right now as they prepare for the finals. They bounced back incredibly well after Las Vegas kicked their butt in game three. You know, they saw the changes they need to make, particularly to get Sabrina Yanescu back in her groove to shift around the fact that Alicia Clark came into the mix and was defending really well, even against, you know, Brianna Stewart, etc. They made some really good shifts, in my opinion, and they looked very focused on themselves and executing them their game versus trying to execute something that was good for against the Las Vegas Aces, if that makes sense. I like when teams focus on who they are and they execute their stuff as opposed to shifting shape, shifting to become a team that can be another team because that's when things get a little bit. They go awry. Ben, I'm going to start with you. I feel like was a change from last year's playoff team where the New York Liberty tried to meet the Aces where they were rather than just played their game. How do you anticipate New York game planning for either Minnesota and Connecticut with this mindset of we're focused on us?
- [46:23]
Ben
I mean, I first like how you set this question up, Zena, because the key question of New York focusing on where they are right now, they're at home and they're resting. Like they got back to New York on the wee hours of Sunday night, Monday morning. Monday, I believe was an off day for them. I'm sure, like some of the coaches are starting to dive into film, but I think players had had an off day Tuesday. I think they're going to get back to it. Maybe a little light film, maybe some light shooting. We'll see. And Wednesday I think they're going to fully practice. But like most importantly, the Connecticut sun and Minnesota Links are still playing a series as we talked about on the first part of the show, and they are going to play Tuesday night, and then they're going to have to travel, and then they're going to have to prepare on Wednesday, and then they're going to have to play a finals game on Thursday. Like, this year, the finals come very, very quickly with no breaks in between. And New York, because they handled their business against Las Vegas, has some time to prepare. And I think, you know, think about in the lead up to Thursday, like, they're focusing on themselves. They don't know who they're going to play. So, yeah, certainly the coaches are getting ahead and looking at scouts for both teams, but, like, they're focusing on the things that they want to do. And I think Sabrina Unescu talked about it after, you know, Game four. Like, this is New York versus New York, which was kind of a funny quote because Becky Hammond after Game two said, this is the Aces versus the Aces, and basically that they're beating themselves. So it was kind of funny that Sabrina used that same device after Game four. But, I mean, New York is a different team than they were last year. Like, it's plain and simple. They're a more cohesive group. They're, you know, playing better together. But Sabrina Unescu is a different player, and the roster around, you know, the core is very different. Like, Leonie Feebish was not around last year, and she has made a huge difference during the regular season and especially this postseason. And I say huge, as in, she is 6 foot 4 and can guard anyone on the floor at any times, like, she is doing everything. And Courtney Vandersloot, in her new role coming off the bench, has been great against the Las Vegas Aces. She provided a spark in a number of those games. So New York is very much focused on themselves, and I would expect them to play the way they want to play, and deep down, you know, we'll see what that matchup turns out. But if you were going to give them True Serum, I'm sure they'd rather play the Connecticut Sun. Like, let's just be clear here. They've defeated the Sun. I think they're 10 and 2 over the last or 10 and 2 over the last two years against Connecticut. And this is dominance. Like, they've just owned Connecticut in the regular season and in the postseason these past two years. They match up very well against Connecticut, whether Connecticut wants to go big or small. Minnesota gave them some problems this year, so. So we'll see how it turns out. And I'm sure they're anxiously waiting, but they're focused on what they can do.
- [48:52]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah, other people were Very excited for the Connecticut Minnesota game to go five. Just regardless of who ends up winning that series. The rest advantage is something that definitely occurred to them in terms of the schedule setting up.
- [49:06]
Zena Kada
Absolutely. And thinking about this matchup, potential matchup. It is hard to try to game plan specifically for anything, but we've seen these two, these three teams go up against each other throughout the season. And I want you all to kind of take your journalist hat off a little bit and put your fan hat on and think from an entertainment perspective. When you think About New York vs. Minnesota or New York vs. Connecticut, the matchups, I do think there's like quality, great basketball matchups in there. I'm thinking Dejuana Bonner versus Stewie. Just like long bodies, long scores going up against each other. Fee versus Stewie, USA gold Olympic medalist. Teammates going up against each other. Also just stars on, on each side of the ball. The size Heinz Allen vs. JJ battling down in the post. Like there's different, I could just go down the roster, but there's different matchups that I, I have swirl into my brain entertainment wise. Things that will be fun to watch. Are there any matchups that stand out that you'd be excited to see? Sabrina, I'll start with you.
