June 2, 2026 • 51 mins
Breanna Stewart is joined by WNBA and NBA analyst Trysta Krick, and from the opening tip, Trysta comes ready to challenge everything.
She presses Stewie on the New York Liberty's slow start to the season, their surprising losses to expansion team Portland Fire, and even revisits the controversial foul call at the end of the 2024 WNBA Finals against the Minnesota Lynx. Stewie doesn't back down, leading to one of the most candid conversations of the season.
The two also dive into the NBA Finals, the WNBA Rookie of the Year race, and the continued impact of Unrivaled. Trysta shares some of her hottest takes, including whether Paige Bueckers and Arike Ogunbowale can thrive together in Dallas, and why she believes WNBA players deserved even more in the league's new CBA.
Plus, Trysta puts her freestyle skills to the test, and Stewie opens up about the biggest challenge of balancing motherhood with life as a WNBA superstar.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Literally I saw the baby bird too. I saw that
whole thing. After we lost not a fan once again.
We also said we weren't going to talk about Portland anymore.
I'm sorry, she just keeps bringing it back up. It
just came back. It's just like, literally, in the back
of her mind, she can only think about Portland, right.
(00:27):
Welcome to the game recognized game with Stullian Miles Andriana Stewart,
and today I'm joined by NBA and WNBA analyst. I
should have said WNBA, an NBA analyst at NBC Sports,
co founder of The Daily w and host of Let
Her Shoot and Heat Checked Trista Creek. Welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah, w NBA.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
First, please say a w I know I'm here as.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Yeah, I know, Peter. Come on, Peter.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
I've been a basketball fan since I was like four,
and I've you know, I grew up in Northern California
and then we moved to Portland when I was six
and the Fire game. Sorry to rub it in, but
the Fire game environment is so much better than a
Blazer game environment. It's like by a magnitude of like
(01:12):
five or ten. I kind of like you guys, the
wide inside of Barclays is not great for the nets.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
No, That's what I was gonna say, is I think
that there's like a level of engagement that's heightened in
w W games compared to NBA games obviously, like when
you have playoffs and you have finals and stuff like that,
And we'll talk about NBA finals in a second, Like
it's gonna be high, high stakes all the time. But
if it's a regular regular season game, like these fans
that come to the w games are invested in every
(01:44):
single thing.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Yeah, that that crowd pop everywhere you go.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
I've never been to a Valkyrie's game at Bahalla, but
I really want to go.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Let me ask you this.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
Sorry to take over, but did you feel do you
feel like Golden State is a lot louder than Moda
at the fire pit?
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Honestly, I don't know. I think that so I think
that Moda. They definitely impressed me because when we started
warming up, and like when we were about to start,
it wasn't full yet, and I was like, all right,
come on, like I want this to be full every
single night, especially for expansion team. But they filled in
(02:28):
and it got loud, like the pop of the game
winner against US Yeah, that really sucked. That really sucked.
But I think compared to Balhalla, it's closed. It's hard.
I'll let you know when I go back to Balhalla
this year.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Basically, yeah, let me know, shoot me a text.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
All right, let's talk about the NBA finals real quick
before we talk all WBA, which is completely fine with me.
The finals are set, it's going to be Spurs versus
the Knicks overall, give me your give me your like
semi analyst perspective, more so fan perspective of what you
think this this final series is going to be.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
Like listen, if the Knicks don't get it now, I
don't know that they're ever gonna get it. I think
Wemby's just coming to the peak of his powers, right.
You look at what he's able to do, and like
thinking about somebody that tall, that long, being able to
eat up that much paint as fast as he can
(03:30):
and really providing really a lot of protection for the guards,
like Steph Castle, you know, like Dylan Harper, you know,
like even Deer and Fox to be ultra aggressive on
the perimeter. I feel like Wemby's only going to get better.
So I like what the Knicks are doing I think
og and Obi grades out as the best or at
(03:52):
least statistically the most productive defender against Victor Webber Yama.
So I'm very much looking forward to seeing that. I
love to see just like game by game adjustments. How
is Mike Brown going to run the offense. We've seen
the Knicks run Karl Anthony Towns as a hub, and
then we've seen you know, the traditional Jalen Brunson running
(04:14):
the offense where you know he's kind of the primary initiator.
So I'm just like really excited to see close games.
I was really disappointed in Oka See and San Antonio
having a seven game series and we only got one
very very exciting game.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
I know, it was pretty intense. I will say, like
last night watching the game seven, Spurs just wanted it more.
You know, they look like they have this team that
is really young. They've they've kind of built it back
from the ground up there they've gone through the trenches
together and really excited for each person like individually, Like
(04:53):
I know, I keep thinking about Harper, like holding Castle
to make sure that he doesn't go after Caruso when
he call for that that open profile and things like that,
and I don't know, it's gonna be tough. I'm really
interested to see how the Knicks are going to match
up with the Spurs. Also, like Mitchell Robinson, he's out
(05:13):
right because he broke his pinky or whatever.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
That's another they said he's gonna play.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
He's gonna try to play. Starting game one, he said
his left or his right pinky. Well, I mean you
see him, you see him shooting. I don't know that.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Maybe it's gonna be.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Listen, maybe he'll go lefty. I think it's his shooting hand.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Though it can only get better. It literally can only
get better, so it might work.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Oh, Mitch, No, Yeah, it's gonna be really interesting to see,
especially I don't know, how do you feel about Wemby
and him being somewhat of like a like a Dawn
or like this villain where he's sending out Mason Plumbing
and uh, you know the rest of the crew to
(06:04):
like be hey, like go hit them hard.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Mm hmm. I mean this is a series like listen,
if you're out of the game, obviously don't want to
do anything malicious, but you want to make sure that
the other team kind of feels you. So I think
that that that shows everybody else about the highs and
the lows of the series, but like not only the
physical aspect, but but the mental side of things of like,
you know, they know that when these players are going
(06:29):
to come in, they're gonna get like ran through on
screens or they're gonna get that extra bump or that
extra nudge, and it's it's playoff basketball. Like I think
that that's what what's most interesting to me is to
see the level of physicality that's being allowed for guards,
like fighting through screens or you know, disrupting cutters and
stuff like that, and I think it's good. It's it's
(06:51):
good to be able to play through.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
A lot of it is that your style. Are you
the I'm gonna go sit on the bench and tell
somebody to go knock them down?
Speaker 1 (06:59):
Kind of the No, I don't really. I don't think
I'm that type of player. Maybe if I was mad.
But it's kind of like if someone does, if someone
has like a nasty or really hard foul, like a
flagrant foul, you know that you're gonna like set a
good screen on them the next time to like let
(07:20):
them know. I feel like I remember that when I
was in Seattle, if somebody like laid Sue out, then
it's like, all right, next play, you're gonna make them
remember not to do that again to Sue.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Gotta protect Sue at all costs, period.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Gotta protect Sue. Okay, real quick, I want to know.
There's so many things we can talk about about this
NBA Finals predictions, predictions and who's gonna be like the
dark horse, and is it gonna go to game seven
or how many games you think?
Speaker 3 (07:52):
I think it's Spurs in six, and I think, oh,
I think we get a really good Devin Vassell game.
Devin Vassell has changed everything about himself. You know, he's
always been a bucket, but defensively he's become really like
(08:12):
a lockdown.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
On ball defender.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
He's changed a lot about the way that he takes
care of his body. And so I think you're gonna
get one of those role players. I think it'll be him,
but I would also wouldn't be surprised if it was
like a Keldon Johnson. You know, you see those, and
I think we're gonna get a Josh Hart game. The
I call him the New York Alex Cruso. I think
we'll get one of those five to three performances where
(08:36):
the Spurs leave him open and he's not gonna do
it all the time, but I think he'll have a
huge game as well. He did that, you know, last
year in the playoffs also, so yeah, he's he's one
of those guys that just shows up when a team
disrespects him and is somewhat like, just let him shoot
and we'll see how the chips fall.
Speaker 4 (08:56):
Mm hmmm.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
And Finals, MVP, you got to have Limby, right.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Gotta have Wimby. You can't give it to anybody else.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
What do you think. I think it's gonna be Nicks
and seven. I gotta go with the Knicks. I'm gonna
go with the home team. Like look at my sweatshirt
right now says New York or nowhere. But listen, the
Knicks are not gonna lose a series on their home
court in the finals. Like that's not happening. So I
(09:26):
gotta say Nicks and seven. My my X factor is
gonna be Michael Bridges because he basically brought them back
in that game. Obviously Landry two in Game one when
they both started like cashing out in those threes, that
was really really crucial to win that first game because
(09:47):
it really deflated the Caps for the entire rest of
the series and MVP Brunson.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
I was gonna ask you about that game, do you
feel like, because it's easy for people who are not
pro athletes to psycho analyze and say that loss just
broke Cleveland, like emotionally, spiritually, do you think that's right
(10:19):
or do you think that's just us on the outside
over simplifying it.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
I think it broke them. I think that like, you're up.
You were up like twenty, you were up like a
lot like And also for those that don't know, like,
as a player, you do not want to be in
that position. You don't feel comfortable up twenty because once
(10:46):
a team gets hot and they hit like three three
threes in a row, it's a twelve point game, and
it's like you're just like tight, You're just like all right,
I don't want to like I don't want to lose it.
I don't want to let go, like I'm afraid to
kind of mess up. And you could see the Calves
were struggling to have that that flow and that just
like regular function that they were having for basically the
(11:08):
first three quarters of that game. But yeah, Once they
lost that one, they weren't winning the next one at MSG,
and it was basically like Game three. If they didn't
win Game three, it was overs reps.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Yeah, it was that one was it was tough. I
remember watching.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
I Forget who you guys were playing when you were
in Seattle and there was like a last second shot
to send it to overtime Vegas and the playoffs, Yeah, Vegas,
and it was it felt like something not the same
but like that same man shit, and then you go
to overtime and it's like, how do we get the
(11:51):
momentum back? How do we still pull ourselves out emotionally
from that?
Speaker 1 (11:57):
It's like the opposite of the crowd pop.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Yeah, it's like a crowdyplate, just.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
Like, fuck, what am I supposed to do now? Yeah?
I don't. That's like that is like one of my
worst memories. Like if I could forget that game altogether,
I would sue hit Sue hit a corner three to
like basically put us up. And then Jackie had a
slips the basket gotta lay up to send it to overtime,
(12:25):
and then that was it. It was just done.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
Damn Jackie. I'm alway Jacky She's always so clutch. I mean,
Sue's obviously so clutch. But man, yeah, that's is that
a core memory? Like, is is that like the worst
losing memory for you?
