WNBA Season Preview w/ Pardison Fontaine and Myles Ehrlich

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
In Case You Missed It with Christina Williams is an
iheartwomen's sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment.
Welcome back to another edition of In Case You Missed
It with Christina Williams, your go to spot for everything
happening in and around the w As you guys know,

(00:23):
the twenty ninth WNBA season tips off this Friday, and
it's going to be a record forty four games this
season and thirteen teams. Welcome to the w Golden State Valkyries.
Paige Beckers was the number one overall pick this year
and she is teaming up with Arique Agumbwallee in Dallas
and fans, let me just say that I am absolutely

(00:43):
here for the par Rica nickname. Outside of that, there's
eight new head coaches coming into the league this season,
bringing some serious, fresh new energy to the league. There's
been some major roster changes, as you guys know, and
the off season, and the league is implementing a new
playoff this year that includes a best of seven WNBA

(01:03):
finals and a fresh home game setup for the first round.
There's so much to be hyped up about this season,
and of course, you know y'all know we got you
covered with everything you need to know. And we're gonna
start the show off with a season preview with my friend,
my good friend, Miles Erlick from Windsider, also the co
host of Pull Up with Miles and Owen, and later

(01:25):
on in the show, Partisan Fontaine stops by this share
why the WNBA has got his full attention this year.
All right, So, without further ado, let's dive into the
season preview with Miles earlk. All right, and now it's
time for the headlines right before we preview this season,
and joining me this week to break it all down
is front of the show, the homie Miles Erlit. Miles,

(01:48):
what's up?

Speaker 2 (01:49):
Thank you so much for having me. I'm so happy
to be back. This is like the real indicator that
the w season is here, is being back and talking
hoops with you.

Speaker 3 (01:57):
I missed it.

Speaker 4 (01:58):
It's been too long of a winter.

Speaker 3 (02:00):
I'm ready.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
It's definitely a full circle moment. I know that you
just got back from Croatia from your honeymoon.

Speaker 2 (02:04):
How was that?

Speaker 4 (02:05):
It was incredible?

Speaker 2 (02:06):
It was It was funny because going into it, we
got married eighteen months ago. As you know, you were
there and it's been a minute since.

Speaker 3 (02:14):
We got married.

Speaker 2 (02:15):
So I was like, I felt kind of fraudulent going
into the trip where I'm like, we're not newlyweds at
this point. But you know, life happens, and we had
to save some money and we had to find some
time with the busy wc's and everything like that. But
it was incredible, and yes, so you need to go
to Croatia. It was everything was gorgeous. It was all
out of a postcard and I am very unhappy to

(02:36):
be back.

Speaker 1 (02:37):
Well, I'm happy that you're back, so we get to
talk women's hoops all right. Making this week's headline of
the Connecticut Sun, Well, there was a report that came
out via Sporticoat and the Sun had hired an investment
bank to sort of facilitate the possible sell or relocation
of the team. Now, this honestly isn't first time hearing

(03:00):
about this, but you know, just hearing net breaking news
this past week, it was like, Okay, they're serious. When
you think about the growth and momentum of the WNBA,
I think that is kind of time for them to
explore their options when you look at this past free agency, right,
they lost all of their core players to free agency.

(03:22):
Alissa Thomas was very vocal. DJJ. Carington was very vocal
about the lack of investment in Connecticut when it came
to the facilities and things like that. So what was
your reaction when this news broke this week?

Speaker 2 (03:35):
So it's kind of bittersweet because this Connecticut is not
going to be alone. I don't think in ownership groups
that are going to either need to look for outside
help to increase their investment or to sell, and unfortunately,
we're going to probably see a relocation here. It's bittersweet
because of the really loyal fan base that they've built

(03:58):
up there in Uncasville and just the history of a team.
Anytime a team moves, that's really sad. But at the
other side of it, it's that this is such a
great indicator of the growth that we're seeing. Is that
you can't be lagging behind. You need that investment, and
that the players have the power to go where they

(04:19):
want to go, to not be stuck somewhere where those
where those resources are lacking. I think it's really great
that that bar is just moving up and up and up,
and that's a credit to all of the deeper pocketed
owners that are putting that love and that money into
their teams is that you can't lag behind anymore. And
that was just the truth for most of the league's existence.

Speaker 1 (04:41):
Now you've seen in the past seasons organizations like Chicago
scot who have added people to their ownership groups to
help get capital to invest into the team. So this
is going to be very interesting, as you said, as
these years go by, especially with a new CBA and
TV coming up in the next couple of years, how

(05:02):
these teams approach that part of the ownership and investment.
And we've seen the Connecticut some be successful, but honestly,
the prevaiing series, I don't like Gunlings to Connecticut.

Speaker 4 (05:15):
It's a long drive.

Speaker 2 (05:16):
It's not that far, had it feels so long.

Speaker 1 (05:19):
It's the middle of nowhere. It's so hard to get to.
But I think that if they relocate, I mean, Hartford
is right there, right, it's a little bit more accessible
to get to the games. I know for teams flying in,
they would probably appreciate flying there beforehand. Obviously, Yukon is
in Sores and you have Connecticut being like this women's

(05:39):
basketball or this basketball hub, right, But to that point.
Last season, the Connecticut had also played in Boston at
TV Garden to a sold out arena against the Los
Angeles Sparks, and this summer they're also going to play
a game at TD again. Do you think Boston could
be a good location for the team to move to?

Speaker 2 (05:58):
Am I putting my biases on the table, a lifelong
New Yorker and my thoughts about Boston as a city.

Speaker 1 (06:04):
Give ANBA playoffs right now, we're both New Yorkers, But.

Speaker 2 (06:10):
Like, come on, I do think that Boston just makes
more sense for a WNB franchise just because of that
of the size of the fan base that they would
be able to grow there. But I do like the
smaller cities. My My biggest thing is keeping it in
New England. So whether that's Hartford or New Haven or Boston.

(06:31):
I just worry that an investment group is going to
come in here and say, Okay, we're now moving them
across the country and then that entire fan base is
kind of abandoned and not within driving distance or train
distance or whatever to get somewhere. That's my big concern.
I would love if the if the Mohican tribe can
work with a new potential ownership group to keep it

(06:52):
somewhat local, but yeah, it could really go anywhere. And
I think that it's tough because with the W, I
think that something that we've seen is that they're willing
to go places that there aren't necessarily too much there
isn't necessarily too much competition for other major sports because
they don't want to be drowned out right in that space.

(07:15):
But at this point, I don't think the W is
being drowned out anywhere. I think the momentum is here
and that the product has always stood up, but that
the investment in the product is there. So I don't
think they should be afraid to go anywhere at all,
because either they will make it the thing, or they
will just make sure that there's space for them to
be a thing in a place that already might have
a pretty saturated market like Boston.

Speaker 1 (07:36):
You know, I think it totally makes sense, right because
the Connecticut son consider it New England's the team right
all outside of my football, but like it's considered their
sports team. And so I agree with Boston being the
best possible destination for a franchise because you keep that
loyal fan base and then you open it up for
more people to be able to go to see these games.

(07:58):
And I think if last season as any indication of
the need or the demand for fans in that area,
I think that it showed with the sold out game
against the Los Angeles Sparks. And also the Sun just
announced this week also the expansion of their coverage to
NBC Boston. So maybe all of these little trinkets could

(08:19):
be a sign or sign that the team is looking
possibly to go into Boston. All right, let's move right along.
We're going to talk about the Minnesota Links, Wiles, because
I was scrolling through x as you know we all
do when we have free time, and I stumbled upon
a couple of clips of audio of head coach Cheryl Leeve.

(08:42):
I'm just talking about, you know, the state of the
team right now. As we know, Dorca is not going
to play in the twenty twenty five season, and then
Kaylen McBride still remains a question that she has not
yet reported to training camp at the time that we're
recording this podcast. And so what do you think I
think this means for the Minnesota Links. This is a
team that went to the finals last year, and as

(09:05):
we know, the prioritization rule is in effect for players
who have an X amount of numbers of years of
service in the WNBA and how they have to report
to camp. So, according to Reeves, you're saying that Caleb
McBride is not reported to camp just yet due to
personal reasons. But like, what do you make of this?
These are two core players who helped the team get

(09:28):
to the finals last year. They also lost Minie sha
heinz Allen to free agency. Do you think the Minnesota
Links stand a chance to get back to where they
were last season?

Speaker 2 (09:38):
I mean, I think they do because they also have
probably the most powerful motivator in sports, and that's losing
in the finals. So I think that they've already got
that chip on their shoulder. My first thoughts to k
Back are just that I hope she's okay. I hope
everything's okay in her circles. And we also just know
that she is someone who never stops playing basketball. So

(10:01):
she spent this off season first in Unrivaled and then
she went overseas to play.

Speaker 4 (10:07):
And don't I hope.