- [50:22]
Sabrina Merchant
Well, I mean, we've talked about these semifinals both being rematches of playoff series that occurred in 2023. If we get New York, Connecticut, that would yet again be a rematch of the 2023 semifinals, that Connecticut won Game 1 and then ended up losing the series in four as New York got to the finals. So, you know, I personally am a huge fan of repeat playoff matchups because I think it adds a little bit of intensity, a little bit of unfondness, if that's a word, you know, like, I just think that, you know, you play a team a certain number of times, just emotions, I think it just adds, you know, a little bit more enthusiasm. New York, Connecticut, also, neither of these teams has ever won a WNBA title, so we would be getting a new champion in like the, the historical legacy of the wnba, which, you know, could be cool, I think like personality wise, like Melissa Thomas, Marina Mabry, dijonay Carrington, there's definitely a lot of, a lot of juice there in terms of what a Connecticut Sun, NY Liberty Series could look like. And although Ben mentioned, you know, the 10 and 2 record that the Liberty have against the sun over these last two years and it has been painful to watch some of these games, the one game that these two teams have played since Marina Mabry was Acquired by Connecticut did go in the Sun's favor. And, you know, the Liberty, I believe, only lost three games at home this season when they were trying. I'm not counting the last game of the season against the Atlanta Dream. And two of those games were against a team that had Marina Mabry, one with the Chicago sky and one with the Connecticut Sun. So, incidentally, the other one was against Minnesota Links. So that also happens, but there's just. There's a lot to work with here.
- [51:58]
Zena Kada
Okay. What about you, Ben? What would you be excited to see? Matchups, whether it's the teams matchups or just particular players going up against each other.
- [52:07]
Ben
Well, I'm just a little, like, insulted. Sabrina, you didn't bring up in your rematches and revenge factors the 2024 Commissioners Cup. I mean, that was sitting there for you, the Minnesota Links defeating on Connecticut.
- [52:18]
Sabrina Merchant
Okay, that was the plan. Focusing on Connecticut.
- [52:21]
Ben
I mean, so I'll have to bring it up. Right. Minnesota defeated New York in the Commissioners Cup Final this year out at UBS arena on Long Island, a game that was played out there to much consternation from those New York Liberty supporters and those with the organization because Barclays center was unavailable because of the NBA draft. So, you know, that sets up some interesting drama. You have two national team coaches, Cheryl Reeve and Sandy Brondello. You have some Australian ties. And Sandy Rondello and Alana Smith. You have the UConn ties, as you mentioned, Nafisa Collier and Brianna Stewart. You have Courtney Williams, who you know is one of the best quotes and entertainers in the entire league overall. Like, obviously she has some familiarity with New York, having been with Connecticut and around the league for so long. Like, yeah, like, I think both of these series set up to be pretty entertaining. It should be a good finals, no matter. No matter who's there, their storylines, you know, in abundance. No matter which of these two teams, Connecticut or Minnesota, advances to the finals. I'm not going to pick one. Zena, I'm going to duck the question.