Speaker 1 (12:46):
It was. It was one of the worst losing memories
because Sue was done, like she retired, she was done
after that, So that was like her literally last game,
and like I remember like trying to do it her,
you know, trying to win for her, trying to get
to the finals for her and coming up short really sucked.
Also losing to the losing to Vegas in the finals
(13:09):
my first year in New York. Like also core memory.
I think anytime you lose, it's it's a core memory
in the loss department.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Do you.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
Do you think that that call that sent you to
the free throw line against Minnesota do you think that
was like a legit call or do you think it was?
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Of course, girl, this is my podcast. You want to
ask me if I didn't think it was a legit call. Yes,
I do think it was a legit called block. Do
you think it was a legit call?
Speaker 2 (13:43):
It's well, I mean there was I I saw it.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
No, well, there was definitely contact. But listen, let me
tell you whether it was called or not, which it was?
Those free throws. Like we talk about Barclays being loud, quietest,
I've ever felt Barclays like you saw the pictures.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Yeah, I was right.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
I was that same side of the court as you
were shooting free throws. So I had a good I
had a good eye on the call. And then obviously
Kathy had the New York dress on.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
That wasn't a good look either.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
You sound like a Minnesota Lynx fan.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
I'm not. No, I'm not not. I'm just I'm just
calling it straight. I'm just going strikes.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
Listen, listen, nobody. Nobody knows why Kathy was wearing that.
She lives in New York. I don't know the offices
in New York. I have no idea why she decided
that was the day to wear that. But nah, that
was insane. The whole thing was insane.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Yeah, it was. It was. It was an awesome series
to watch.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
It was an awesome series, but I will tell you this,
it was an exhausting series. And there wasn't enough time
in between games because the basketball, the quality of basketball
went down game after game because it was such a
quick turnaround. And that's something that we fought for in
the CBA is making sure that we have appropriate amount
of times in between playoff games, because sometimes with the
season you can't always have it. But in the playoffs,
(15:23):
for sure, it's like when you travel you should have
two days between and when your home, when you stay
in one place, you have one day because moments like that.
We just played Game four in Minnesota, we had to
travel and then the next day we played and it
was just nuts, like everybody was tired. All right, So
we're we're already in the swing of it for the
w BA talk. But who's your who's your who's your
(15:47):
biggest surprise of the year so far? Which team Portland
or not?
Speaker 3 (15:52):
As it's gotta be Portland right their their win total
was eleven and a half and they are aready have
six wins and it's not even junior.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
What does that mean win total?
Speaker 3 (16:05):
So like they like the people who make the odds, right,
they say that they believe that Portland will either win
eleven games or they'll win twelve games. So they set
it right at in the middle, right, okay, And so
a good season is probably that they thought. They put
them right there with the Connecticut son So They're both
(16:27):
sitting there at like eleven twelve wins on the year,
and now they already have half of those expected wins,
like a few weeks into the season.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
Is crazy. I didn't think they were going to be
any good myself.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
So do you think that they're going to keep it up?
Speaker 2 (16:43):
Yeah? I do.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
I think they are just because of the way that
Alex Sarama coaches. And I want to get your thoughts
on this exact thing, because I feel like it's one
thing to say it, and then it's another to hear
from somebody who's done it for as long at as
peak of a level.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
As you have.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
I think the key piece for this team to continue
to perform is intensity. That he was talking about that
their sprint speed is the highest in the league. You know,
their deceleration speed is the highest, and so those intensity
metrics are so high. I think they're number one in
forced turnovers per game, number one and steals per one
hundred possessions per game. And my biggest question mark is like,
(17:26):
are they going to burn the fuck out?
Speaker 1 (17:32):
I don't know. I'm not the statistician behind that, but
I don't think so because I think the way honestly
he rotates them pretty well. I don't think like most
of them aren't playing over thirty minutes a game and
they're like bought in. It's almost like all these players
that they have there have been given a second chance,
(17:54):
like a second opportunity at a WNBA career, like a
fresh start a little bit, and they're really kind of
making the most out of that.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
Yeah, I thought the way that Megan Gustafson has sort
of emerged. I saw her play in the building against Indiana.
Not only like was she able to just really catch
in all angles, short role, long roll. She took the
task of being up Aliah Boston, which is not an
(18:24):
easy task, especially when you know Aliyah's you know, using
her physicality to her advantage, and she gets the start.
I think that was her first start of the year,
and she's eight for eight from the field, so that
efficiency is there. She started a tear up during the
postgame presser, saying that nobody has ever believed in her before.
You look at Emily Angsler, who I think is leading
(18:47):
the league right now in blocks and his top three
in steals at six point one, just insane. What she's
been able to do her and Sophie Conneham going back
and forth. She's got that, you know, she's got that
New York state of mind. You know what it is like,
New York, New Jersey tough, no one can you know.
They're not going to back down for anybody. So yeah,
I feel like there are Carla as well. I feel
(19:08):
like Carla being left off of being protected from two
teams and expansion drafts is fucking crazy.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
Gets the twelve assists.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
I think that was her career high against the Fever. Yeah,
there's a bunch of players that that I feel like
they thought they were slept on and they're being utilized
to the to the maximum.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
All right, So we're just going to continue to pay
attention to Portland, but we're not going to talk about
them anymore because I plan the Liberty and we're going
to talk about some other team. Okay, Trista, Yeah, I'm
happy to do that.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
I think we should focus on y'all. What's going on
with y'all.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Yeah, honestly, listen, I haven't done a podcast since we
lost three games in a row. That was rough.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
Rough.
Speaker 3 (19:55):
I'm willing to say that it's just folks getting back
into this swing. Sabrina getting back into this swing saw
to You've got still folks coming over from the international side,
you got a brand new coach.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
I really like CD.
Speaker 3 (20:12):
I still I'm not willing to throw any dirt on
the New York Liberty. I did that on the Las
Vegas Aces last year and I looked really silly.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
The top the top tier teams in the league.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
I'm going to just hold all my judgment for but
it is looking a little sus.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
Yeah, listen, I definitely agree.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
What what do you what do you guys need to
do well?
Speaker 1 (20:36):
I think they're like, I'm not here to make excuses.
It's there's no way we should have lost three games
in a row. That's that's something where it's like you
lose one, you want to come back and win, like
you don't want to lose two in a row, and
you don't want to lose three in a row, especially
at home, Like that's unheard of, that Barclays. So I
definitely felt for our fans because they didn't deserve that,
(20:58):
but also knowing that this is going to take a
little bit of time and patience, knowing that we were
we are still getting our lineups back, We're still like,
you know, gonna hopefully get Sad back soon and really
like fully integrate everybody. But this learning curve needs to
be learned a little bit faster. That's that's what I
was feeling. And I think over the past two games
(21:20):
against Phoenix, like we definitely picked up our defensive intensity
and realizing that if we don't like kind of get
up and get into people's shit defensively, we're not going
to flow and score the ball as easily as we
want on offense. Because if you're going to just play
half court basketball, it's it's really tough when they load up,
they sent two and you know, you're just trying to
(21:41):
find the next open shot within probably less than fourteen
seconds on the shot clock.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
Yeah, you guys some bright spots. Though I think I
call her nasty a. It's has been just an absolute
delight to watch. Obviously, has it feels like Marine's going
to another level? Is it just me or does it
feel like she's sort of taking on maybe maybe more
of a scoring load.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
Marine is definitely kind of embracing her her role and
her opportunity and just being confident. I think that you know,
we all know that she's an incredibly dynamic scorer, but
going out and doing it. And the biggest part about
it is like even when she has tough nights, right,
she has an off night, she bounces back. It doesn't
(22:29):
turn to like three four like tough tough games. She
she course corrects really really quickly. And Pauline like Pauline is.
I knew who she was. I knew she was like
a bigger point guard, but was really excited to kind
of get her here and and see her not only
offensive IQ, but but just the way that she's like
(22:50):
ruthless and relentless defensively, like she's a sponge she's learning
every single day and nasty air. I'm gonna, I think,
I think I need to. I'm gonna take that from
you and bring it to the team and see how
she likes it.
Speaker 3 (23:03):
I can't I can't wait to. I can't wait to
hear back how she's feeling about it. I also was
a part of coining Carla late as baby birds, so
maybe I'm just gonna give nicknames out to the all
the French players.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Literally I saw the baby bird too. I saw that
whole thing. After we lost not a fan once again,
we also said we weren't gonna talk about Portland anymore.
I'm sorry, she just keeps bringing it, just keeps coming back.
It's just like literally in the back of her mind
she can only think about Portland right now.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
I'm sorry. I mean, we can just keep going.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
I just was I just was remembering this step back.
I think it was on you, wasn't it.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
Mm hmmm. I'm like, Peter, we might have to cut short,
like all right, I have I actually do have one
more question. So there's a lot of like top players,
Top Roe, he's playing right now, Pauline on my team obviously,
I'm biased as is hopefully going to get that starting
(24:06):
nod for the rest of her career. And Olivia Miles
with Minnesota like right now the way too early race
for Rookie of the Year, Like, who do you got?
Speaker 3 (24:18):
I think I have to go Olivia Miles. I know
it sounds like I'm a Minnesota Linx fan again, but
I'm not. I think she just looks like a vet
staying staying one more year in college, going to TCU.
I feel like that offense was ready made for her,
Like she's her court vision is unreal, and her ability
(24:40):
to get downhill and score the basketball, she's get off
the dribble, just vary in control. I think more and
more I think she'll be able to become a better
defender as well. In Cheryl's scheme, I think it's just
to lose as many players as they have and for
her to come in without a FISA and still be
a defensive juggernaut and her be it I think middle
(25:04):
of the road to negative defender, and she's figured it
out really fast. And when it comes to awards and
us dumb, I don't vote, but like I think we're
all somewhat like there were fans, journalists. You're watching the
game not from the level of what you can see,
but those highlight.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
Moments are super important.
Speaker 3 (25:23):
You need something to get people excited, and she has
she has that, like I think Aisy if Asy continues
at this clip in the way that she's been playing
the last couple of games, she's absolutely right there. She
I just don't know how many of those highlight moments
that she's going to have. Same thing with Kicky Rice.
(25:45):
They're the type of players that help you win championships.