Speaker 2 (10:09):
That this is not just hiding her from the prioritization clause.
And I don't want to speculate on that, So I'm
just gonna kind of hold it to best wishes because, yeah,
Kmax got a lot going on basketball wise, but we
also know that she's a hoops junkie, so if she
could be out there, she would be out there until
we hear otherwise. I assume she will be out there

(10:30):
as the season starts, and just kind of sending her
all the best. And as for Dorca, this always gets
so messy when we just don't have enough spots, roster spots,
salary spot whenever it is that like some of these
personal reasons. Yes, sometimes that's true where a player opts out,
especially if there's a year with EuroBasket or something like

(10:51):
that where there are other commitments potentially, But also sometimes
it's a numbers game and the franchise has to make
decisions and retain rights, move players, whatever has to happen there.
And I'm just going to shout from the mountaintops that
we just need roster expansion, and we need a G League.
We need developmental opportunities for these players so that they

(11:14):
can stay in market even if they're not part of
the designated twelve players on a game day. All of
that expansion is fantastic, but when we're talking about player
health and safety, I think expanding those rosters is even
more important than expanding the league itself.

Speaker 1 (11:29):
Now, I totally agree, and we know that the current
CBA prohibits, you know, the roster expansion where it stands
now due to the heart salary cap. But hopefully maybe
the players are you speaking up for this while they're
negotiating the new CBA. I'm also making headlines this week.
I know, fans, we talked about it last week, but
this has been the toughest week because rosters had to

(11:52):
be finalized on Thursday, and so a lot of your
favorite players or players that you may have gotten attached
to do wait. But this isn't the end all all
for wave players. Forty eight hours after a player's wave
by a team, they can get cleaned off of waivers
by another team. We do know there are multiple opportunities

(12:15):
to get picked up by teams in season. Talking about
Jaylen Sharad last year, she had what three contracts and
before you know they kept her for the rest of
the season ended up riding through with the Liberty winning
a championships. A champion yep, you know what I mean.
So it's it's not the end all be all, And
whenever a fantasy is a player like a Daisha Kelly
or Chayenne Sellers, when they get waved, it's like why

(12:36):
not the teammates turned it and it's not personal. At
the end of the day, the w NBA is a business, right,
and this is just how it works. And I know
fans get worked up every single year about draft picks
or undrafted players. At that point to Deja Kelly and
Jaylen Sharad getting waived by a team, there are multiple

(12:59):
opportunities throughout the season. Odyssey Simms was another player last season.
She was waved and moved around, moved around, moved around
before the Sparks eventually picked her up. So just don't
think of it as this is the end. There are
multiple opportunities now for a player like Daijia Kelly to
get wave I do think that it's not about her talent.

(13:20):
She proved what she could do in training camp and
the preseason games. She proved what she could do. That
was her audition tape, not only for the Aces but
also for other teams watching it. Sometimes it's just a
numbers game. How many contracts can we fit underneath the
allowable you know number according to the hard cap hord

(13:41):
salary cap in the CBA. Last week on the show,
we talked about the player exception rule. With Cheyenne Parker
Tyas being pregnant, they're gonna be able to carry thirteen
players until she returns and then they'll have to cut
a player. But any thoughts on the wave, the waving
of players in training can.

Speaker 2 (14:01):
It's really difficult, and obviously something that we've seen that's
been a positive in the last few years is kind
of the bridging of collegiate fan bases to the W
because I don't always think that that connection was there.
It almost feels like the W used to operate as
this independent organization that just was like, we are the peak,
we are the pinnacle. Everyone should be happy to be here,

(14:21):
and didn't really put in the grassroots efforts to connect
with those fan bases. So now what we're seeing is
a lot of really impassioned fans that have these emotional
connections to the players that they had watched in college
now bringing that to the W and maybe not understanding
that connection and how difficult it is to make a roster.
And that's with a dozen more spots in Golden State

(14:44):
this year, and we're going to have a minimum of
twenty four more next year, or more than that if
we can get some roster expansion. So hopefully some of
these conversations get a little bit easier in the years
to come. But yeah, it's really hard. I think there's
Natasha said something really I think profound and interesting at

(15:04):
training camp Liberty training camp last week where she said
sometimes the timing of players being waived is intentional too,
where they can have an opportunity to get picked up
by other teams in training camp, or you can hold
them for a preseason game so that they can have
some stuff on tape and then they can use that
to maybe land somewhere else, land overseas. And I think

(15:25):
that Naotom was in the Liberty training camp this year.
She was a draft pick back in twenty twenty. She
hadn't played in the league in the last couple of
years due to some injuries and off court just where
she was getting back to herself, but she had made
that connection. She had made that impression on the Liberty
back then when she was on the roster and then
when there was an opportunity to bring her back in.

(15:47):
They looked at her development, they looked at the work
she'd done in the meantime, and now she's got another
chance to potentially make this roster out of camp. It's
really hard because there just are not enough spots. But
that's because there's so much talent at this level, and
I think that the players that have been waived, and
especially when you talk about Desiah Kelly and you talk

(16:08):
about some of the math behind it, that for her
it is difficult because she's like, what else can I
do than what I've done? But she's made that impression
not just on the fans, but on the organization as well,
and probably on other organizations around the league. You also
think about the turnaround Cheyenne Seller's dealt with some injuries
this year, and then yeah, it's you finish the tournament

(16:30):
and then a week or two later, depending on when
you're bounced, you're going to be getting selected to a team,
And that whole evaluation process while you're also processing leaving
college is really difficult. There's a lot, a lot that
goes into it, and it's just in such a squeezed
in timeframe that it's understandable that some players might not

(16:52):
be at their best at this first training camp, and
that's where some of that development comes into play. So yeah,
absolutely feel for them, But like you said, it is
a business about getting the twelve. They're already onto a roster,
and sometimes it expands to the twelve that we can
afford to fit, or the eleven that we can afford
to fit based on other roster mechanais and salary cap restrictions,

(17:16):
And it might have nothing to do with talent itself.
But I would just say to those players, and I
would put Serena Sundel in that camp too, just keep
your head up. Opportunities are coming, keep working hard. You've
made an impression on the fans and definitely on these
organizations that already it's a big investment in you to
take a chance on you to start, So just keep

(17:36):
working because, yeah, something good is going to come of it.

Speaker 1 (17:39):
Sin if I'm the Washington Mystics, I'm getting on that
phone and I'm trying to call it Dasha Kelly. Yeah,
I think I could use a player like her, especially
with Georgia Amore, with her being injured. I know that
she is in New York this week getting evaluated to
see whether or not she will needs surgery. But there
are some teams that could use a guard Dasia or

(18:00):
you mentioned Sundelle as well. So yeah, keep your head
up players. It's not the end all be all, because
I think these players are handling it so graciously and
they know how it works. Now when I look at
the men's draft, right and the opportunities they get, and
how many months in between you know, the NBA Draft
and the process that goes on with that, they get

(18:21):
a draft combine. You don't get a draft combine in
the w NBA. I feel like that would help if
you delay the season a little bit, give them opportunity,
to give players the opportunity to get invited to a
combine and show what they have, less stress of going
through an intense training camp and they can show what
they have. Maybe they go that approach, but the league

(18:42):
is very small, so get I get not wanting to
do That's like your college season is pretty much your
audition tape, your combine, and that's it. We get drafted
before the training gain.

Speaker 3 (18:55):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (18:55):
I do know that there's something small at like Final
four weekend or something like that, but yeah, so many
players are still participating especially if they're going to be
the top picks there. So there's like, I think it's
kind of like an informal combine there and all the
obviously scoutser are there. But yeah, then you get into
and this would derail us for the rest of the

(19:15):
time we have, but you get into dealing with the NBA,
right and like what their schedule looks like and how
much of a slice of a pie they still have
in what the w is able to do, and then
how that affects the calendar year and what possibilities there.

Speaker 1 (19:29):
May players complaining about eighty two games. They want to
play sixty, They want to move it back a star
on Christmas, et cetera, et cetera.

Speaker 5 (19:35):
So they don't want to give any money back, right right,
So hopefully the border governors and you know, Adam silver Tappy,
you guys figure out that's above our pay grade.

Speaker 1 (19:47):
We're going to take a quick pause and when we
get back more from this conversation with Miles Erlik. The
WNBA this weekend is opening up with a three days
slate of games ahead, and obviously there's so much to

(20:09):
look forward to. On Friday night, the Valkyries will make
their WNBA debut at the Chase Center against the Los
Angeles Sparks number one overall pick Page Beckers will open
up against the Minnesota Links and take on the Peas
of Collier, which I think is great because Page from Minnesota,
so that's super dope to see that she gets to
open up against that team. The Dream at Mystics on

(20:31):
Friday will close out the opening day, and then on Saturday,
we have the twenty twenty four WBA champions, the New
York Liberty Ring Night opening up against the two time champions,
the Las Vegas Aces, and then big time Primetime Angel
Rees Caitlin Clark, the little Chicago Indianna Fever rivalry will

(20:52):
get a piece of that, and then Phoenix versus the
Seattle Storm, and then to close out that weekend on Sunday,
you have Sun versus the Mystics, and Link's playing again
and the Sparks playing again as well. So with all
that being said, Miles, let's start with the Golden State
Valkyries as I take the floor for the first time.
I mean, we had a chance to see them in
the preseason, but what are you expecting from this team

(21:15):
as they open up their first pro game in the
WNBA regular season.