- [53:19]
Zena Kada
Hey, no, I appreciate it. No, but I do really appreciate the. The. All the connections. Right? All I love the storylines that are always, like, playing through games that some people don't realize. And that's why it's always great to hear from you guys, like, all of these extra little mini competitions happening between team, old teammates, former college teammates, you know, things like that. That's always fun to be able to keep an eye on as games develop. Now with either of these teams being. We just talked about the commonalities of Connecticut and Minnesota particularly, just being incredibly high IQ defensive teams, high energy defensive teams. I'm curious if defense will be a problem. Their defense will be a problem for New York. And I wanted to know from both of you, looking at, you know, of course, the Liberty, Sabrina, you mentioned the Liberty have been dominant against the Connecticut sun, but it's the playoffs. The Energy's different. And as you mentioned, Connecticut sun have not gotten a title. Dijonay Carrington mentioned in a postgame presser, like, they just know this is the moment when they were, when they were in an elimination game and they knew they had to step up. That's what they did in the second half. I just feel like the Energy is going to be a little bit different. That defense has been showing out all series against the Links. And then of course, we know that the Links defense can be better than we've seen in the last. Last what? First two games, I would say. But we know what they're capable of doing and we saw them beat the Minnesota, I mean the New York Liberty in the Commissioner's Cup. So I'm thinking, particularly for New York, who has been doing incredibly well in figuring out how to put the ball in the basket, close to the basket at that. Not necessarily just relying on threes, but getting to the hole. Any concerns around how New York will fare against these two defenses?
- [55:15]
Ben
I mean, I think Minnesota has given New York problems all year. And if it is Minnesota, like, we'll get into the nitty gritty of that matchup when it happens. I think Alana Smith, Nafisa Collier, like, are good matchups for Jonquil Jones and Brianna Stewart. Bridget Carlton, you know, is a bigger wing than I think a lot of people realize and she is a good cover on Benija Laney and Leo Fevich. So we'll see. I mean, I would say though, like, New York is a pretty good defense themselves, right? They were number three in defensive rating this regular season at some points in the year, like late in the year, basically, Minnesota, Connecticut and New York were in like a virtual tie and they ended up finished third, finishing third to New York and they were 95.3 per 100 possessions, Minnesota's 94.8. So it is pretty close between the two. And if you look at the postseason, New York's actually had the best defense overall, 101.3 net rating now or defensive rating now. Of course, they played Atlanta in the first round. It's a slightly easier matchup, but they obviously handled the Las Vegas Aces. And we've just talked A lot about the Las Vegas Aces. So, you know, I don't see New York having, like, as much of a struggle. I mean, we'll get into, like, the. The finals matchup when it occurs. I also think again, and it can't be overstated, like, New York is different right now in the postseason because they're starting lineup change. Like, they're just playing different rotations than they did in the regular season. And so, yeah, you can learn a lot from those games and study that tape, and we will do that. But there is something to be said for, like, they made a key adjustment, and that's kind of what they're riding out. And that's been a big reason why, you know, they had so much success against Atlanta and really against the Aces in that second round.
- [56:48]
Zena Kada
So Ben just basically told me, put some respect on the New York defense. My bad. My bad. You're right. You're absolutely right. Okay, it's time to make some predictions against either. I want to make some early predictions even before we know who the final finals opponent will be. So if it is against Connecticut, what are your thoughts? And if it is against Minnesota, what are your thoughts?
- [57:17]
Ben
I'll go first because I think Sabrina's the far more interesting person here. I mean, I picked New York entering this postseason. Now, I was a soft lean towards New York, I would say, and, like, had a lot of hesitations as I made that prediction heading into the postseason. I think seeing Fibich inserted into the starting lineup and seeing Sabrina and Eske go up another level actually made me more confident in their ability to win this title. So, you know, I certainly would pick them against Connecticut. And despite Minnesota giving them some issues, I think they enter as a favorite there as well. And also the rest advantage, I think, can't be overstated, that, like, you know, the team that they're playing is basically coming in on one day's rest, whereas New York has had some time off, like. Like, that gives them a big advantage in Game one, which they are hosting. If they can then get game two, suddenly you're up 2 0, and history would say no one's ever come back for 2. 0. So we'll see what happens there. Sabrina picked Minnesota to win the title entering the season, so she is the far more interesting pundit to this question. Cena.