And I'm not saying the Olivia Miles is not that,
but Olivia Miles has a shitload of flash as well.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
I agree, I like, I mean, I like them all,
but but I think Miles she plays with like a
She's very poised, she's very composed. Like her her pace
is like top notch. You know, she knows when to
go slow, but then she knows when to like really
accelerate and try to get downhill and she does this
like one arm layup type thing. So I think that, uh,
(26:16):
she's she's really settling in in Minnesota and the confidence
behind it, like you see it growing every single game,
and just knowing that she's getting more and more comfortable
with her teammates around her and Minnesota, like you know,
they're continuing to kind of beat everybody's expectations. I think
that people kind of wrote them off early and they
(26:37):
came together and it seems like, you know, they're using
it as fuel, and I think right now they're like
one of the top teams in the league. I think,
right now, Yeah, you're right.
Speaker 3 (26:47):
And I wanted to ask you about players that you
ended up leaving and going to new teams found new homes.
Do you when you look at a player like Alana
Smith and we've seen like just her struggle, and I
don't really know why. I can't tell whether that's just
(27:10):
the injury or the mask. Some people that I ask
around the league say that some of it has to
do with just like you're not playing for Cheryl anymore,
and Cheryl really puts you in the best position, and
now Alanta has to, you know, defend the best player
on the on the other side, where she was kind
of a help defender in Minnesota. Like, what do you
see when you when you look at someone leaving Cheryl
(27:30):
Reef's system, Is it surprising to you, like this sort
of decline in production or you think she'll figure it
out or what.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
I mean? I really liked Land. She was She's my misty,
my unrival teammate, and I I wasn't sure how it
was going to go because you know, we've always been
competing against each other, but we had a good time together.
I will say, like, uh, I think that Lanta is
is just waiting to get more and more comfortable within
the system. You know, having years of Minnesota under her
belt and then going to a new place. It takes time,
(28:02):
and it takes time for a player like her to
know exactly where she's going to get her spots and
building that chemistry with your teammates. And I think also
the mask, the mask seems seems tough, Like we played
against her and it's like you can't you can't see
here right, like you only see straight ahead. So I think, like,
(28:24):
let's do a little check in. Let's do a little
check in halfway through the season on all the players
that kind of went to new homes. I think that
while money talks, you know, uh, there's also some stuff
that you have to like you got to figure out
because you're now like the it player, the top player,
like the highest paid player in a lot of these places,
(28:46):
and to get that money, like people want to see you,
you produce thousand percent.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
Agree, I forgot that you were a part of another
controversial title.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
I forgot about that.
Speaker 3 (28:59):
I was also the building on the same side of
your free throws to that one as well.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
Was foul. That was foul? For real? She went like
this to me.
Speaker 2 (29:11):
That was it. That wasn't foul. So you were saying
the other one was like more sus.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
No, they were both files. I'm not a ref, I'm
not here to do the ref's job. They just they
just called files And I shoot the free toes. I
will say, like Peter, Peter, Peter, We're gonna I'm Lindsay.
Lindsay's in trouble after this. I will say, like one
of the struggles, one of the struggles that Unrivaled is Okay,
(29:40):
you don't want the game to end on a free throw,
but what do you do because then teams will.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
Just foul maybe take points away from the other team.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
Yeah, we we talked about that of like if you foul,
if you foul two times in a row, it's a
free throw, you know what I mean, in the same possession.
But then they also talked about like making the target
score one more, giving the team a point, and also
(30:12):
making the target score one more because it's like, yeah,
that's people will try to like outsmart the game a
little bit here.
Speaker 3 (30:21):
Yeah, you guys are savants, man, You guys are gonna
do whatever you can to win and game the system.
That was a crazy sequence though, That whole last couple
of minutes was absolutely absurd.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
Yeah, in a great number mm hmm. Now, Unrivaled this
year like the style, the style and the way people
were playing. They definitely got accustomed to it. From year
once a year two like they people understood their spots,
understood how to play the game, like we weren't running
all over the place like with chickens with our heads
cut off type shit, and really using all six players
(30:54):
on each team.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
You guys coming out West this next year.
Speaker 1 (30:59):
At all, I don't know. I can't tell you.
Speaker 4 (31:02):
You'll break it.
Speaker 3 (31:03):
I'll get it on the internet like everybody else. Look
at me trying to break.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
Period on your good. All right, I'm gonna do it.
We're gonna do a quick break and then we're gonna
we're gonna go into me. Ask you questions. Okay, okay,
Please rate reviews, Subscribe to Game Recognized Game with Stuie
and Miles wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back to
(31:37):
Game Recognized Game. It's Stuey in Miles Trista. You're from
this city that starts with a P and I'm not
saying it anymore because I don't want to talk about it.
And this city loves basketball. What is your background in basketball?
Speaker 3 (31:52):
So my mom got me in to the Blazers when
I was like four or five, and that was in
the early nineties, and so I was a huge Clyde
Drexler fan that was like my favorite player. And we
moved back to Portland when I was like six or seven,
(32:13):
and that's when I really ended up playing a lot
of like I guess you could call it more organized
than it was in the country of northern California, where
it was just like dirt roads and a.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
Ball and no hoop.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
So I started playing then I was like real small,
probably like I don't think I got over four to
ten until I was at freshman in high school. Had
large aspirations of playing in the W never got taller
than five to five.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
That was just a very disappointing development genetically.
Speaker 3 (32:44):
But yeah, I think like watching the W, watching you know,
the NBA, or we liked to friendly you know, playfully
called the MMBA just really like plus the feeling of
community and like having a team and you know, doing
all the things that you do when you're on a
basketball team. I grew up in like this area of
(33:05):
Portland where I was, you know, the only one of
the only white kids, and so we I went to
a high school that we would put grills on before
we go out to the school and the suburbs try
to scare the suburban kids. I was twisted up all
the way through high school and so yeah, I mean
basketball has been in my blood and you know, in
(33:25):
my heart and soul from the time my mom got
me interested in it. And then when I I ended
up going into finance right out of college for like
five years and hated every second of you know, putting
on the button ups and the heels and the like,
you know, stretchy, you know, a line skirts, none of that.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
Yeah, we don't.
Speaker 1 (33:46):
We're not listen.
Speaker 3 (33:47):
I'm trying to come in slides or you know, some
Air Force ones or's some Jordan ones. And they were
not obviously were not feeling that. So I ended up
transitioning into media after five years of finance and then
you know, trying to find my way and then, as
you can tell, I'm trying to make people laugh, and
(34:08):
so that became the niche of how I make content
and how you know, I differentiate myself. No one, including Stewie,
is safe period.
Speaker 1 (34:18):
I'm not safe on my own show, which is fucking crazy.
But yeah, I mean it makes sense, like being five
to five is definitely not going to get you very
far as a professional basketball player, but at least like
for the love of the game, it never You never
lost it too much. You just had to go crunch
some numbers for a second, and then you came back.
That's why I was going to ask you. It's like,
(34:40):
that's right, what made you want to come back? But
it seemed like you just never lost it. You never
lost that love. You were just always missing it.
Speaker 3 (34:47):
Yeah, And I all the people who I would meet that,
people who didn't even know me, They're like, this is
not the right field for you. You are losing your
shit watching this sporting event. That's sporting event, Like you
should be more in that space. And so it was,
you know, from the mouth of strangers and friends, that's
sort of like, you know what, maybe I could make
(35:09):
a living doing this. And I think when you come
from you know, not a lot of money, you're trying
to find the best way to get security financially as
fast as you as fast as you can or at
least like not be in the hole, right, and so
finance just seems like the easiest way to go, right. So, yeah,
(35:30):
I never lost it, but I just had to try
to find my way into a path that I could
actually like make a living doing.
Speaker 1 (35:38):
What was like something that you learned the hard way
about being in a business, like being in this type
of business.
Speaker 4 (35:45):
That's a good question.
Speaker 2 (35:48):
You can't be anyone but yourself.
Speaker 3 (35:51):
You really have to lean into what especially if you're
going to be a like a quote unquote content creator
or a talent who speaks for a living, and you
have to do it in the way that's natural for you.
Me and you kind of have like similar tonality in
how we speak, right, but you hoop and you're a
(36:12):
multiple MVP.
Speaker 2 (36:14):
I was out in.
Speaker 3 (36:16):
The middle of like corporate America and then trying to
make my way into media, and so I tried to
change the way that I sounded to sort of like
I guess Corporate America code switch, you know, and that
shit did not get me anywhere. Everything was awkward, everything
was uncomfortable. I was trying to be you know, Michelle
(36:38):
Tafoya or you know, Aaron Andrews or whoever, and like
it was leaning into my hip hop background, you know.
I was like a little rapper going up and.
Speaker 1 (36:49):
And then you were in a pencil skirt.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
Into basketball and those things, and then I was in
a pencil skirt.
Speaker 3 (36:54):
Yeah, from corn Rows to like baby baby doll bangs,
which like it's a commitment for baby doll bangs.
Speaker 2 (37:02):
Is that's but yeah, no cleaning into.
Speaker 3 (37:07):
Yeah, yeah, but yeah, I think learning learning that was
a huge lesson because that I was just never going
to go anywhere. I was never going to be able
to have any fun, probably not going to be able
to differentiate myself, and it was it was stiff and awkward.
I think also, like knowing your ship and preparing, I
(37:28):
don't think I had to learn that the hard way,
But it's a lot easier to be comfortable in yourself
when like I don't need to cram, I don't need
to have like a shitload of notes to have, you know,
a conversation about the w with you. It's all inside.
It's all based on what's in my head and what's
in my heart, and everything comes out so much better
for a fan when they know that it's like authentically real.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
Okay, So, what's one take on women's sport that you'll
never walk back?
Speaker 4 (37:56):
Oh, what's one take about women's sports that I'll never
walk back? That Rique and Page will never work together
at a high level.
Speaker 1 (38:10):
Dang, that's crazy.
Speaker 3 (38:14):
No comment, you don't have to comment, that's just that's
what was the hot take?
Speaker 2 (38:20):
That I've had.
Speaker 3 (38:22):
For twelve months, really, and that's nothing. I love Arique's game.
I love pages game. They both want the ball in their.
Speaker 1 (38:31):
Hands because they're both shooting guards. Is that what you're saying, essentially,
like because they're.
Speaker 3 (38:36):
Both Yeah, I think like Arikae has never been like
the most efficient player from deep I would certainly love
to see her more in the paint and cutting a
lot more off ball movement. I just it's kind of
like James Harden for me, where James Harden could be
an awesome player playing off ball, he just never will.