Speaker 2 (21:20):
I think this is going to be a through line
through the rest of our conversation, But I am expecting
a lot of three point shots. It's going it's there's
an epidemic that is coming to the WNBA via the NBA.

Speaker 1 (21:33):
For the worst for the worst.

Speaker 2 (21:35):
Yeah, but we'll talk about that a bit. But Golden
State shot thirteen to forty three from three against the
Mercury on Sunday night, after going six for twenty eight
against the Sparks in their preseason opener. So across those
two games, they were nineteen for seventy one. That's twenty
seven percent on over thirty five attempts a game from deep.
I think we're going to see a lot of shooting,

(21:56):
and it's going to happen across the league, whether you
have the personnel to do.

Speaker 4 (22:00):
It or not.

Speaker 2 (22:01):
There's the question of three is worth more than two?
So are you playing for this efficiency? But I think
that that's going to mean that there are going to
be a couple of nights for the Valkyries. Because I
know everyone is talking about how this is a team
that's looking at long term, was not trying to win
day one. There are going to be a couple of
nights where they catch teams on the second half of
back to back or just coming from the East Coast

(22:23):
to the West coast where they get hot from three
and they hit you know, a dozen of those thirty
attempts and can shock some people. But yeah, I think
it's going to be ugly more than it's going to
be pretty and defensively, there's going to be some communication
things that we were already seeing on tape that's going
to happen, which is just natural for a brand new

(22:45):
franchise that's all coming together, that is cobbled together from
players from other teams. So there's going to be a
lot of learning on the fly and there's going to
be a lot of shots on the fly. So I
think that's what we're mostly going to see in their
opener throughout the season.

Speaker 1 (23:01):
Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of what I've been
seeing in the preseason in terms of multiple teams, not
just the Valkyries living by the three and ultimately dying
by the three. But as you said, it's going to
be a learning curve for this team. Lots of new
everyone's new, right, even the coach. This is the whole
new system. Everyone's new. They're trying to learn what fits,

(23:21):
what works best. I did see the video of KT
kind of getting you know, a little annoyed and her
player didn't help deepens or switch.

Speaker 2 (23:29):
Sorry that the top of the key, and it was just.

Speaker 1 (23:33):
Like, Okay, we gotta learn. We gotta learn on the fly,
as you said. And so yeah, uh, lots of threes,
lots of threes. But what I'm looking forward to the
most outside of three point shooting, it's just the community
rallying together to support the Valkyries. They had to sell
out in their preseason game, and so just that energy

(23:55):
of having a women's team in the Bay Area I
think is super dope.

Speaker 3 (24:00):
All right.

Speaker 2 (24:00):
Also, thousand sorry but people for a preseason game is
just incredible. I'm so excited for just that city. It's
so long overdue for the Bay Area.

Speaker 1 (24:12):
As a game without Caitlin Clark that is, you know
what I mean, Seventeen thousand people showed up to show
it out. All right, Let's move right along to Page
Becker's She makes her pro WNBA to debut on Friday.
We've already seen some flashes of her in the preseason.
What's it out to you about Page in those early
games and what are you hoping to see from her

(24:35):
this season?

Speaker 2 (24:36):
So the standout is that nothing stands out really from
her college game to her pro game, is that she
has been pro ready for a very long time, and
she has pro level vision, and we know she's efficient,
and she's coming off of fifty three forty two eighty
nine season at Yukon, but she also was in the
top percentile and assists to turnovers three and a half

(24:58):
assists to turnovers per game. And we talk a lot,
and there was a lot of discourse obviously last year
about the transition for being a guard, especially in the WNBA,
because the speed of the game changes, the physicality changes,
and that's where the adjustment is usually the toughest. So
I think we might see for Page, as she needs
to bulk up a little bit to kind of deal

(25:20):
with some of the more physical guards in this league,
we might see that assistant turnover come down for a bit.
But I think she's going to settle in and I
think she's going to be pushed by a really talented
team around her, and sharing a backcourt with Arique also
helps kind of share some of that load. Where there's
going to be gravity coming away from her because you

(25:40):
have to stay honest, especially on the perimeter, and that's
going to help Page get to her spots or attack
one on one matchups where a lot of times these
number one picks come in and you are the new
shiny thing and defenses can really hone in on you
because you got to that team for a reason. I
don't think that's true with Dallas. I think there's a
lot of talent there. So I'm just excited to see
how she settles in. I'm sure there's going to be

(26:03):
nobody more than Orika screaming at her to shoot the
ball more because Page, i think we've seen in the past,
can differ a bit because she's trying to be that
team leader, that that point guard. But she's also just
an incredibly efficient player and she'll kind of have to
find that balance. But yeah, that's what I'm most excited
about is just seeing Page be Paige.

Speaker 1 (26:23):
Yeah. I agree, And you know, taking a page out
of Caitlyn's well, you have to boke up in the
off season because the physicality is just it just hits
different in the w NBA. But as you said, like
when you're in a pro your your role on the
team is completely different from college. And while the Wings
will obviously need her to score at some point, I
think that what she's doing is great so far is

(26:45):
just getting her finding her teammates, getting the open. I
know that everyone's talking about that assist to Arique and
the preseason that was like, oh my god, her vision
is so crazy, like how does she how does she
do that? How does she tread that google and get
the ball to her? And so, yeah, we're going to
see flashes of greatness, but as you mentioned, it's going
to be a little bit of a transition process, as
is for all rookies, right, and so you know, I'm

(27:09):
looking forward to seeing what she does this season. All right,
Moving right along, it's going to be Ring Night in
Brooklyn for the New York Liberty and they're going to
face the Las Vegas Aces, who they actually met in
the twenty twenty three finals. But how do you think
the rivalry of the two teams, coupled with the emotions
of the night of it being Ring Knight, how do

(27:31):
you think it's going to factor into the season opener?

Speaker 2 (27:34):
I mean, it's a motivator for both teams for sure,
because this is the Liberty starting the title defense, which
is a very different beast than trying to win a title.
When you're climbing up hill, your goals in front of you.
Now you've got to look behind you because everyone's coming
for you. And no bigger test, I think than the
Las Vegas Aces, who are going to take it personally

(27:55):
that the League scheduled this for them to watch the Liberty.
They made them fly across the country to watch ce
Liberty receive these rings to hang this banner after they
lost to New York in the semi finals last year.
So yeah, I think it's going to be, in the
best way, a little bit spicy to start, and that
is exactly what the league needs. And the Liberty, I think,

(28:19):
who are going to be playing a new offensive system
and are struggling a little bit on the perimeter in
the preseason with some of that communication, are going to
find a very very quick test in the Aces, who
are very good at exploiting any kind of windows that
you might leave open. So it's going to be a

(28:40):
fun game. And yeah, I think just both teams are
going to come out super hungry.

Speaker 1 (28:45):
All right, And Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark are both
heading considered second w NBA season, both both the Sky
and Fever. They have new rosters, they have new coaches.
How do you think these changes will impact their play
and what are you looking forward to in the season
opener this weekend.

Speaker 2 (29:02):
I am so excited for both of these squads, even
if they have different ceilings. I think you're looking at
everything that Indiana did this offseason, and for me, they're
a top four team already. You put them in that
conversation with the Liberty, with the Links and the Aces.
I think it's those four teams that's what I think
is going to be at the start what we're going

(29:23):
to be looking at for our final four.

Speaker 1 (29:24):
Yeattle might have something to say, mouth yeah.

Speaker 3 (29:26):
They might.

Speaker 2 (29:27):
They might, Yeah, I think so, And we're going to
definitely talk a little bit about what Seattle's done. But
I'm really excited about also bringing in Stephanie White, who
we know can come into a pre made roster and
put her stamp on it and really bring the most
out of those teams as we saw the last couple
of years in Connecticut and then for the Sky, this
is kind of.

Speaker 4 (29:48):
A perfect fit.

Speaker 2 (29:49):
Tyler Marsh. There's been so much conversation. Obviously, I think
him and Jackie Young is what we always hear about
and how closely they worked on developing her game. And
there are lots of young wings on the team, but
also what we're seeing from Angel. Angel Reese took a
leap in Unrivaled. And we know that three x three
and five on five are different brands of basketball, but

(30:12):
we got to see more of point Angel. We got
to see her bringing up the ball and that has
already translated into the preseason, and she's talked about just
being encouraged by Tyler Marsh and by the staff to
use that skill set and that they can create advantages
in ways that they maybe were not able to last year.
And then we also saw how she played when she
had a point guard like Chelsea Gray in Unrivaled. And

(30:35):
now you bring back Courtney Vanderslute and entry. Passing was
really tough for Chicago last year and now this is
going to be great for both Angel and Camilla healthy
Liz Williams, that front court is going to be imposing shooting,
we still need to see a little bit of what
they could do on the perimeter, and I also think
this is great for Hilly van Litt to have somebody

(30:56):
like Courtney Vanderslute to learn from.

