Valkyries' 6-Game Win Streak, Power Poll Rise & Kaitlyn Chen's MIP Case | Podhalla


In this episode of Podhalla, Garrett Gonzales and Conrado Pascual (subbing for Brian Gonzales) break down the Valkyries' six-game winning streak — possibly the hottest run of any team in the WNBA — and where Golden State now lands in the league's power poll. They build the case for Kaitlyn Chen as a Most Improved Player candidate, discuss how Kiah Stokes has settled in after a rough start, and look ahead to the Valkyries' upcoming week of games. Subscribe for weekly Golden State Valkyries and WNBA coverage from BSPN.
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[UNKNOWN]: Thank you.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Welcome back to Pot Halla and if you're watching on video, you see a different face.
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[SPEAKER_01]: They're not a different face of familiar face, but that is not Brian because Brian is at Summer League right now.
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[SPEAKER_01]: He's in Vegas and that is somewhere where our guest is still possibly going this week.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Have you decided?
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[SPEAKER_01]: Are you going out there?
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[SPEAKER_01]: What's going on?
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[SPEAKER_01]: Can Rado pass well?
00:32.547 --> 00:35.708
[SPEAKER_01]: it will truly be a game time decision, you know.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I was not planning on going, but turns out I have a lot of friends that went, and so, you know, they got like one of those, like, you know, hotels that are more like a condo.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Well, at least I have a place to like crash last minute, but I was not intending, but perhaps, right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, there's a lot of intrigue to this warriors, a summer league team.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Are you a Vegas guy per se, I mean, I used to be these days not so much not so much no no I mean and then you know some really like kudos to the scouts who stay there for like the entirety.
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[SPEAKER_00]: of summer league like the the 10 12 days like that's that's insane like I would lose my mind being in Vegas for that long you know not being an actual residence of the city like that's just too much yeah i was watching oceans 11 the other day so you remember the movie from like the early 2000s and um
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[SPEAKER_01]: What I realized is when Oceans 11 had come out, I'd only been to Vegas, maybe like once possibly twice.
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[SPEAKER_01]: But after that movie came out just because of, you know, I was a little bit older, you know, I had been so much after that.
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[SPEAKER_01]: But then as you said, you know, now that I'm older, I've really pulled back on my Vegas exposure.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And it's a lot different these days as well from when we were going a little bit back in the day.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, definitely.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And I mean, the atmosphere in general, Vegas is different, but also summer league is, you know, I was actually talking to some of my colleagues before.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I think this is their first time covering summer league.
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[SPEAKER_00]: You know, I was, I think the first one I covered was in 2015.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It's like right after the Warriors won the first title would Steph.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It was such a more intimate experience, you know, like you actually really did get into act with players and coaches, you know, on a more casual basis.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Now it's just kind of like, it's, I'm sure it's still fun, but it is very similar as if you're going to a normal NBA regular season game, right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: You're at a distance, you're very much a viewer.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So, you know, it's, I'm sure fans still enjoy it, but it's definitely different, you know,
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[SPEAKER_00]: you know how how you really take away and consume that weekend.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm going to age myself here, but the only time I've been to Summer League, gosh, it's either like 2012 or 2013 right around that time frame.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So it's the pulp ears and Kevin Garnett get traded to Brooklyn.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I'm frame.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And so me and my buddy are there and like there's nobody there like it's just a psych I mean maybe there's you know there's a handful of people every row so you can just literally sit wherever you want and so we're caught we kind of just sat somewhere and we mows it over and
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[SPEAKER_01]: We noticed that there was an assistant GM and I forget his name, but I think he became maybe the Brooklyn net's GM at some point.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And he was just randomly talking to who I believe was a scout.
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[SPEAKER_01]: He's talking about Paul Pierce, but what they think about his game, whether he's on the decline or not.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I was just like, wait, like you're just out here, spilling.
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[SPEAKER_01]: front office secrets right in summer league right in your shot and so we would just ear hustling the entire we didn't pay attention to the gamers at your hustling to this dude talking about uh... front office stuff and
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[SPEAKER_01]: where they think Paul is at this day in his career and all that stuff.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So that's that's my memory of Summer League.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know, I literally don't never remember who was playing or some of the pros.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And to be honest, it's still a very similar thing for like executives, for scouts, you know, for coaches.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It's as much a networking opportunity as it really is about player evaluation.
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[SPEAKER_00]: You know, so I do enjoy that aspect of it, though.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I'll find this this is I'll see if I can find this dude's name to at some point you you'll know who I'm talking about because he's not it's not like he's an unknown unknown guy But okay, we're not here talking about the NBA or summer league though You know with our network we do talk we're gonna talk about the warriors at at some point, but not on this show because we are here to talk about The Valkyries who right are they the hottest team in the WMBA right now?