(38:57):
That's just not his game. And there's another team. I
think that Arika can do all the things that James
Harden does and have a team on her back. But
that's just that's the That's the hottest take that I've
had that has gotten people mad. And then you know,
you you add asy to the mix, and that just
changes how everything is going to work rotation wise.
Speaker 1 (39:18):
Yeah, I see, I see why people don't like that take. Well,
we're just gonna still find out. We're gonna we're gonna
find out how far that goes.
Speaker 2 (39:26):
Is it a crazy take? You hate the take?
Speaker 1 (39:31):
No? I don't think it's crazy. But I also I
don't think like I'm not like ten Toe's down with
you about it either. I think that Paige and every
care are both like really good players, and if you're
a great player, you can you can play with other
great players like you can make it work. So I
think that they can definitely make it work.
Speaker 3 (39:52):
Just got to take time and we'll see. We'll see
how Jose makes it work, because it's a lot of
times it's that as well, like how how everything meshes together.
Speaker 1 (40:02):
Okay, what's a take that you have that players might
not like?
Speaker 4 (40:08):
What's a take that I have that players don't like?
Speaker 1 (40:14):
I stumped her.
Speaker 3 (40:15):
I think there's mostly the takes that I have that
players won't like. Our individual takes, not league wide takes.
Speaker 2 (40:26):
I'm I'm like truth to power.
Speaker 3 (40:28):
I want y'all to as much bread as you can
possibly get, Like I want you guys to have housing.
Speaker 2 (40:33):
I think truthfully, you're underpaid.
Speaker 3 (40:35):
Maybe the take that players won't like is that I
think you should have held out for more.
Speaker 2 (40:40):
I think you guys could have gotten more.
Speaker 3 (40:41):
I think the percentage that the percentage deal of revenue
split that the players got is it's just not good
enough and I'm sure the players do like that, but
when everybody was celebrating it, I wanted more for y'all.
Speaker 1 (40:57):
I mean, listen, we got twenty percent of which is insane.
So while I think that potentially we could have gotten more,
I think that this is an incredible like starting point
for us for actually getting more when we negotiate the
next CBA, because those those negotiations were not easy. And
(41:19):
I'm happy that we got it done.
Speaker 3 (41:21):
No, no, yeah, me too, And I think we're all
happy that basketball is happening too, right, Like there's steps.
Speaker 2 (41:28):
To this, but that's probably because I'm I'm with y'all,
like I'm.
Speaker 3 (41:35):
My takes are mostly takes the team owners and GMS
and coaches won't like more than the players won't like.
Speaker 1 (41:44):
I like that all right, Time for one more break.
Next up, we give Trista a chance to turn the
tables and ask me some questions, even though she already
asked me questions, so I'm not sure how many more
questions we're gonna ask you. Welcome back to the game.
(42:12):
Recognized game is Stuian Miles, and time to get a
little personal. Trista. Well, this isn't really personal. It's still
about your job. What's something about your job that drives
you crazy?
Speaker 4 (42:23):
Ooh? What drives me crazy?
Speaker 3 (42:27):
When PR people are on some bullshit and it's like,
you know, I'm coming to every game and yet you
still keep giving me the game by game credential. It's like, Bam,
what are we doing here? I don't like that. That
drives me nuts.
Speaker 1 (42:41):
That must be about the fire.
Speaker 3 (42:45):
No, I go to a bunch of different games, you know,
let them know, let them know what else drives me crazy?
Speaker 2 (42:56):
You know?
Speaker 3 (42:57):
I think probably the thing that is is really hard
is being good at a bunch of different sports and
prepared all the time. Like what drove me crazy was
sitting there for fire Fever and it's at the exact
same time as the Western Conference Finals game seven, and
I had to choose, like that shit drives me crazy, Like,
(43:20):
don't do that, that's that's horrible.
Speaker 2 (43:23):
Don't pit us against one.
Speaker 1 (43:24):
Another, talk to the networks. That's crazy, made no sense, crazy.
Speaker 2 (43:28):
Made no sense. And I think they do that way
too much.
Speaker 3 (43:31):
They did that actually during the WNBA finals as well,
Like I think there was other games going on in
another sport and I forget what was going on, and
it was like Why why aren't you just putting the
WNBA on its own slot, on its own day like
it deserves.
Speaker 2 (43:47):
Why is it competing with other things?
Speaker 1 (43:49):
Yeah? I agree, I agree with you. Okay, aside from
your job, I heard you are very into gardening home improvement.
Speaker 3 (44:01):
I just so today Actually I'm in a little bit
of trouble because I moved back to Portland to you know,
help with some stuff with my mom, and so her
and I are creating a garden together. And there was
a specific list of things that I was supposed to
get at the nursery, and I was actually like planning
(44:22):
my whole day around what time this recording was.
Speaker 2 (44:24):
And so I was like, Okay, we're gonna go to
the nursery.
Speaker 3 (44:26):
And then I got more things than we had agreed
to getting, and she doesn't have the soil or the pots,
and I ended up bringing home a tie basil.
Speaker 2 (44:37):
I end up bringing home a tie chili. Am I
am I cooking Tai food? No? I'm not, But do
I want to test it out? Absolutely?
Speaker 3 (44:45):
Who doesn't want to make a little sweet chili basil
pad tie on the side. I added like a red
pepper that I thought would be nice. I added two
extra tomato plants, an extra green bean that I wasn't
supposed to get. So now I come back home and
she's like, were you listening at all to the list
that we made? Because I don't have any place to
(45:07):
put this.
Speaker 1 (45:09):
So now what happens? Like where does the tie chili go?
Speaker 2 (45:13):
That's we're in the middle of the debate right now.
Speaker 3 (45:15):
I mean, as soon as I jump off this this podcast,
that's that's maybe I'm gonna have to go and get
some more pots, maybe some more soil, who knows.
Speaker 2 (45:23):
But the tie basil stays.
Speaker 1 (45:27):
Well, you know what, after this show, no matter what,
I'm on your mom's side, regardless, like regardless, I feel.
Speaker 2 (45:33):
Like I'll let her know. Hey facts, she's she's more
savage than me.
Speaker 1 (45:41):
Though maybe maybe. Okay, you also have a history with music.
How has music impacted your life? And also, are you
gonna like spit some bars right now?
Speaker 4 (45:54):
No, not gonna spin any bars for you.
Speaker 1 (45:57):
I heard that's what you do. Come on, give me
like a little rhyme.
Speaker 3 (46:02):
I have.
Speaker 4 (46:04):
A little rhyme.
Speaker 1 (46:05):
Yeah, come on something, see spice it up in here.
Speaker 3 (46:09):
Okay, all right, I've already I've already done this one
before but we're just gonna do it because it's the
only thing off the top of my head.
Speaker 2 (46:17):
Last chance on the mic to prove that I got heat.
Speaker 3 (46:20):
My style's discretle con you like crete metal, blow your
mind that you ain't heard before, like the Yankees lineup
when the salary's low. Call me four wheel drive because
I'm all terrain. I got many different ways to wrap
about the same thing.
Speaker 2 (46:33):
It's not a hoax.
Speaker 3 (46:34):
My approach is different from the few white folks that
broke through the business. Move break the rule breaker catches
in the newspaper, cousin attention like a new leaker.
Speaker 1 (46:44):
That's it. I like that, Thank you.
Speaker 2 (46:49):
I was trying to work in some trolling of the
liberty or you.
Speaker 3 (46:53):
It was just I knew it was gonna crash and burn,
and you're gonna like probably clip it and it would
have been horrible.
Speaker 2 (46:59):
So we just we stayed away from him.
Speaker 1 (47:01):
Yeah, yeah, whatever, I could use this ammal, I'm definitely
using for.
Speaker 2 (47:04):
Sure, no doubt, no doubt.
Speaker 1 (47:09):
All right, last question, do you have a question for me?
Speaker 2 (47:13):
Yes, it's not basketball related. What is the most surprising
part of.
Speaker 3 (47:25):
Motherhood and playing at the level that you play as
a professional athlete where you're traveling.
Speaker 1 (47:33):
Yeah, the most surprising part is that I have mom guilt.
You know. I think that I try to do whatever
I can to always be with my kids, but sometimes
when I'm gone or we're like on a long road
trip or a West coast swing, it's like you miss
moments like I'm gonna miss Ruby's graduation from her school
(47:56):
when she's gonna go to kindergarten next year, so like, uh,
just that kind of thing you can't get back. But
also like really, I think I shout out Marta a
lot on this pod, but I wouldn't be able to
do it without her, just just knowing that she's like
really holding down the fort while I'm gone. And short
short story, but today I had to bring Taoe to
(48:19):
practice because our nanny isn't working today. And Ruby got
invited to a birthday party that said that no siblings
were allowed, which is weird. So me and Tayl were
just like holding it down in practice and he was
helping me in the weight room and on the court
and all the things. So the mommy never stops, Like
I don't. I don't like to bring my kids to
(48:40):
practice because it's hard for me to like focus completely
on my job. But when you gotta do it, you
gotta do it. And today was one of those days
where we had to do it.
Speaker 2 (48:51):
That's dope.
Speaker 3 (48:51):
I always think about that as I've gotten older, I
think about that balance and how impressive it is for
women who are badass doing everything in their job at
a super high level and then managing that with what
is a full time job as well. Like I was
listening to the pod with you and Marta on it,
and I was just like, man, that's it's incredible.
Speaker 2 (49:15):
I don't know how you balance it all.
Speaker 1 (49:17):
Yeah, me neither, honestly, me neither. It's just like you
just do it. You just don't think about it. You
just do.
Speaker 2 (49:23):
Did you think you would have YOP before you had kids?
You had no idea?
Speaker 1 (49:31):
I think that, yes, But you didn't really think about
it that much, you know what I mean, Like until
Ruby was born and then like she went to the
er because she had a fever and I couldn't be
there because I had to be home for and like
sleep because I had a game the next morning. Like
things like that. You're like you want to make sure
(49:53):
your kid is okay, Like you want to be like
really kind of focused and locked in on that. So
it it's harder now because Ruby she understands that I'm leaving,
and she's like, well, why are you going? And why
can't I come with you? And I want to be
there and like when are you coming back? And trying
(50:13):
to explain that to a four and a two year
old is never usually easy. But they like that. They
like the mom who plays basketball. So that's what I
kind of like think about in the back of the
day is they're supporting me just as much as everyone
else is to keep doing this.