Speaker 4 (30:59):
It's a fun roster.

Speaker 2 (31:00):
I look forward to how Mick develops under Tyler Marsh.

Speaker 4 (31:04):
That I don't know.

Speaker 2 (31:05):
They might be fighting for the back end of the
playoffs rather than what Indiana's doing where they're fighting for
I think they're going to have something to prove, and
they might be pushing for one of those top two
seeds because in the regular season, because they want to
just showcase how much talent they've got there. But I
still think both of these for teams, for very different reasons,
are really really exciting.

Speaker 1 (31:26):
Well absolutely, and I couldn't agree with you more. And
you know the thing about Angel bringing up the ball,
I love that they're kind of honing in on that
skill that probably was forgotten about because in her early
basketball days use actually a guard. So to see her
tapping back into that part of her bed, I think
it's definitely going to just help her be a little
bit more successful as it's more of a stretch big

(31:48):
and just using her body in that way as well.
So I'm excited to see the development of not only
Angel Reies but some of the younger players on the
Sky as well, and how he is able to construct
his offensive system defensively, I think that, you know, I'm
fifty to fifty on deepness for the Chicago Scott but

(32:09):
I'm looking forward to seeing how they turn they turned
the page from last year to this year. All right,
With so many exciting matchups this weekend, which games do
you think will surprise us the most and deliver more
than we expected?

Speaker 2 (32:22):
Okay, so you just talked about the Seattle Storm and
how I might have been forgetting them in that top
four conversation. Storm Mercury is far and away my most
anticipated game, just to kind of be a check in
for where these teams are at. Obviously the JEWE Lloyd trade,
but other than that, the Storm retained their core and
they brought in some extra pieces that really deepen that roster,

(32:45):
and they are just so many vets. While the Mercury
obviously made a couple of big trades and they've got Satusabli,
they've got a list of Thomas added to Ka, and
they've got their big three, but not a lot of
depth beyond that. So I think this is going to
be a great metric for where these two teams are
and how far they have to go. And I'm really

(33:06):
excited to see the Storm team in your two with
the core, with that Skuylar and Neca core and obviously
just building around that. But I think that the Storm
are really going to come out to make a statement
now that you know the fancy new look Mercury are
coming to town and have all this hype. I'm looking

(33:27):
at Seattle to just kind of put it stamp on
that game early and probably get i'd say fifteen turnovers,
generate fifteen turnovers in that game, just to really show you, Okay,
we're here and we're going to impose our way of play.

Speaker 1 (33:43):
Can I keep it real for you with you for
a minute. I am not sold with a photax Mercury.
I don't think they're going to be successful this season.
I don't care who clips this and use it as
motivation for whatever you want to use it. Focus teams
usually do it. I am not sold that this is
going to be a team. Maybe they echin back into
the playoffs and the topic whatever, but I'm just not

(34:05):
solop this is this is a team that's gonna work
and be successful this season. I had an opportunity to
look at a scrimmage with the Seattle Storm and the
La Sparks. I saw little clips online and boy, oh boy,
the chemistry is there. Skyler digging Smith is a freaking bucket.
We know last year when she when she came back

(34:25):
to the Storm or whatever, she was just kind of
getting back to herself, and I think that something is
definitely clicked. Obviously, she played in unribles, so we saw
her get buckets and unnibled and work on her game
in off season. But I feel like she's just on
a whole different level this season. And then you add
in Dominique Malonga. I feel like the clips that I

(34:46):
saw of this team scrimmaging against the Sparks and how
well they gell so quickly. Hands down, I'm looking forward
to seeing them.

Speaker 2 (34:53):
Play as a rookie. She's trying to dunk on somebody
as a rookie.

Speaker 1 (35:00):
I know they're joking about her catching catching one on
Rikia like she should she should dunk on Rikiya. But
I think excited. They have really good defensive pieces. I
feel like they're gonna be a well oiled machine. As
you said, they return most of their core Gabby Williams
said that she's not playing in EuroBasket this season. She's

(35:21):
gonna fully commit to the w NBA. So you get
a cruel shoe piece to your roster all season from
start to the finish. Man, the Storm might be a
little scary scary this season for sure, kay I haven't
let up yet, still playing really really good basketball. Did

(35:41):
see them take some some threes as you mentioned, that's
that's the kind of thing and that scrimmage. But I'm
excited to see the Storm play this season. Another matchup
that I'm looking forward to opening weekend, it might be
that Sun Mystics matchup. Sonya Centron has really impressed me
and the in the preseason. I feel like as rookie,
she could be in contingent for Rookie of the Year

(36:02):
from what I'm seeing early in the preseason, just how
smooth her transition has been. Obviously, preseason is not a
whole test, but it's just a slice of what could be.
But I really really love how she's just owning her role,
which is a big role in DC. And then the Sun,
I mean they beat the New York Liberty in preseason.

(36:25):
And if it's one thing or definitely have some dogs
on the team that's going to compete through and through,
and so I'm looking forward to seeing them play in
the pre and opening weekend as well. I think a
lot of us kind of counted them out because they're like, ah,
Dune to Charles Marinea, Maybury, Olivia, like that team. You

(36:46):
know it's gonna be trash this season. And while they
might be, I don't know. I think that preseason kind
of showed us a little glimpse of like we hear
y'all talking, and we just gonna come out. So they
definitely have a chip on their shoulder. So I'm excited
to see them play. We're going to take a quick
break and when we get back more from this year's

(37:09):
season preview with Miles Early. There's eight new head coaches
in the WNBA this season, and we talked about the
preseason and all the three point shootings and looking at
all the new systems. But which coach has impressed you

(37:30):
the most just from watching the preseason and why?

Speaker 2 (37:33):
So, now that we've talked down on three pointers for
so long, I'm going to go the opposite way.

Speaker 4 (37:39):
So, first of all, it's really hard to evaluate a new.

Speaker 1 (37:41):
System first Okay, we'll talk about the three point shooting.
Very simple, but like, yeah, go ahead.

Speaker 3 (37:47):
Yeah, no.

Speaker 2 (37:47):
I think it's just hard to evaluate a new system
when you have so many players in camp, especially when
the final score of a game is not the ultimate
evaluation goal of these exhibition games. But you know, we're
going to talk about this, and we have talked about
it a bit. But the most intriguing system for me
is what carl S Mesco is doing in Atlanta.

Speaker 4 (38:07):
And they opened up.

Speaker 2 (38:08):
Their preseason running a play for BG to pop a
three from the top of the key. She had their
first two makes of the game, which were both threes
at the top of the key. We see everybody is shooting,
literally everybody. Great piece over plug here for my buddy
Michael Waterloo or at Windsider, who wrote up a great

(38:29):
piece about just what the Smesco philosophy is and how
they were waiting for post practice media and the TEAMPR
had to come out there and say, sorry, everybody who's
putting up extra shots right now, it's going to take
a couple of extra minutes. And you look in the
gym and there's a there's a coach set up at
every hoop with players putting up extra shots. This is

(38:52):
not just a philosophy. This is a way of life
for what's going to go down for the dream. And
I think that that's exciting. I think that it's revolutionary,
and I think that it could go either way, so
it might end up crashing and burning, but I think
that the pace is going to be really, really fun.
It's going to be a lot of early offense, and
it's going to be a lot of confidence building. It's

(39:14):
going to be everyone outside of maybe No's Hillman having
a green light, and Nas is just going to be
so happy to crash the boards and grab a lot
of those misses against these landed defenses that are constantly
in rotation. And I'm sure she'll get a couple of
three point plays the old fashioned way every game where
she's just getting fouled as she gets to the rim.

(39:34):
But it's it's really intriguing to me because it's not
just about the threes, but it's also about the layups.
It's about the efficient the you know, analytical efficient shots
is kind of what smesco ball is all about. And
I think it's going to put a lot of pressure
the other way in years past so when we saw that,
So when we saw the construction of this team in

(39:56):
the infree agency and they brought in Brittany Griner and
they brought in Breezy Breonna Jones, my concern was, Okay,
your guards facing Yeah, your guards are so good at
getting to the rim, getting downhill, and hopefully Jordan Canna
is all right. We know she went down with an
injury and is going to be reevaluated. But Ryan Howard,
Ali Sha Gray. They are shooters, those two, but they

(40:19):
also are so good at getting to the hole. So
were you going to have to navigate around bree Jones
and the paint or were you going to have to
go around Britney Griner in the dunker spot if you
were trying to get downhill. Now with us all spaced,
that does open up some more opportunity for them. We're
going to have to see how it all plays out.
But I am super intrigued by it all.

Speaker 1 (40:42):
And I've been super impressed with Tina Pow Pow in
a pre season and just her confidence. I mean, did
you see when they played the Indiana Fever and Caitlyn
Parks she went back down and she was like, yeah,
I couldn't love her to get my lick back at it.