- [58:12]
Sabrina Merchant
Yeah, I'm gonna stick with it. You know, I like Minnesota's matchup against New York quite a bit. I think they've just been awesome containing Jonquil Jones, and we saw even against the Aces those minutes. When Jonquil was unavailable, New York really struggled and you know, she's gotten in, unfortunately, a little bit of a bad habit of letting these offensive fouls sort of ruin her flow and take her out of the game. And I do think that, like the Lynx just all season have been really good at protecting the nail, denying the ball to Jon Qual, making it very hard for her to facilitate, making it very hard for her to go in and score. And I'm sure New York will have been working on counters for a very long time, but this is a team that went 31 against New York during the regular season, including one win in the final week of the regular season at Barclays Center. So yeah, I'm a little concerned about game one have to be because of the rest advantage that we've laid out multiple times over the course of this podcast. But I would still take Minnesota in a hypothetical series over New York, whereas I would take the Liberty against the Sun.
- [59:07]
Zena Kada
Sabrina, I'm with you. I'm with you. And I'll say though, between, if it is between the Minnesota Links and the New York Liberty, it's going, in my opinion of 5. It's not going to be an easy sweep. It's not going to be, you know, God bless my travel schedule, but I think it's going to be, it's going to be five. All right, folks, we got to close it out. This was another wonderful recap of games and also some predictions and things to look for. We that's what we want to do. We want to equip you so when you're watching the game, you know what matchups to look for, you know what shifts that coaches are making to, to check out and see. Okay, is this point guard in, is this size advantage here? What's going on? That's what we are here for and I hope that you got that out of this podcast. Ben, Sabrina, as always, thank you for your insight and folks that are listening, as always, thank you for your ear. Make sure you hit that subscribe button on this podcast. Make sure you go read that content on the site. I got some reading to do right after this podcast cuz apparently there's a story Ben wrote that I need to go read. Please follow my lead and go do that. There's a lot of great content on the site. All right, I'm going to leave you now, but as always, I'm Zena Kada. On behalf of Ben and Sabrina, we thank you for your ear, encourage you to keep listening, keep watching, keep learning and keep loving the game because that's the only way we're going to keep growing it until next next time.
- [60:42]
Sabrina Merchant
As we head into the playoffs, it's safe.
- [60:44]
Ben
To assume there will be a few calls made by the refs that will be hard to accept.
- [60:49]
Sabrina Merchant
But you know what isn't hard to accept?
- [60:51]
Ben
Discover. Believe it or not, Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. You heard that right, 99%. So make a good call for your.
- [61:02]
Liquid IV
Wallet and get discovered.
- [61:03]
Sabrina Merchant
Based on the February 2024 Nielsen report.
- [61:05]
Ben
Learn more at discover.com creditcard this podcast.
- [61:08]
Courtney Williams
Is brought to you by Aura. By the time you hear about a data breach, your information has already been exposed for months. On average, companies take 277 days to report a breach. That's nine months where hackers have access to your personal data. That's why we're thrilled to partner with Aura. Aura is an all in one digital safety solution that monitors the dark web for your phone number, email and Social Security number. Sending real time alerts if your info is includes a vpn, password manager and data broker removal. To help keep you safe for a limited time, Aura is offering a 14 day free trial plus a dark web scan to check if your personal information has been leaked. All for free@aura.com safety that's aura.com safety to sign up and protect your loved ones. That's a u r a.com safety terms apply. Check the site for details.
- [62:02]
Sabrina Merchant
Acast powers the world's best podcasts.
- [62:05]
Zena Kada
Here's a show that we recommend. Hey guys.
- [62:10]
Sabrina Merchant
Welcome to Giggly Squad, a place where we make fun of everything but most importantly ourselves.
- [62:15]
Ben
I'm Paige Desorbo.
- [62:16]
Sabrina Merchant
I'm Hannah Berner.
- [62:17]
Ben
Welcome to the Squad.
- [62:18]
Sabrina Merchant
Giggly Squad started on Summer House when we were giggling during an inappropriate time.
- [62:22]
Ben
But of course we can't be managed.
- [62:24]
Sabrina Merchant
So we decided to start this podcast to continue giggling.
- [62:27]
Ben
We will make fun of pop culture news.
- [62:30]
Sabrina Merchant
We're watching fashion trends pep talks where we give advice, mental health moments and games and guests. Listen to Giggly Squad on Acast or wherever you get your podcasts. Acast helps creators launch, grow and monetize their podcasts everywhere. Acast. Com.