Speaker 3 (50:30):
Yeah, that's a beautiful story. Heart rangching too.
Speaker 1 (50:35):
All right, Trista, thank you so much for checking us out.
Thank you for coming on the show. Please rate, review,
and subscribe to game recognized game. We'll see you next
time and I'm going to get you a stew your cat.
I don't know if we come back to Portland. We
definitely don't, but I want to go wear it in
the Milk Center for these Thanks
Literally I saw the baby bird too. I saw that
whole thing. After we lost not a fan once again.
We also said we weren't going to talk about Portland anymore.
I'm sorry, she just keeps bringing it back up. It
just came back. It's just like, literally, in the back
of her mind, she can only think about Portland, right.
(00:27):
Welcome to the game recognized game with Stullian Miles Andriana Stewart,
and today I'm joined by NBA and WNBA analyst. I
should have said WNBA, an NBA analyst at NBC Sports,
co founder of The Daily w and host of Let
Her Shoot and Heat Checked Trista Creek. Welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah, w NBA.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
First, please say a w I know I'm here as.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Yeah, I know, Peter. Come on, Peter.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
I've been a basketball fan since I was like four,
and I've you know, I grew up in Northern California
and then we moved to Portland when I was six
and the Fire game. Sorry to rub it in, but
the Fire game environment is so much better than a
Blazer game environment. It's like by a magnitude of like
(01:12):
five or ten. I kind of like you guys, the
wide inside of Barclays is not great for the nets.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
No, That's what I was gonna say, is I think
that there's like a level of engagement that's heightened in
w W games compared to NBA games obviously, like when
you have playoffs and you have finals and stuff like that,
And we'll talk about NBA finals in a second, Like
it's gonna be high, high stakes all the time. But
if it's a regular regular season game, like these fans
that come to the w games are invested in every
(01:44):
single thing.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Yeah, that that crowd pop everywhere you go.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
I've never been to a Valkyrie's game at Bahalla, but
I really want to go.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Let me ask you this.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
Sorry to take over, but did you feel do you
feel like Golden State is a lot louder than Moda
at the fire pit?
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Honestly, I don't know. I think that so I think
that Moda. They definitely impressed me because when we started
warming up, and like when we were about to start,
it wasn't full yet, and I was like, all right,
come on, like I want this to be full every
single night, especially for expansion team. But they filled in
(02:28):
and it got loud, like the pop of the game
winner against US Yeah, that really sucked. That really sucked.
But I think compared to Balhalla, it's closed. It's hard.
I'll let you know when I go back to Balhalla
this year.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Basically, yeah, let me know, shoot me a text.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
All right, let's talk about the NBA finals real quick
before we talk all WBA, which is completely fine with me.
The finals are set, it's going to be Spurs versus
the Knicks overall, give me your give me your like
semi analyst perspective, more so fan perspective of what you
think this this final series is going to be.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
Like listen, if the Knicks don't get it now, I
don't know that they're ever gonna get it. I think
Wemby's just coming to the peak of his powers, right.
You look at what he's able to do, and like
thinking about somebody that tall, that long, being able to
eat up that much paint as fast as he can
(03:30):
and really providing really a lot of protection for the guards,
like Steph Castle, you know, like Dylan Harper, you know,
like even Deer and Fox to be ultra aggressive on
the perimeter. I feel like Wemby's only going to get better.
So I like what the Knicks are doing I think
og and Obi grades out as the best or at
(03:52):
least statistically the most productive defender against Victor Webber Yama.
So I'm very much looking forward to seeing that. I
love to see just like game by game adjustments. How
is Mike Brown going to run the offense. We've seen
the Knicks run Karl Anthony Towns as a hub, and
then we've seen you know, the traditional Jalen Brunson running
(04:14):
the offense where you know he's kind of the primary initiator.
So I'm just like really excited to see close games.
I was really disappointed in Oka See and San Antonio
having a seven game series and we only got one
very very exciting game.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
I know, it was pretty intense. I will say, like
last night watching the game seven, Spurs just wanted it more.
You know, they look like they have this team that
is really young. They've they've kind of built it back
from the ground up there they've gone through the trenches
together and really excited for each person like individually, Like
(04:53):
I know, I keep thinking about Harper, like holding Castle
to make sure that he doesn't go after Caruso when
he call for that that open profile and things like that,
and I don't know, it's gonna be tough. I'm really
interested to see how the Knicks are going to match
up with the Spurs. Also, like Mitchell Robinson, he's out
(05:13):
right because he broke his pinky or whatever.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
That's another they said he's gonna play.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
He's gonna try to play. Starting game one, he said
his left or his right pinky. Well, I mean you
see him, you see him shooting. I don't know that.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Maybe it's gonna be.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Listen, maybe he'll go lefty. I think it's his shooting hand.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Though it can only get better. It literally can only
get better, so it might work.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Oh, Mitch, No, Yeah, it's gonna be really interesting to see,
especially I don't know, how do you feel about Wemby
and him being somewhat of like a like a Dawn
or like this villain where he's sending out Mason Plumbing
and uh, you know the rest of the crew to
(06:04):
like be hey, like go hit them hard.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Mm hmm. I mean this is a series like listen,
if you're out of the game, obviously don't want to
do anything malicious, but you want to make sure that
the other team kind of feels you. So I think
that that that shows everybody else about the highs and
the lows of the series, but like not only the
physical aspect, but but the mental side of things of like,
you know, they know that when these players are going
(06:29):
to come in, they're gonna get like ran through on
screens or they're gonna get that extra bump or that
extra nudge, and it's it's playoff basketball. Like I think
that that's what what's most interesting to me is to
see the level of physicality that's being allowed for guards,
like fighting through screens or you know, disrupting cutters and
stuff like that, and I think it's good. It's it's
(06:51):
good to be able to play through.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
A lot of it is that your style. Are you
the I'm gonna go sit on the bench and tell
somebody to go knock them down?
Speaker 1 (06:59):
Kind of the No, I don't really. I don't think
I'm that type of player. Maybe if I was mad.
But it's kind of like if someone does, if someone
has like a nasty or really hard foul, like a
flagrant foul, you know that you're gonna like set a
good screen on them the next time to like let
(07:20):
them know. I feel like I remember that when I
was in Seattle, if somebody like laid Sue out, then
it's like, all right, next play, you're gonna make them
remember not to do that again to Sue.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Gotta protect Sue at all costs, period.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Gotta protect Sue. Okay, real quick, I want to know.
There's so many things we can talk about about this
NBA Finals predictions, predictions and who's gonna be like the
dark horse, and is it gonna go to game seven
or how many games you think?
Speaker 3 (07:52):
I think it's Spurs in six, and I think, oh,
I think we get a really good Devin Vassell game.
Devin Vassell has changed everything about himself. You know, he's
always been a bucket, but defensively he's become really like
(08:12):
a lockdown.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
On ball defender.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
He's changed a lot about the way that he takes
care of his body. And so I think you're gonna
get one of those role players. I think it'll be him,
but I would also wouldn't be surprised if it was
like a Keldon Johnson. You know, you see those, and
I think we're gonna get a Josh Hart game. The
I call him the New York Alex Cruso. I think
we'll get one of those five to three performances where
(08:36):
the Spurs leave him open and he's not gonna do
it all the time, but I think he'll have a
huge game as well. He did that, you know, last
year in the playoffs also, so yeah, he's he's one
of those guys that just shows up when a team
disrespects him and is somewhat like, just let him shoot
and we'll see how the chips fall.
Speaker 4 (08:56):
Mm hmmm.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
And Finals, MVP, you got to have Limby, right.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Gotta have Wimby. You can't give it to anybody else.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
What do you think. I think it's gonna be Nicks
and seven. I gotta go with the Knicks. I'm gonna
go with the home team. Like look at my sweatshirt
right now says New York or nowhere. But listen, the
Knicks are not gonna lose a series on their home
court in the finals. Like that's not happening. So I
(09:26):
gotta say Nicks and seven. My my X factor is
gonna be Michael Bridges because he basically brought them back
in that game. Obviously Landry two in Game one when
they both started like cashing out in those threes, that
was really really crucial to win that first game because
(09:47):
it really deflated the Caps for the entire rest of
the series and MVP Brunson.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
I was gonna ask you about that game, do you
feel like, because it's easy for people who are not
pro athletes to psycho analyze and say that loss just
broke Cleveland, like emotionally, spiritually, do you think that's right
(10:19):
or do you think that's just us on the outside
over simplifying it.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
I think it broke them. I think that like, you're up.
You were up like twenty, you were up like a
lot like And also for those that don't know, like,
as a player, you do not want to be in
that position. You don't feel comfortable up twenty because once
(10:46):
a team gets hot and they hit like three three
threes in a row, it's a twelve point game, and
it's like you're just like tight, You're just like all right,
I don't want to like I don't want to lose it.
I don't want to let go, like I'm afraid to
kind of mess up. And you could see the Calves
were struggling to have that that flow and that just
like regular function that they were having for basically the
(11:08):
first three quarters of that game. But yeah, Once they
lost that one, they weren't winning the next one at MSG,
and it was basically like Game three. If they didn't
win Game three, it was overs reps.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Yeah, it was that one was it was tough. I
remember watching.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
I Forget who you guys were playing when you were
in Seattle and there was like a last second shot
to send it to overtime Vegas and the playoffs, Yeah, Vegas,
and it was it felt like something not the same
but like that same man shit, and then you go
to overtime and it's like, how do we get the
(11:51):
momentum back? How do we still pull ourselves out emotionally
from that?
Speaker 1 (11:57):
It's like the opposite of the crowd pop.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Yeah, it's like a crowdyplate, just.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
Like, fuck, what am I supposed to do now? Yeah?
I don't. That's like that is like one of my
worst memories. Like if I could forget that game altogether,
I would sue hit Sue hit a corner three to
like basically put us up. And then Jackie had a
slips the basket gotta lay up to send it to overtime,
(12:25):
and then that was it. It was just done.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
Damn Jackie. I'm alway Jacky She's always so clutch. I mean,
Sue's obviously so clutch. But man, yeah, that's is that
a core memory? Like, is is that like the worst
losing memory for you?
Speaker 1 (12:46):
It was. It was one of the worst losing memories
because Sue was done, like she retired, she was done
after that, So that was like her literally last game,
and like I remember like trying to do it her,
you know, trying to win for her, trying to get
to the finals for her and coming up short really sucked.