Speaker 2 (40:55):
I love that. But did you also see when she
caught herself when Aliah Bosta was at the line and
throw and then she started clapping and then she caught
her Yeah, I love that.

Speaker 1 (41:08):
Rookies like having to you know, transition and you know
the opponent is no longer your teammate. So yeah, that's
it was super cute.

Speaker 3 (41:17):
All right.

Speaker 1 (41:17):
We talked about the three point shooting and how much
you despise it a little bit, but yeah, we talked
about the new coaches leaning into three point shooting. Do
you think this is good for the w n b
A or is it starting to take away from what
makes the league so special? Now we saw what has
happened to the NBA, no shade. Steph Curry changed the

(41:38):
game forever with his shooting, But do you think implementing
systems like that into the w Nate Tisbit said, you know,
it's a Manu strip to be in mid range. He's
all for three point shooting. Lynn Roberts when she came in,
she's like three point shooting. Carl s Mesco three point shooting.
The New York Liberty was one of the best three

(41:59):
point shooting teams last season. What do we feel about
teams leaning heavily into three point shooting.

Speaker 2 (42:06):
I think that you have to be really smart and
intentional about it. It's not just taking a three for
the sake of taking a three. But it's about I mean,
Sandy Brandela always says good to great, right, it's about
the ball movement. It's about finding the best shot within that.
And if you're moving the ball and you can especially
find people open in those short corners, I'm all for it.

(42:28):
Do that all day long until the defense corrects. But
what I don't love is the you know, transition you
come up and then you've got a three on one
and you're pulling from three and clanking that off the
side of the backboard. I don't love just kind of
some of the isolation ball. So I think if it's
done through a system, great, sure, But I'm a sucker

(42:51):
for the mid range game. I know it's the least
it's the least efficient shots, but you look at what
some of the best shooters, some of the best players
in this league do. When you talk about your Asia Wilson,
when you have her at the elbow, Brianna Stewart, how
she can just get that rise on her jumper. The
FISA Collier backing people down.

Speaker 4 (43:10):
And fading away from the mid range.

Speaker 2 (43:12):
That's both Williams, Yeah, Williams in transition.

Speaker 3 (43:16):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (43:17):
So like you're talking about some of the premier names
in the w that are still making a living in
the mid range. So don't force them out of their
comfort zones because for when you're talking about winning, those
are the first players that come to mind.

Speaker 1 (43:34):
I like that. So which coach do you think have
the most approved this season of.

Speaker 4 (43:39):
These new eight coaches?

Speaker 2 (43:41):
I think it's Steph White and it's not particularly close.
She put that target on her back willingly when she
went to an Indiana team that made a ton of
noise in free agency and Caitlyn Clark coming off of
a Rookie of the Year where she was also First
team All WNBA. Caitlyn was incredible. And how she going

(44:02):
to level up and all of that is going to
fall at Steph White's feet, and I think She's up
for the challenge. I think she's had this challenge before
of having a championship caliber roster passed to her and
her having to come in and put her own system
in place and put her own spin on things. So yeah,
I mean a lot of these other coaches hopefully have

(44:24):
a little bit of time to sink or swim. But
for Stephanie White, it's win time from day one.

Speaker 1 (44:30):
No, I agree with you because her tenure the Connecticut
Son you couldn't get past the semi finals, and you
had the pieces on the roster to be able to
make it back to the finals as Kurt Miller did
in twenty nineteen. And so I agree, this is going
to be a lot of pressure on Stephanie White to
win now. With Caitlyn Clark, all of the pieces are there.

(44:52):
There was a priority. Amber Cox came on the show
to resign Kelsey Mitchell. That was the first domino. You
bring in veteran players the Wana Bonner, Natasha Howard who
have won before, who are still they still have a
lot to give the game, and then you add the
pieces in and around Haitlan, and this is a team

(45:12):
I think, as we mentioned, given everyone stays healthy all season,
that can make a run for it. And so I
think it's a win now situation for Indiana for sure.
All right, let's move right along the twenty twenty five
rookie class has definitely been a little bit stacked and
exceeded my expectations when it came to some of the
preseason showings. Which WNBA rookie do you think is most

(45:35):
likely to make an immediate impact and what do you
think their X factor is.

Speaker 2 (45:40):
So I'm going to go chalk here and I'm just
going to say Page is so ready. She's just built
for the WNBA game, and her ability, like you mentioned earlier,
but her ability to find pockets, both in passing and
in shooting are already at an elite level, and she'll
be someone who's going to knock down open threes, but

(46:01):
also off the dribble pull ups also get to the rim.
And that team is it's a new day in Dallas,
and that's for the best, And that team is going
to be really in a weird transition spot because they're
going to have a lot of everyone's going to have
a lot of decisions to make next year when most

(46:22):
of the league is free agents, but they're going to
have Page Beckers locked in for the next three four
years with her rookie scale deal, So they've got to
be thinking about tomorrow and today, which means I think
the keys to the cargo right into Page's hands from
day one, and I'm really just excited to see what
she does with them.

Speaker 4 (46:41):
Take him for a spin.

Speaker 1 (46:42):
Yeah, I agree with the Page analysis about her making
and media impact her teammate. Hopefully she makes the roster.
JJ Quinnoley has definitely impressed me. Someone who's making an
impact on both sides of the ball, playing really confident
and so while I don't think that she's going to
be the X factor for Dallas, that's right. I think
that she is someone who we've seen nick an immediate

(47:03):
impact and I'm looking forward to seeing more from her.

Speaker 2 (47:06):
We had her on our podcast Pull Up. Shout out
to Owen Pence, my co host. We had JJ on
shortly before the draft. I think actually it was the
week that one week transition between the tournament and the draft,
and she was doing three days.

Speaker 3 (47:19):
She was in the.

Speaker 2 (47:20):
Gym home, in the gym home, in the gym. Again,
she works hard, she has that mentality and she's undersized,
but she is a bucket and she takes so much
pride in her defense and what she's able to do,
just harassing teams in the back court and then you know,
getting she's near the top of the of college and steals,
but then also scoring the other way and just tireless

(47:44):
I'm rooting for her, and yeah, I just I love
that shout out from you, so rooting for JJ all
the way.

Speaker 1 (47:51):
Listen, we know that undersized guards make an impact. Crystal
Danger phil was Rookie of the Year her rookie season,
and she was an undersized guard as well. Putting you
on spot right now, who's your early pick for Rookie
of the Year.

Speaker 2 (48:02):
Again, I'm chalk here. At first, I honestly thought going
into the draft that I would look at the teams
that aren't going to be super competitive and thought, okay,
look at a Washington that had the three, four and
six pick. That would mean that someone like Sonya Si
Tron or Kiki rif And might have the opportunity to

(48:26):
get more minutes and to get more burn or you can.
I thought Golden State before they ended up stashing, and
I thought maybe Connecticut. But Page I just think is
head and shoulders almost like we saw with Caitlin last year,
just ahead of.

Speaker 4 (48:41):
The rest of this class.

Speaker 2 (48:43):
And I think, like, you know, maybe not the smart money,
but the house money going to the number one pick
who was just so so far afield from everybody else
in all of the draft evaluation process.

Speaker 1 (48:55):
So as we look at the season ahead, who's your
early MVP and what do you think will set them
apart this year? Now we know Asia Wilson one last year,
if she was unanimous MVP. She's won three MVPs so
far in her career. Put who do you have as
the early MVP pitch?

Speaker 2 (49:12):
She's won three non consecutive MVPs. So here is where
we turned the camera on ourselves as media and say
stop with the MVP fatigue. Asia had the most dominant
season in WNBA history last year, and I don't think
there's anything that's going to stop her from doing that again.
But for me, I've got I've got three names that

(49:33):
I'm keeping an eye on. Asia's one, Nafisa Collier on
her revenge Tour is the second name because phi we
saw her bring all of that game down to unrivaled
and she made herself a nice little paycheck in that
one on one tournament as well, and she's still talking
about Game five. So she's got every bit of motivation

(49:56):
that you could have, and she can channel that into
a really dominant two ways season, and then my third
name there is Kitlyn Clark. Caitlin being first team All
w last year as a rookie was incredible and if
the team makes the leap, we know that that is
something that voters always look at, is you got to
be a top three, top four team to even have

(50:18):
a chance to be in that conversation, and we've talked
about it. We think I think the ceiling regular season
is top two for this Indiana Feverite team. It's got
record wise, and then that puts them in the mix
for a title. And Caitlyn is going to be the
head of all of that. And now she's got these
vets around her that are really going to help her thrive,

(50:39):
help her out on the defensive end a bit, but
also Natasha Howard and Dewana Bonner run the floor so well.
Kelsey Mitchell coming back is so huge. Aliah Boston more
comfortable that in that two man game that they're running,
it's just not a starting five that really has any
holes to me. So I think Caitlyn is a superstar

(51:00):
talent on her own, and now she's flanked by all
this other really top and W talent, So she's going
to be in that conversation.

Speaker 1 (51:09):
We're going to take another pause right there and when
we get back more in case you missed it on
the other side of the break, Let's move on to
the New York Libruary. We talked about them a little
bit earlier.

Speaker 2 (51:28):
In the show.

Speaker 1 (51:28):
We talked about the opening weekend slate, and they're a
team that's going to be the Haunted with the strong
course still in place. How much do the losses of
Benigel Wanney Hamilton to injury this season and then Courtney
van Dersloup went to Chicago shift the liberty ceiling for
the twenty twenty five season.

Speaker 6 (51:49):
It's tough to.

Speaker 2 (51:50):
Talk about losing two players like that that were so
integral to the culture of the team and to just
the heart of the team to be taking the cart
without them, even if their roles changed throughout that championship run,
even if we saw Leo Supplant honestly, first Benija and

(52:10):
then Courtney in the starting lineup, and then you bring
in Natasha Cloud, who is just so much heart and
passion and positivity and energy. So you can see that
Leo and Hash being slotted into the roles that a
year ago we thought were going to be Benija and
Courtney's how that can be kind of a one for

(52:32):
one swap. They're going to miss them, But I don't
know that this affects the ceiling of the team so much.
The Liberty do have still a lot of depth, and
that's a credit to jk and everything that he's done.
He's got people that we've never heard of stash that
are going to be all stars in this league in
the future. So it really I mean, we saw what

(52:54):
Leoni Foebish basically last year. There was a point in
the semifinals that Becky Hannon is like, we have no
counter for the size that they're able to put out there,
and that that alone is that's what they're bringing back.
Leo per Mattie Kenny at the Post is going to
return to New York on Thursday, so she'll be here

(53:15):
for the opener, which was a little bit up in
the air of her overseas team. Valencia hadn't won the
championship in a sweep, which they did. Congratulations to Leo
and even more hardware. So we're going to see this
new look team together. But I think, yeah, that their
expectation should be exactly what they were last year.

Speaker 1 (53:33):
You mentioned Liberty bringing over an Atasha Cloud and how
that dynamic would be absolutely different from when they had
a player like Courtney Vanderslout at the helm and helping
to facilitate. So we've seen Natasha Cloud a little bit
in the preseason, and we know that she's known for
making an impact on both sides of the floor. Before
I ask you the question, I just want to play
a little bit of what she said in terms of

(53:55):
setting the tone on defense, and then I'll come back
to the question.

Speaker 7 (54:00):
We got to be able to get some stops on
the defensive end, be tougher, get the fifty to fifty balls,
win the rebounding contest as well, because that's not something
New York Basketball typically loses.

Speaker 3 (54:11):
And I know that from playing against them before too.

Speaker 1 (54:14):
All Right, so here's the question, Miles, how do you
think her defensive presence and playmaking ability will shape the
Liberty's overall approach this season?

Speaker 2 (54:24):
Well, I'm not going to say it better than Toash.
That's first and foremost. She is very She's very locked
in on everything that she says, and I love how
engaged she is with all of it. And the Liberty
are going to love that too. The liberty are going
to love how aggressive she is on the perimeter, and
she is going to love having John qwall Jones and

(54:45):
Brianna Stewart behind her because that enables her to pressure
full court. That enables her to fight over screens and
to try a little bit harder to snake around and
tend to navigate some of those actions because she knows
if she gets beat, she's got a to of help
behind her. And that aggressiveness will also really be helpful
to the other guards on the team because a couple

(55:07):
of years ago, we just talked about Becky Hammond saying
it was difficult to navigate Leoni Fevish on the perimeter,
but she was relentlessly attacking the back court, the sad
and slew back court. Now you've got Natasha Cloud out
there and Sabrina. She's a hard nosed defender in that
she's the effort is there and that she's really good

(55:30):
at keeping people in front of her. It's almost like this,
she can count for three seconds until the help comes out,
and she can keep anyone in front there. It's when
they have her navigating a whole bunch of screens and
when they have her trying to snake around and get
through everywhere, but having something like TSH with those defensive
instincts to help out to switch all of that's going
to be helpful. Same thing is true for Marine coming

(55:53):
off the bench. So I think that it's really going
to be every moment that she's on the floor will
be impactful, not just for her individually, but for everybody
else on the team as well.

Speaker 1 (56:04):
No, I agree, And you know, it's just interesting. I
think in the preseason the first game, everyone's like, Okay,
that defense, it's not there, but you have to play
and put into factor that Brandon Stewart didn't play it,
they didn't have Laoni Feebitch, and so those are key
parts to the New York Liberty defense. And so you know, preseason,
I don't think it's a determining factors for what this

(56:27):
team can do defensively. And you brought up the size.
I think that JK was very intentional, right, because size
is what helped them size on versatility is what helped
Liberty ultimately win that championship, I think, And so I'm
excited to see and I know a couple of years
ago we were talking about that permember defense being atrocious,
so you had a player like Natasha Cloud, and I

(56:47):
think that it kind of even imbalances it out a
little bit. Then what a treat it is for Natasha
to be able to play with two amazing future Hall
of Famer Biggs and John Cuwel Jones and Brianna Stewart.
She's a history throw her career and playing with some
amazing bigs and Elena Dela Don and Mamisa Men Brittany Griner,
So what a treat it is to have her out
here in New York to kind of run things a

(57:09):
little bit as a point guard. We talked about the bench,
and I think that the I think that JK did
a great job at additioned by subtraction and getting a
strong bench. And we always talk about the New York
Liberty depth every every season. This season, Marine Johanna's returns
after committing to our national team last year, and Rebecca

(57:32):
Gardner is also returning to the team after missing a
season due to injury. So how much do their skill
set help improve the second unit?

Speaker 2 (57:39):
So those are two important names because you think about
them as the reserves to Sabrina and to Natasha and
Liberty fans are going to fall in love with Rebecca Gardner.
They're already in love with Marine Joannas, but they're going
to fall in love with Rebecca Gardner and just her tenacity,
just her effort. I think you're going to see a
little bit of that that kt that they lost because

(58:01):
we talked about some of the other players that departed
the team, and we didn't really bring up Kayla Thornton
that much. But somebody who is just going to hustle, hustle, hustle,
who's going to drive to open lanes, who's going to
make that extra pass, Rebecca Gardner is really a luxury

(58:21):
for this team to have, for them to be able
to match up. I think we're going to see a
lot of minutes from her in that opening game, especially
as Leo kind of readjusts. I think we're going to
see a lot of Rebecca Gardner against the three guard
lineups of the Aces, and that flexibility for Sandy Brondelo
is really important. And Marine, we know what Marine is.

(58:44):
We know that you're going to see a couple of
Sports center shots, a couple of Sports center passes and
one yeah, the one legged threes, the no look passes
the But I think what my biggest takeaway has been
in this preseason is just how happy Marine is to
be here. This is her first ever WNBA training camp

(59:07):
because she always always had the French league that went
super long, and she left that league prior to last
season so that she could be here for training camp
and you can just see how great it is for
her to I mean, you talked about me being on
my honeymoon, and I feel like coming back a week

(59:27):
into training camp that you know, I'm that kid that
transferred into the class after the ad drop period ended,
where I'm just trying to catch up. Imagine you know,
getting on a plane and ending up having to like
go to the West Coast and lock in with a
team because you have a game in twenty four hours.
So just Marine being able to be here and really
get a feel for the for the systems and the schemes.

(59:48):
And she always has the competence of Sandy Brondello who
always says, just I let Marine be Marine, but the
confidence from her teammates as well. When Natasha Cloud was
saying she doesn't shoot anough, like I need Marine to
be shooting more. That's going to be you know, regardless
of whether she's starting or coming off the bench, she's
going to have a major role within the team's offense.

Speaker 1 (01:00:10):
Yeah, and she's the longest tenured New York Liberty player.
She was there when we were at trenches in Westchester.
So it's been amazing to see her growth from year
one to now year.

Speaker 2 (01:00:20):
Four five four. Yeah, four Year four from Marina miss
some in the middle, but yep, four she.

Speaker 1 (01:00:26):
Missed some in the middle. So year four for Marine.
I had an opportunity to talk to her cost game
last week, and she just talked about, you know, how
the national team had prepared her to come back and
be more aggressive, be more confident in going downhill and
finishing at the rim. And so while we see her
having all these other trips in her bag in terms

(01:00:46):
of playmaking and being able to shoot from three, she's
looking at improving on finishing at the rim and just
elevating her game. And I think that now is the
time to do that. So I'm excited to see her growth.
And you talked about Rebecca and what a treat was
it for her to be able to observe for a
whole year and be around a team and to see

(01:01:09):
you know, while she didn't play last season, she was
definitely around the team and was able to watch, and
so that I feel like gives her an advantage coming
into this season. Although it is a new team, a
new team roster wise, and maybe little changes to the system,
she still has that chemistry with the players, the core
players that are there. So I'm excited to see her

(01:01:29):
leap as well and just how hungry she is to
play and to be a winner. All right, So, with
all the changes that we talked about with this New
York Liberty team, do you think that they're in a
stronger position this season to win or do you think
the team has taken a step back?