Also losing to the losing to Vegas in the finals
(13:09):
my first year in New York. Like also core memory.
I think anytime you lose, it's it's a core memory
in the loss department.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Do you.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
Do you think that that call that sent you to
the free throw line against Minnesota do you think that
was like a legit call or do you think it was?
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Of course, girl, this is my podcast. You want to
ask me if I didn't think it was a legit call. Yes,
I do think it was a legit called block. Do
you think it was a legit call?
Speaker 2 (13:43):
It's well, I mean there was I I saw it.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
No, well, there was definitely contact. But listen, let me
tell you whether it was called or not, which it was?
Those free throws. Like we talk about Barclays being loud, quietest,
I've ever felt Barclays like you saw the pictures.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Yeah, I was right.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
I was that same side of the court as you
were shooting free throws. So I had a good I
had a good eye on the call. And then obviously
Kathy had the New York dress on.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
That wasn't a good look either.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
You sound like a Minnesota Lynx fan.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
I'm not. No, I'm not not. I'm just I'm just
calling it straight. I'm just going strikes.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
Listen, listen, nobody. Nobody knows why Kathy was wearing that.
She lives in New York. I don't know the offices
in New York. I have no idea why she decided
that was the day to wear that. But nah, that
was insane. The whole thing was insane.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Yeah, it was. It was. It was an awesome series
to watch.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
It was an awesome series, but I will tell you this,
it was an exhausting series. And there wasn't enough time
in between games because the basketball, the quality of basketball
went down game after game because it was such a
quick turnaround. And that's something that we fought for in
the CBA is making sure that we have appropriate amount
of times in between playoff games, because sometimes with the
season you can't always have it. But in the playoffs,
(15:23):
for sure, it's like when you travel you should have
two days between and when your home, when you stay
in one place, you have one day because moments like that.
We just played Game four in Minnesota, we had to
travel and then the next day we played and it
was just nuts, like everybody was tired. All right, So
we're we're already in the swing of it for the
w BA talk. But who's your who's your who's your
(15:47):
biggest surprise of the year so far? Which team Portland
or not?
Speaker 3 (15:52):
As it's gotta be Portland right their their win total
was eleven and a half and they are aready have
six wins and it's not even junior.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
What does that mean win total?
Speaker 3 (16:05):
So like they like the people who make the odds, right,
they say that they believe that Portland will either win
eleven games or they'll win twelve games. So they set
it right at in the middle, right, okay, And so
a good season is probably that they thought. They put
them right there with the Connecticut son So They're both
(16:27):
sitting there at like eleven twelve wins on the year,
and now they already have half of those expected wins,
like a few weeks into the season.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
Is crazy. I didn't think they were going to be
any good myself.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
So do you think that they're going to keep it up?
Speaker 2 (16:43):
Yeah? I do.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
I think they are just because of the way that
Alex Sarama coaches. And I want to get your thoughts
on this exact thing, because I feel like it's one
thing to say it, and then it's another to hear
from somebody who's done it for as long at as
peak of a level.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
As you have.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
I think the key piece for this team to continue
to perform is intensity. That he was talking about that
their sprint speed is the highest in the league. You know,
their deceleration speed is the highest, and so those intensity
metrics are so high. I think they're number one in
forced turnovers per game, number one and steals per one
hundred possessions per game. And my biggest question mark is like,
(17:26):
are they going to burn the fuck out?
Speaker 1 (17:32):
I don't know. I'm not the statistician behind that, but
I don't think so because I think the way honestly
he rotates them pretty well. I don't think like most
of them aren't playing over thirty minutes a game and
they're like bought in. It's almost like all these players
that they have there have been given a second chance,
(17:54):
like a second opportunity at a WNBA career, like a
fresh start a little bit, and they're really kind of
making the most out of that.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
Yeah, I thought the way that Megan Gustafson has sort
of emerged. I saw her play in the building against Indiana.
Not only like was she able to just really catch
in all angles, short role, long roll. She took the
task of being up Aliah Boston, which is not an
(18:24):
easy task, especially when you know Aliyah's you know, using
her physicality to her advantage, and she gets the start.
I think that was her first start of the year,
and she's eight for eight from the field, so that
efficiency is there. She started a tear up during the
postgame presser, saying that nobody has ever believed in her before.
You look at Emily Angsler, who I think is leading
(18:47):
the league right now in blocks and his top three
in steals at six point one, just insane. What she's
been able to do her and Sophie Conneham going back
and forth. She's got that, you know, she's got that
New York state of mind. You know what it is like,
New York, New Jersey tough, no one can you know.
They're not going to back down for anybody. So yeah,
I feel like there are Carla as well. I feel
(19:08):
like Carla being left off of being protected from two
teams and expansion drafts is fucking crazy.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
Gets the twelve assists.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
I think that was her career high against the Fever. Yeah,
there's a bunch of players that that I feel like
they thought they were slept on and they're being utilized
to the to the maximum.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
All right, So we're just going to continue to pay
attention to Portland, but we're not going to talk about
them anymore because I plan the Liberty and we're going
to talk about some other team. Okay, Trista, Yeah, I'm
happy to do that.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
I think we should focus on y'all. What's going on
with y'all.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Yeah, honestly, listen, I haven't done a podcast since we
lost three games in a row. That was rough.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
Rough.
Speaker 3 (19:55):
I'm willing to say that it's just folks getting back
into this swing. Sabrina getting back into this swing saw
to You've got still folks coming over from the international side,
you got a brand new coach.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
I really like CD.
Speaker 3 (20:12):
I still I'm not willing to throw any dirt on
the New York Liberty. I did that on the Las
Vegas Aces last year and I looked really silly.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
The top the top tier teams in the league.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
I'm going to just hold all my judgment for but
it is looking a little sus.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
Yeah, listen, I definitely agree.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
What what do you what do you guys need to
do well?
Speaker 1 (20:36):
I think they're like, I'm not here to make excuses.
It's there's no way we should have lost three games
in a row. That's that's something where it's like you
lose one, you want to come back and win, like
you don't want to lose two in a row, and
you don't want to lose three in a row, especially
at home, Like that's unheard of, that Barclays. So I
definitely felt for our fans because they didn't deserve that,
(20:58):
but also knowing that this is going to take a
little bit of time and patience, knowing that we were
we are still getting our lineups back, We're still like,
you know, gonna hopefully get Sad back soon and really
like fully integrate everybody. But this learning curve needs to
be learned a little bit faster. That's that's what I
was feeling. And I think over the past two games
(21:20):
against Phoenix, like we definitely picked up our defensive intensity
and realizing that if we don't like kind of get
up and get into people's shit defensively, we're not going
to flow and score the ball as easily as we
want on offense. Because if you're going to just play
half court basketball, it's it's really tough when they load up,
they sent two and you know, you're just trying to
(21:41):
find the next open shot within probably less than fourteen
seconds on the shot clock.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
Yeah, you guys some bright spots. Though I think I
call her nasty a. It's has been just an absolute
delight to watch. Obviously, has it feels like Marine's going
to another level? Is it just me or does it
feel like she's sort of taking on maybe maybe more
of a scoring load.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
Marine is definitely kind of embracing her her role and
her opportunity and just being confident. I think that you know,
we all know that she's an incredibly dynamic scorer, but
going out and doing it. And the biggest part about
it is like even when she has tough nights, right,
she has an off night, she bounces back. It doesn't
(22:29):
turn to like three four like tough tough games. She
she course corrects really really quickly. And Pauline like Pauline is.
I knew who she was. I knew she was like
a bigger point guard, but was really excited to kind
of get her here and and see her not only
offensive IQ, but but just the way that she's like
(22:50):
ruthless and relentless defensively, like she's a sponge she's learning
every single day and nasty air. I'm gonna, I think,
I think I need to. I'm gonna take that from
you and bring it to the team and see how
she likes it.
Speaker 3 (23:03):
I can't I can't wait to. I can't wait to
hear back how she's feeling about it. I also was
a part of coining Carla late as baby birds, so
maybe I'm just gonna give nicknames out to the all
the French players.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Literally I saw the baby bird too. I saw that
whole thing. After we lost not a fan once again,
we also said we weren't gonna talk about Portland anymore.
I'm sorry, she just keeps bringing it, just keeps coming back.
It's just like literally in the back of her mind
she can only think about Portland right now.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
I'm sorry. I mean, we can just keep going.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
I just was I just was remembering this step back.
I think it was on you, wasn't it.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
Mm hmmm. I'm like, Peter, we might have to cut short,
like all right, I have I actually do have one
more question. So there's a lot of like top players,
Top Roe, he's playing right now, Pauline on my team obviously,
I'm biased as is hopefully going to get that starting
(24:06):
nod for the rest of her career. And Olivia Miles
with Minnesota like right now the way too early race
for Rookie of the Year, Like, who do you got?
Speaker 3 (24:18):
I think I have to go Olivia Miles. I know
it sounds like I'm a Minnesota Linx fan again, but
I'm not. I think she just looks like a vet
staying staying one more year in college, going to TCU.
I feel like that offense was ready made for her,
Like she's her court vision is unreal, and her ability
(24:40):
to get downhill and score the basketball, she's get off
the dribble, just vary in control. I think more and
more I think she'll be able to become a better
defender as well. In Cheryl's scheme, I think it's just
to lose as many players as they have and for
her to come in without a FISA and still be
a defensive juggernaut and her be it I think middle
(25:04):
of the road to negative defender, and she's figured it
out really fast. And when it comes to awards and
us dumb, I don't vote, but like I think we're
all somewhat like there were fans, journalists. You're watching the
game not from the level of what you can see,
but those highlight.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
Moments are super important.
Speaker 3 (25:23):
You need something to get people excited, and she has
she has that, like I think Aisy if Asy continues
at this clip in the way that she's been playing
the last couple of games, she's absolutely right there. She
I just don't know how many of those highlight moments
that she's going to have. Same thing with Kicky Rice.
(25:45):
They're the type of players that help you win championships.
And I'm not saying the Olivia Miles is not that,
but Olivia Miles has a shitload of flash as well.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
I agree, I like, I mean, I like them all,
but but I think Miles she plays with like a
She's very poised, she's very composed. Like her her pace
is like top notch. You know, she knows when to
go slow, but then she knows when to like really
accelerate and try to get downhill and she does this
like one arm layup type thing. So I think that, uh,
(26:16):
she's she's really settling in in Minnesota and the confidence
behind it, like you see it growing every single game,
and just knowing that she's getting more and more comfortable
with her teammates around her and Minnesota, like you know,
they're continuing to kind of beat everybody's expectations. I think
that people kind of wrote them off early and they
(26:37):
came together and it seems like, you know, they're using
it as fuel, and I think right now they're like
one of the top teams in the league. I think,
right now, Yeah, you're right.
Speaker 3 (26:47):
And I wanted to ask you about players that you
ended up leaving and going to new teams found new homes.
Do you when you look at a player like Alana
Smith and we've seen like just her struggle, and I
don't really know why. I can't tell whether that's just
(27:10):
the injury or the mask. Some people that I ask
around the league say that some of it has to
do with just like you're not playing for Cheryl anymore,
and Cheryl really puts you in the best position, and
now Alanta has to, you know, defend the best player
on the on the other side, where she was kind
of a help defender in Minnesota. Like, what do you
see when you when you look at someone leaving Cheryl
(27:30):
Reef's system, Is it surprising to you, like this sort
of decline in production or you think she'll figure it
out or what.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
I mean? I really liked Land. She was She's my misty,
my unrival teammate, and I I wasn't sure how it
was going to go because you know, we've always been
competing against each other, but we had a good time together.
I will say, like, uh, I think that Lanta is
is just waiting to get more and more comfortable within
the system. You know, having years of Minnesota under her
belt and then going to a new place. It takes time,
(28:02):
and it takes time for a player like her to
know exactly where she's going to get her spots and
building that chemistry with your teammates. And I think also
the mask, the mask seems seems tough, Like we played
against her and it's like you can't you can't see
here right, like you only see straight ahead. So I think, like,
(28:24):
let's do a little check in. Let's do a little
check in halfway through the season on all the players
that kind of went to new homes. I think that
while money talks, you know, uh, there's also some stuff
that you have to like you got to figure out
because you're now like the it player, the top player,
like the highest paid player in a lot of these places,
(28:46):
and to get that money, like people want to see you,
you produce thousand percent.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
Agree, I forgot that you were a part of another
controversial title.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
I forgot about that.
Speaker 3 (28:59):
I was also the building on the same side of
your free throws to that one as well.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
Was foul. That was foul? For real? She went like
this to me.
Speaker 2 (29:11):
That was it. That wasn't foul. So you were saying
the other one was like more sus.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
No, they were both files. I'm not a ref, I'm
not here to do the ref's job. They just they
just called files And I shoot the free toes. I
will say, like Peter, Peter, Peter, We're gonna I'm Lindsay.
Lindsay's in trouble after this. I will say, like one
of the struggles, one of the struggles that Unrivaled is Okay,
(29:40):
you don't want the game to end on a free throw,
but what do you do because then teams will.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
Just foul maybe take points away from the other team.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
Yeah, we we talked about that of like if you foul,
if you foul two times in a row, it's a
free throw, you know what I mean, in the same possession.
But then they also talked about like making the target
score one more, giving the team a point, and also
(30:12):
making the target score one more because it's like, yeah,
that's people will try to like outsmart the game a
little bit here.
Speaker 3 (30:21):
Yeah, you guys are savants, man, You guys are gonna
do whatever you can to win and game the system.
That was a crazy sequence though, That whole last couple
of minutes was absolutely absurd.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
Yeah, in a great number mm hmm. Now, Unrivaled this
year like the style, the style and the way people
were playing. They definitely got accustomed to it. From year
once a year two like they people understood their spots,
understood how to play the game, like we weren't running
all over the place like with chickens with our heads
cut off type shit, and really using all six players
(30:54):
on each team.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
You guys coming out West this next year.
Speaker 1 (30:59):
At all, I don't know. I can't tell you.
Speaker 4 (31:02):
You'll break it.
Speaker 3 (31:03):
I'll get it on the internet like everybody else. Look
at me trying to break.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
Period on your good. All right, I'm gonna do it.
We're gonna do a quick break and then we're gonna
we're gonna go into me. Ask you questions. Okay, okay,
Please rate reviews, Subscribe to Game Recognized Game with Stuie
and Miles wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back to
(31:37):
Game Recognized Game. It's Stuey in Miles Trista. You're from
this city that starts with a P and I'm not
saying it anymore because I don't want to talk about it.
And this city loves basketball. What is your background in basketball?
Speaker 3 (31:52):
So my mom got me in to the Blazers when
I was like four or five, and that was in
the early nineties, and so I was a huge Clyde
Drexler fan that was like my favorite player. And we
moved back to Portland when I was like six or seven,
(32:13):
and that's when I really ended up playing a lot
of like I guess you could call it more organized
than it was in the country of northern California, where
it was just like dirt roads and a.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
Ball and no hoop.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
So I started playing then I was like real small,
probably like I don't think I got over four to
ten until I was at freshman in high school. Had
large aspirations of playing in the W never got taller
than five to five.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
That was just a very disappointing development genetically.
Speaker 3 (32:44):
But yeah, I think like watching the W, watching you know,
the NBA, or we liked to friendly you know, playfully
called the MMBA just really like plus the feeling of
community and like having a team and you know, doing
all the things that you do when you're on a
basketball team. I grew up in like this area of
(33:05):
Portland where I was, you know, the only one of
the only white kids, and so we I went to
a high school that we would put grills on before
we go out to the school and the suburbs try
to scare the suburban kids. I was twisted up all
the way through high school and so yeah, I mean
basketball has been in my blood and you know, in
(33:25):
my heart and soul from the time my mom got
me interested in it. And then when I I ended
up going into finance right out of college for like
five years and hated every second of you know, putting
on the button ups and the heels and the like,
you know, stretchy, you know, a line skirts, none of that.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
Yeah, we don't.
Speaker 1 (33:46):
We're not listen.
Speaker 3 (33:47):
I'm trying to come in slides or you know, some
Air Force ones or's some Jordan ones. And they were
not obviously were not feeling that. So I ended up
transitioning into media after five years of finance and then
you know, trying to find my way and then, as
you can tell, I'm trying to make people laugh, and
(34:08):
so that became the niche of how I make content
and how you know, I differentiate myself. No one, including Stewie,
is safe period.
Speaker 1 (34:18):
I'm not safe on my own show, which is fucking crazy.
But yeah, I mean it makes sense, like being five
to five is definitely not going to get you very
far as a professional basketball player, but at least like
for the love of the game, it never You never
lost it too much. You just had to go crunch
some numbers for a second, and then you came back.
That's why I was going to ask you. It's like,
(34:40):
that's right, what made you want to come back? But
it seemed like you just never lost it. You never
lost that love. You were just always missing it.
Speaker 3 (34:47):
Yeah, And I all the people who I would meet that,
people who didn't even know me, They're like, this is
not the right field for you. You are losing your
shit watching this sporting event. That's sporting event, Like you
should be more in that space. And so it was,
you know, from the mouth of strangers and friends, that's
sort of like, you know what, maybe I could make
(35:09):
a living doing this. And I think when you come
from you know, not a lot of money, you're trying
to find the best way to get security financially as
fast as you as fast as you can or at
least like not be in the hole, right, and so
finance just seems like the easiest way to go, right. So, yeah,
(35:30):
I never lost it, but I just had to try
to find my way into a path that I could
actually like make a living doing.
Speaker 1 (35:38):
What was like something that you learned the hard way
about being in a business, like being in this type
of business.
Speaker 4 (35:45):
That's a good question.
Speaker 2 (35:48):
You can't be anyone but yourself.
Speaker 3 (35:51):
You really have to lean into what especially if you're
going to be a like a quote unquote content creator
or a talent who speaks for a living, and you
have to do it in the way that's natural for you.
Me and you kind of have like similar tonality in
how we speak, right, but you hoop and you're a
(36:12):
multiple MVP.
Speaker 2 (36:14):
I was out in.
Speaker 3 (36:16):
The middle of like corporate America and then trying to
make my way into media, and so I tried to
change the way that I sounded to sort of like
I guess Corporate America code switch, you know, and that
shit did not get me anywhere. Everything was awkward, everything
was uncomfortable. I was trying to be you know, Michelle
(36:38):
Tafoya or you know, Aaron Andrews or whoever, and like
it was leaning into my hip hop background, you know.
I was like a little rapper going up and.
Speaker 1 (36:49):
And then you were in a pencil skirt.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
Into basketball and those things, and then I was in
a pencil skirt.
Speaker 3 (36:54):
Yeah, from corn Rows to like baby baby doll bangs,
which like it's a commitment for baby doll bangs.
Speaker 2 (37:02):
Is that's but yeah, no cleaning into.
Speaker 3 (37:07):
Yeah, yeah, but yeah, I think learning learning that was
a huge lesson because that I was just never going
to go anywhere. I was never going to be able
to have any fun, probably not going to be able
to differentiate myself, and it was it was stiff and awkward.
I think also, like knowing your ship and preparing, I
(37:28):
don't think I had to learn that the hard way,
But it's a lot easier to be comfortable in yourself
when like I don't need to cram, I don't need
to have like a shitload of notes to have, you know,
a conversation about the w with you. It's all inside.
It's all based on what's in my head and what's
in my heart, and everything comes out so much better
for a fan when they know that it's like authentically real.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
Okay, So, what's one take on women's sport that you'll
never walk back?
Speaker 4 (37:56):
Oh, what's one take about women's sports that I'll never
walk back? That Rique and Page will never work together
at a high level.
Speaker 1 (38:10):
Dang, that's crazy.
Speaker 3 (38:14):
No comment, you don't have to comment, that's just that's
what was the hot take?
Speaker 2 (38:20):
That I've had.
Speaker 3 (38:22):
For twelve months, really, and that's nothing. I love Arique's game.
I love pages game. They both want the ball in their.
Speaker 1 (38:31):
Hands because they're both shooting guards. Is that what you're saying, essentially,
like because they're.
Speaker 3 (38:36):
Both Yeah, I think like Arikae has never been like
the most efficient player from deep I would certainly love
to see her more in the paint and cutting a
lot more off ball movement. I just it's kind of
like James Harden for me, where James Harden could be
an awesome player playing off ball, he just never will.
(38:57):
That's just not his game. And there's another team. I
think that Arika can do all the things that James
Harden does and have a team on her back. But
that's just that's the That's the hottest take that I've
had that has gotten people mad. And then you know,
you you add asy to the mix, and that just
changes how everything is going to work rotation wise.
Speaker 1 (39:18):
Yeah, I see, I see why people don't like that take. Well,
we're just gonna still find out. We're gonna we're gonna
find out how far that goes.