Speaker 2 (01:01:45):
So I think that they are in a very strong position.
I do think that the league the contenders have deepened,
so I think it's going to be a tougher path
than it was a year ago. I just want to
caution Liberty fans that it might take a little while

(01:02:05):
to get to the dominant team that we've seen in
years past. Like you said, lots of new faces or
even in the case of Rebecca Gardner or Marine Johannis,
faces that are familiar, but we're not on last year's team.
So there's also going to be a new commitment to
a five out offense, which they've kind of run a

(01:02:28):
five out before, but not with this level of new
brand basketball, shooting three pointers, all of that stuff that
we keep on talking about, and it's going to be
interesting to see how much they still can exploit some
of the post ups because we know that when john

(01:02:50):
Quell Jones is the focus of the Liberties offense, they
win basketball games.

Speaker 7 (01:02:54):
That is.

Speaker 2 (01:02:56):
Just a fact that over the last two year, and
that's including Brianna Stewart winning the MVP in twenty twenty three.
I think if you look at the last the last
two years, john Quell Jones has been the most impactful
player on this team. So I'm afraid that just because
she can shoot the three, just because she can pass
out of the short role, that the team might be

(01:03:19):
going away from some of what makes her such a
dominant player, which is just get her two feet in
the paint and let her go to work. So we're
going to see that evolve. We're going to see on
the fly how much she's able to duck in and
how quick and intentional the offense is about getting her
the ball when she does do that. But what the
five out I think can do is instead of forcing

(01:03:41):
more threes, maybe that makes some more room for Brianna
Stewart to drive downhill. When she was struggling to shoot
last year, I think a lot of that was because
of shot selection. So if it's a little bit less
crowded inside that could inside, that could help. But I
just want to caution fans that it might take him minute.
It might take a minute for this to feel like
a well oiled machine because they're still kind of working

(01:04:03):
through some of those kinks and that could only come
with game reps.

Speaker 3 (01:04:07):
Well.

Speaker 1 (01:04:07):
I feel like the Liberty every year they have slow
starts and then we don't see that turn until the
All Star break, and then that's when they ramp it
up and you see a completely different team. I think
that the difference between the championship team or the finals
team that we saw in twenty twenty three versus the
championship team that we saw in twenty twenty four was
kind of the same. As what's happening now is like
you're going to build that team chemistry and that connectedness

(01:04:30):
the seavers that we used to talk about so much,
and then once they had that turn in year two
with Slut and Denija and that core, it was like unstoppable, right,
and so now it's like another reset we got, we
got some new pieces in and now we're learning a
new offense, learning each other. And so as you said,

(01:04:51):
it's going to be a slow star. So New York
Liberty fans brace yourselves, okay. And as you mentioned teams
and the off season, they definitely use the Liberty as
a standard and they went out and got better. So
I'm excited. I think that the parody is there when
it's when we think about like the teams and how

(01:05:12):
everyone got better. So it's going to be more competition
this season, and as you said, there's no straight path
to a championship. It could be anyone's night, all right.
To wrap up the season, Pleview, I'm interested in knowing
which team might not be getting a lot of attention,
but that you feel it could be a dark horse
this season that could make a serious, serious run in

(01:05:34):
twenty twenty five.

Speaker 2 (01:05:35):
So this is hard because I feel like we've talked
about everybody, so everyone's gotten some loves, gotten some attention
over this last hour or so. But we look at
what the Liberty did last year, and so much of
that was to beat the Aces, right, that was what
their metric was, what do we have to do to
change And we saw the changes with Leo that we
talked about. So now we're going to look at those

(01:05:56):
teams that were contenders but went into the offseason saying
what do we have to do to beat the Liberty
And that's when I'm trying to think about who made
that jump. And I don't know that it was a definite.
I don't know that it was a big change in
terms of personnel. But I'm going to flip back to
the Las Vegas Aces. We haven't talked about them enough.
I think they get forgotten. They get forgotten because of

(01:06:19):
that terrific Liberty Links finals. But we're looking at Chelsea
Gray being another year removed from an injury that definitely
had her hamper to start right. It took her the
first half to really get back to herself at all,
get back on the court at all, then the second
half to get back to herself and Jackie Young, who

(01:06:41):
was dealing with an injury at the end of the season.
So bringing the two of those players back healthy, along
with Asia Wilson being the best player on any court
that she ever steps into anywhere in the world. You
really have a contender that how is it that the
Las Vegas Aces, who won the previous two titles are
not being talked about enough?

Speaker 4 (01:07:00):
I really feel strongly about that.

Speaker 1 (01:07:02):
I know that we're going to clip this and put
it in, you know, shout out to the documentarian who
always listens to everything that we do. But no, let's
talk about it. You're absolutely right, like they have not
been talked about enough this off season. Jewellloyd was a
huge get. I feel like Jewel is at her best
when she's not the number one option and you put
her in the fold with the team like the Las

(01:07:23):
Vegas Aces and Asia Wilson is Wilson is the first option.
Then you have Chelsea Gray Jackie Young who are healthy,
which was a damper last season for them when you
did not have them at their best. Key Stokes wasn't
at her best in terms of health wise. And then
you add the players in like Liz Kitley who is

(01:07:44):
returning from an injury, Alia and I who's impressed tremendously
and season added at three point shooting that they need.
Crystal Bradford, who had impressive athletes unlimited season who can
impact and get stops on deep end, but also rebounding
as well.

Speaker 2 (01:08:02):
She's such a great rebounder and also someone else who's
great at pushing the break after she grabs that rebound
and just starts a mini break whenever the ball is
in her hands. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:08:10):
So this is a team that you know, was criticized
for years about not having depth, right and I think that,
as you mentioned, they made the right moves with Donn
a GM and the off season. So yeah, the Aces
could be a dark horse. I think so.

Speaker 2 (01:08:27):
Wild that we're talking about that in twenty twenty five.

Speaker 1 (01:08:30):
I know they have the raining MVP and we're saying
that they are dark horse. Crazy, right, But Miles, I
want to thank you for joining in case you missed
it with Christina Williams this week on iHeart. Thank you
for previewing the season with me. And before we let
you get out of here, what is something that's bringing

(01:08:51):
you joy?

Speaker 2 (01:08:52):
Spring is here weekend, about five days of it in
New York City and this is the This week was
those five days. I think it's now going to rain
each of the next five days.

Speaker 4 (01:09:02):
But spring is here.

Speaker 2 (01:09:04):
I'm back to playing softball in Central Park and getting
a sunburn because I always forget to bring sunscreen, and
then covering these games the w's here, I get to
see you all the time. I feel like we both
kind of have to rest and recharge in the winter time.
So now we're gonna be at Barclays Center, which is
our semi permanent address over the summer months. So I'm

(01:09:25):
just you know, birds of chirp and people are outside
New York City in the spring. There is nothing better.
So I'm just I'm just happy. I'm just here for
the vibes right now.

Speaker 1 (01:09:34):
Listen. I love good vibes all the time. The Nicks
are still in the playoffs to three to one against
the Celtics on Baby recording this though, the vibes in
New York City are high. I'm looking forward to being
in Brooklyn all summer long, and you know our trips
to McMahon's.

Speaker 2 (01:09:49):
That's what.

Speaker 1 (01:09:52):
You only can get an invite, don't don't, don't pop
up after a game and try to hang with us.
Invite only, but looking forward to seeing what season twenty
nine of the WNBA has to offer. Miles, Thank you
so much for joining us this week.

Speaker 4 (01:10:06):
Thank you so much, Christina, see you soon.

Speaker 1 (01:10:09):
All right, y'all, don't go too far. We're gonna take
another quick break, and when we get back, Partisan Fontaine
joins us, stay with us. Has there ever been a
better time to be a WNBA fan? The league's hotter

(01:10:30):
than ever, Asia Angel, Caitlin Page, Stewie. I mean, you
can't scroll two swaves without seeing one of them. The
arenas are packed, the ratings are all the way up,
and the bandwagon is officially standing room only. So I
figured why not kick off a new segment and check
in with some of the biggest names showing love to
the w Today's guest is a two time Grammy Award

(01:10:52):
winning rapper and songwriter who's worked with heavyweights like Kanye
West and I know you've heard of Cardi B. He's
also been getting into his acting back lately, appearing on
Power Book three raising Kanaan. Just like us, He's fully
locked in on the w Please welcome the one and
only Partisan Fontaine aka Party Too. In case you missed it,

(01:11:13):
Welcome to the show.

Speaker 3 (01:11:14):
Thank you for having me.

Speaker 1 (01:11:15):
All right, so let's dive into this season. The w
NBA cakes off on Friday. What was your w NBA
fandom origin story. When did you become a fan of
the WNBA.