Speaker 2 (39:26):
Is it a crazy take? You hate the take?
Speaker 1 (39:31):
No? I don't think it's crazy. But I also I
don't think like I'm not like ten Toe's down with
you about it either. I think that Paige and every
care are both like really good players, and if you're
a great player, you can you can play with other
great players like you can make it work. So I
think that they can definitely make it work.
Speaker 3 (39:52):
Just got to take time and we'll see. We'll see
how Jose makes it work, because it's a lot of
times it's that as well, like how how everything meshes together.
Speaker 1 (40:02):
Okay, what's a take that you have that players might
not like?
Speaker 4 (40:08):
What's a take that I have that players don't like?
Speaker 1 (40:14):
I stumped her.
Speaker 3 (40:15):
I think there's mostly the takes that I have that
players won't like. Our individual takes, not league wide takes.
Speaker 2 (40:26):
I'm I'm like truth to power.
Speaker 3 (40:28):
I want y'all to as much bread as you can
possibly get, Like I want you guys to have housing.
Speaker 2 (40:33):
I think truthfully, you're underpaid.
Speaker 3 (40:35):
Maybe the take that players won't like is that I
think you should have held out for more.
Speaker 2 (40:40):
I think you guys could have gotten more.
Speaker 3 (40:41):
I think the percentage that the percentage deal of revenue
split that the players got is it's just not good
enough and I'm sure the players do like that, but
when everybody was celebrating it, I wanted more for y'all.
Speaker 1 (40:57):
I mean, listen, we got twenty percent of which is insane.
So while I think that potentially we could have gotten more,
I think that this is an incredible like starting point
for us for actually getting more when we negotiate the
next CBA, because those those negotiations were not easy. And
(41:19):
I'm happy that we got it done.
Speaker 3 (41:21):
No, no, yeah, me too, And I think we're all
happy that basketball is happening too, right, Like there's steps.
Speaker 2 (41:28):
To this, but that's probably because I'm I'm with y'all,
like I'm.
Speaker 3 (41:35):
My takes are mostly takes the team owners and GMS
and coaches won't like more than the players won't like.
Speaker 1 (41:44):
I like that all right, Time for one more break.
Next up, we give Trista a chance to turn the
tables and ask me some questions, even though she already
asked me questions, so I'm not sure how many more
questions we're gonna ask you. Welcome back to the game.
(42:12):
Recognized game is Stuian Miles, and time to get a
little personal. Trista. Well, this isn't really personal. It's still
about your job. What's something about your job that drives
you crazy?
Speaker 4 (42:23):
Ooh? What drives me crazy?
Speaker 3 (42:27):
When PR people are on some bullshit and it's like,
you know, I'm coming to every game and yet you
still keep giving me the game by game credential. It's like, Bam,
what are we doing here? I don't like that. That
drives me nuts.
Speaker 1 (42:41):
That must be about the fire.
Speaker 3 (42:45):
No, I go to a bunch of different games, you know,
let them know, let them know what else drives me crazy?
Speaker 2 (42:56):
You know?
Speaker 3 (42:57):
I think probably the thing that is is really hard
is being good at a bunch of different sports and
prepared all the time. Like what drove me crazy was
sitting there for fire Fever and it's at the exact
same time as the Western Conference Finals game seven, and
I had to choose, like that shit drives me crazy, Like,
(43:20):
don't do that, that's that's horrible.
Speaker 2 (43:23):
Don't pit us against one.
Speaker 1 (43:24):
Another, talk to the networks. That's crazy, made no sense, crazy.
Speaker 2 (43:28):
Made no sense. And I think they do that way
too much.
Speaker 3 (43:31):
They did that actually during the WNBA finals as well,
Like I think there was other games going on in
another sport and I forget what was going on, and
it was like Why why aren't you just putting the
WNBA on its own slot, on its own day like
it deserves.
Speaker 2 (43:47):
Why is it competing with other things?
Speaker 1 (43:49):
Yeah? I agree, I agree with you. Okay, aside from
your job, I heard you are very into gardening home improvement.
Speaker 3 (44:01):
I just so today Actually I'm in a little bit
of trouble because I moved back to Portland to you know,
help with some stuff with my mom, and so her
and I are creating a garden together. And there was
a specific list of things that I was supposed to
get at the nursery, and I was actually like planning
(44:22):
my whole day around what time this recording was.
Speaker 2 (44:24):
And so I was like, Okay, we're gonna go to
the nursery.
Speaker 3 (44:26):
And then I got more things than we had agreed
to getting, and she doesn't have the soil or the pots,
and I ended up bringing home a tie basil.
Speaker 2 (44:37):
I end up bringing home a tie chili. Am I
am I cooking Tai food? No? I'm not, But do
I want to test it out? Absolutely?
Speaker 3 (44:45):
Who doesn't want to make a little sweet chili basil
pad tie on the side. I added like a red
pepper that I thought would be nice. I added two
extra tomato plants, an extra green bean that I wasn't
supposed to get. So now I come back home and
she's like, were you listening at all to the list
that we made? Because I don't have any place to
(45:07):
put this.
Speaker 1 (45:09):
So now what happens? Like where does the tie chili go?
Speaker 2 (45:13):
That's we're in the middle of the debate right now.
Speaker 3 (45:15):
I mean, as soon as I jump off this this podcast,
that's that's maybe I'm gonna have to go and get
some more pots, maybe some more soil, who knows.
Speaker 2 (45:23):
But the tie basil stays.
Speaker 1 (45:27):
Well, you know what, after this show, no matter what,
I'm on your mom's side, regardless, like regardless, I feel.
Speaker 2 (45:33):
Like I'll let her know. Hey facts, she's she's more
savage than me.
Speaker 1 (45:41):
Though maybe maybe. Okay, you also have a history with music.
How has music impacted your life? And also, are you
gonna like spit some bars right now?
Speaker 4 (45:54):
No, not gonna spin any bars for you.
Speaker 1 (45:57):
I heard that's what you do. Come on, give me
like a little rhyme.
Speaker 3 (46:02):
I have.
Speaker 4 (46:04):
A little rhyme.
Speaker 1 (46:05):
Yeah, come on something, see spice it up in here.
Speaker 3 (46:09):
Okay, all right, I've already I've already done this one
before but we're just gonna do it because it's the
only thing off the top of my head.
Speaker 2 (46:17):
Last chance on the mic to prove that I got heat.
Speaker 3 (46:20):
My style's discretle con you like crete metal, blow your
mind that you ain't heard before, like the Yankees lineup
when the salary's low. Call me four wheel drive because
I'm all terrain. I got many different ways to wrap
about the same thing.
Speaker 2 (46:33):
It's not a hoax.
Speaker 3 (46:34):
My approach is different from the few white folks that
broke through the business. Move break the rule breaker catches
in the newspaper, cousin attention like a new leaker.
Speaker 1 (46:44):
That's it. I like that, Thank you.
Speaker 2 (46:49):
I was trying to work in some trolling of the
liberty or you.
Speaker 3 (46:53):
It was just I knew it was gonna crash and burn,
and you're gonna like probably clip it and it would
have been horrible.
Speaker 2 (46:59):
So we just we stayed away from him.
Speaker 1 (47:01):
Yeah, yeah, whatever, I could use this ammal, I'm definitely
using for.
Speaker 2 (47:04):
Sure, no doubt, no doubt.
Speaker 1 (47:09):
All right, last question, do you have a question for me?
Speaker 2 (47:13):
Yes, it's not basketball related. What is the most surprising
part of.
Speaker 3 (47:25):
Motherhood and playing at the level that you play as
a professional athlete where you're traveling.
Speaker 1 (47:33):
Yeah, the most surprising part is that I have mom guilt.
You know. I think that I try to do whatever
I can to always be with my kids, but sometimes
when I'm gone or we're like on a long road
trip or a West coast swing, it's like you miss
moments like I'm gonna miss Ruby's graduation from her school
(47:56):
when she's gonna go to kindergarten next year, so like, uh,
just that kind of thing you can't get back. But
also like really, I think I shout out Marta a
lot on this pod, but I wouldn't be able to
do it without her, just just knowing that she's like
really holding down the fort while I'm gone. And short
short story, but today I had to bring Taoe to
(48:19):
practice because our nanny isn't working today. And Ruby got
invited to a birthday party that said that no siblings
were allowed, which is weird. So me and Tayl were
just like holding it down in practice and he was
helping me in the weight room and on the court
and all the things. So the mommy never stops, Like
I don't. I don't like to bring my kids to
(48:40):
practice because it's hard for me to like focus completely
on my job. But when you gotta do it, you
gotta do it. And today was one of those days
where we had to do it.
Speaker 2 (48:51):
That's dope.
Speaker 3 (48:51):
I always think about that as I've gotten older, I
think about that balance and how impressive it is for
women who are badass doing everything in their job at
a super high level and then managing that with what
is a full time job as well. Like I was
listening to the pod with you and Marta on it,
and I was just like, man, that's it's incredible.
Speaker 2 (49:15):
I don't know how you balance it all.
Speaker 1 (49:17):
Yeah, me neither, honestly, me neither. It's just like you
just do it. You just don't think about it. You
just do.
Speaker 2 (49:23):
Did you think you would have YOP before you had kids?
You had no idea?
Speaker 1 (49:31):
I think that, yes, But you didn't really think about
it that much, you know what I mean, Like until
Ruby was born and then like she went to the
er because she had a fever and I couldn't be
there because I had to be home for and like
sleep because I had a game the next morning. Like
things like that. You're like you want to make sure
(49:53):
your kid is okay, Like you want to be like
really kind of focused and locked in on that. So
it it's harder now because Ruby she understands that I'm leaving,
and she's like, well, why are you going? And why
can't I come with you? And I want to be
there and like when are you coming back? And trying
(50:13):
to explain that to a four and a two year
old is never usually easy. But they like that. They
like the mom who plays basketball. So that's what I
kind of like think about in the back of the
day is they're supporting me just as much as everyone
else is to keep doing this.
Speaker 3 (50:30):
Yeah, that's a beautiful story. Heart rangching too.
Speaker 1 (50:35):
All right, Trista, thank you so much for checking us out.
Thank you for coming on the show. Please rate, review,
and subscribe to game recognized game. We'll see you next
time and I'm going to get you a stew your cat.
I don't know if we come back to Portland. We
definitely don't, but I want to go wear it in
the Milk Center for these Thanks
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