Speaker 3 (01:11:26):
I feel like I'm telling my age a little bit,
but I feel like I feel like I had a
sister who played basketball, and and the girls at my
church really played basketball when I was young, so they
used to always talk about the They used to always
talk about the girls in WNBA, and they was nice,
like my sister was nice too. They was better than

(01:11:46):
me and my brother. So they always talked about like
Cynthia Cooper and uh and that group of girls. And
I specifically remember Nikki Teasley, like when she was on
the Sparks and how she I guess she just had handle,
was able to shoot and whatnot. So I remember watching
those games even as I was young. So that was

(01:12:07):
like my first introduction to it.

Speaker 1 (01:12:09):
So I was doing a little bit of research on you,
and I found out that you used to hoop. Yeah. Absolutely,
I'm from New York too. Absolutely, what was your hooping days?

Speaker 3 (01:12:19):
Like my hooping days was great? Like you couldn't tell
me I wasn't going to the NBA for the longest time,
Like I was out there with the ankle weights, you
know what I mean. I'm in the summer, I'm shooting.
I'm doing everything in the whole nine yards. I'm watching
every every tape, Pistol Pete tape, Magic Johnson tape. I'm
watching all of these, you know what I mean. I
was locked in. I thought I was going to be

(01:12:40):
like at least six ten, six', Eleven SO i THOUGHT
i was going to THE. Nba BUT i had a good.
CAREER i, SAY i got a scholarship to play. BASKETBALL
i was always good enough TO i was always good
enough to. START i just was never like you know
What i'm saying the guy, Though BUT i was always a.

Speaker 1 (01:12:56):
Starter what was the deciding factor for you to just put?
Down put down the ball and pick up a?

Speaker 3 (01:13:02):
Mic WHEN i went To Mountain Zion Christian academy In North,
carolina AND i was LIKE i, SAID i was good
enough to play and. Start BUT i, realized, like, Yo
i'm still six' Five and i'm still playing like small forward,
power forward like you KNOW what. I, mean Like so
i'm like Everybody that i'm starting to play against is
like six eighty, six Nine and, i'm like colleges ain't

(01:13:26):
just being down. My Door so, I'm like i'm gonna
have to make a little alteration, right now and THAT'S
when i transition, into music.

Speaker 1 (01:13:33):
And we're thankful. For that you wrapped THE w a.
Lot online who would you say is on Your mount
rushmore OF w. NBA players i know You Mentioned, cynthia
cooper but if you had to choose three, Other people.

Speaker 6 (01:13:44):
Oh now Rushmore Along ago coop cause you know how
she came in and she was.

Speaker 3 (01:13:55):
Just dominant i'm Gonna Go. Lisa leslie oh, two more.
Two more i'm Gonna Throw maya moore in, there too
because it's just what she did in her. Short time like,
she was she. Became different i'm Gonna Go maya moore
and That's what. I'm. Going asia I'm. Going asian. I'm
throwing I'm. THROWING asian i.

Speaker 2 (01:14:15):
LIKE that i.

Speaker 1 (01:14:16):
LIKE that i can't go wrong. With that SO the
wnba season kicks Off. This friday which team are you
most excited to watch?

Speaker 7 (01:14:21):
This?

Speaker 3 (01:14:21):
Season yo I'm always i'm, always Torn and i'm gonna be,
An Attendant so i'm playing on being attendance to. This
game i'm always Torn because asia is one of. My
favorites you Know what. I'm saying she's one of, my
favorites but the home team And who i'm always going
for Is, The liberty so you Know what, i'm saying
they face it off in. The opener THAT'S how i

(01:14:42):
feel About like lebron And. The Knicks like I'm a
knicks fan throw, and Through but i'm also a fan
Of wherever lebron. Is At so i'm just excited to
see both of, those teams especially in the, home opener,
going again going at.

Speaker 1 (01:14:53):
It again it's a good Time For New york. City Basketball,
the knicks curly Is The, boston Celtics. The liberty you
Have ring night this, this weekend so it is definitely an.
Exciting time so thinking about all, of that you Talked
About asia wilson being one of your, favorite players and
right now, she's dominant THREE time mvp she won unanimous
last YEAR and. Mvp rankings what stands out to you

(01:15:15):
the Most about Asia's.

Speaker 3 (01:15:16):
Game the ability to do it all really like you
Know what, i'm saying like not having, a flaw rebounding,
mid range one dribble, pull ups you Know what. I'm
saying from, her position she she's really doing it all
and putting up. Crazy numbers the numbers is insane and
it's been like this for you Know what i'm saying
three four, Years now so that that level of consistency

(01:15:36):
at a high level, is just, you know admirable from.
Any athlete BUT but i just admired that.

Speaker 1 (01:15:43):
A lot SO we, i know you got a lot,
of BARS and I hear i hear that you're working
on some. New music so if you can make a
track that captures the energy of where the w NBA's,
right now with all the momentum you Got, Ange Reese,
Asian Wilson, Caitlyn Clark, page beckers all of these new and,
exciting players what would that?

Speaker 2 (01:15:58):
Sound?

Speaker 3 (01:15:59):
LIKE oh i have to cook. Up, yo actually just
put a battery in. My back i'm gonna have to
throw something together and pitch it. For real it would
have to be some. HIGH energy i don't know if,
people REMEMBER But Nba Live video game two thousand and
five probably one of the best BASKETBALL soundtracks i ever heard.
Put TOGETHER so i gotta make something that's worthy to

(01:16:20):
be on, that level you KNOW what. I mean i
would have to get.

Speaker 1 (01:16:22):
In there the WNBA's ON, two, k now so maybe
you Hit up NANNIE two k and get a track.

Speaker 3 (01:16:28):
On there we need to have this talk a. While
ago we Need to i'm definitely gonna do That. Money
flage you Know what. I'm saying we're gonna put. Something.

Speaker 1 (01:16:34):
TOGETHER listen i Would love lakflage has been on the,
Show twice so if you want to hear cook, up
something gotta release it on. This show outside of your fandom,
For basketball you've been getting into your acting bag Lately
on PowerBook Three. Raising kanaan what was that experience like
moving from music into the. ACTING space i.

Speaker 3 (01:16:55):
Feel like i'm, a NATURAL if i say. SO myself
i felt like it was, just like, you know just.
Another EXPERIENCE but i really. LOVED it i really. Enjoyed
it everybody in the cast was like they made me.
So comfortable it was like just another way to uh
express myself in another way, to grow cause, you know
you get you get used to doing things at a.
High level so for me to be thrown into the

(01:17:17):
fire with all of these great actors and in such a,
great show it was like a chance to be like a,
novice again like a, baby again and and just and
just watch it and appreciate their craft and and uh and.
Growing it so IT'S something i, REALLY liked i.

Speaker 1 (01:17:32):
Really enjoyed what was the best part about the process?
For you how did?

Speaker 3 (01:17:36):
You prepare just getting the tips and the pointers and
seeing how the scenes is set up and seeing how
they're doing a million takes and, at first like you,
go there you nervous the license on like. Ah ah
but after a while and you talking to the directors
and the writers and they give you this creative license
or ability to like you Know what, i'm saying like,
find it find that character and. Express yourself it's. IT'S

(01:17:59):
tough I just i love seeing it all, come together.
Especially now they don't let you see it ahead of,
the Time so i'm watching it with the rest of
the world as, it's unfolding like the cuts, and edits
but seeing it as a, finished product and after all
that time, and work it's just.

Speaker 1 (01:18:13):
It's amazing let's get back to talk about. Your music
on the, music side what should be be keeping our
ears out for anything new on?

Speaker 3 (01:18:19):
The way, ALL absolutely i got a project. Coming soon
i'm gonna try to add this to y'all bout. The
summer but. IT'S all i got a lot of a
lot of female talent, on there a lot of a
lot of the favorites are, on THERE and i think
people are gonna be excited to.

Speaker 1 (01:18:37):
Hear It it's cardi, on it, of course.

Speaker 3 (01:18:39):
That's like you Know what, I'm saying that's that's my,
road dog it's. My ace. Of.

Speaker 1 (01:18:42):
Course, Absolutely, Oh party i'm looking forward to seeing you
this Weekend At opening Weekend The New York Liberty Las.
Vegas aces thank you for joining our fan focus, celebrity
segment THE W Nba tips off. This weekend it's been
a pleasure to chat with you and looking forward to
that new music and possibly seeing you each ON two k. Twenty.

Speaker 3 (01:19:01):
Six yo i'm making that happen. For sure i'm definitely
gonna make. That happen thank you for, having me, All.

Speaker 1 (01:19:07):
Right chav that's gonna. Do it for this Episode Of
In Case You missed It With. Christina williams shout out
To The homie mousel coming through with the, season preview
and our Good friend party for joining us for this
week's fan. Focused segment don't forget, to rate review and
subscribe to, the podcast Because, on friday we have a
Very Special la sparks season preview with General Manager riggan

(01:19:30):
Peebley And kelsey plump don't forget to follow us on
social media and we'll see you. Next time in case
you missed It With christina williams Is an iHeart women's
sports production in Partnership With Deep blue Sports. And entertainment
you can find us On the, iHeartRadio app, apple podcast
or wherever you get. Your podcasts

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}WNBA Season Preview w/ Pardison Fontaine and Myles Ehrlich