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[SPEAKER_01]: I would say so yeah fix in a row
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[SPEAKER_01]: And when Brian and I last recorded, I think they had just started their road trip.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And since part of the road trip, they've gone three and oh, on this road trip, which is really like kind of like a testament, right?
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[SPEAKER_01]: To how prepared they are.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Like this is a five gamer, they said two more games left on this road trip and Indiana.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And you know, they're not playing New York and Las Vegas and Minnesota every game, but still they're going on the road.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It's a long trip if there was going to be sort of a loss of focus or kind of an adjustment to being on the road after being on the at home for a while, them losing one or two of these games on the road trip.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I don't think we're to anyone really bad at tonight.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And yet here they are, just bulldozing through these teams, holding poor Washington to 49 weeks the other day.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I was like, what am I watching here?
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[SPEAKER_01]: This is like late 90s NBA here.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Where's Tim Hardaway passing to Alonzo morning and shooting with one second left on the shot clock, like every single time down the floor?
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[SPEAKER_01]: Like what it like, as you know, we know, I think we know that this team is good.
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[SPEAKER_01]: But when they can then go on the road and just kind of take the life out of the building and some of these teams like that is a different level of impressive I think based on what how we see this ball club.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, no, definitely.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, again, right, tomorrow, they will take on the Connecticut Sun, so that will make it their fourth game in seven days.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So, I mean, for all the things that you were saying, the conditions, the circumstances with which they're playing these road games, even if the competition, again, has like their own issues that they're dealing with, whether that's players injured or just kind of whatever out for various reasons.
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[SPEAKER_00]: You know, I think we talked about this at the beginning of the season and, you know, this was even based on last year's Valkyries team, is that just the Valkyries, they just have this ability.
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[SPEAKER_00]: to make other like to make their opponents play on their terms.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Now does that always result in a win?
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[SPEAKER_00]: No.
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[SPEAKER_00]: But literally, I mean like with the exception of like the biggest game, they're always in every game.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And it's not an easy victory.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Like at no point in like, I would say, yeah, like in a, I don't know what, of their seven losses, I would say like probably five of them at least.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I'm trying to be conservative here.
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[SPEAKER_00]: the team that ended up winning it like they didn't really control the game you know like they executed down the stretch and won but i mean like that's the thing i don't think a lot of teams can say that you know and again it may not always be aesthetically pleasing not only in the cos i admitted that the other day it definitely against washington right they are going to be their share of ugly games
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[SPEAKER_00]: they can manifest into ugly winds, right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: So I really do think that's something about that is a testament to their ability again.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I kind of said it in chess because like, you know, from the onset of training camp connectivity, you know, has been like one of the buzzwords when it like part of the mantra of this 2026 squad, but I mean there is a lot to that right like you cannot be this much on the same page, you know, their ability to communicate with each other, like effortlessly, you know, their ability to be able to know.
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[SPEAKER_00]: You know, when to switch up their defensive coverages seamlessly, that is a testament again to their chemistry to their connectivity and again, another thing that not only the Kase has been saying a lot lately that, you know, any time a coach repeats the same phrase over and over again, you kind of like,
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[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Like, is this just kind of like, you know, some kind of generalization or platitude, but, you know, she's been saying, you know, emphasizing the controlables, is how she describes it, right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Control, what you can control.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And in her opinion, defense is something that the team can always control.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And when you look at the way that they're winning these games, again, like you could question why they're having like these scoring droughts or why they're coming out of the gates, you know, slow, but they're never out of it.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Like the defense really is keeping them in the game.
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[SPEAKER_00]: There are times for somehow like the defense.
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[SPEAKER_00]: is actually allowing them to push the lead a little bit like, you know, wider, even though they themselves aren't exactly scoring efficiently, right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: So it is definitely impressive and it very much is a part of their identity.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And I don't think too many, I don't think any other teams can really say that they can defend
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[SPEAKER_01]: Washington, Toronto.
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[SPEAKER_01]: The closest game is the Atlanta game.
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[SPEAKER_01]: They won by five.
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[SPEAKER_01]: They had to come back in that game.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And Washington was a little bit of a rock fight, uh, and then Toronto was that Toronto's was a was a pretty good basketball game overall.
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[SPEAKER_01]: They locked down Arena Maverick to the point of where I thought she was going to try and just start a fight with the Kyla Charles for the hell of it because she was so frustrated, but there was that like, you know, I, I wonder how that game would have gone if.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Sikes and Kiki were playing because they were in it.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Toronto was in it.
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[SPEAKER_01]: They were game.
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[SPEAKER_01]: The Valkyries were clearly the more talented team, but two of their better players were also not playing.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So I would have liked to see that same matchup with everybody healthy.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I think it would have been a pretty damn good basketball game.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, no, no, definitely.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Definitely.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, again, right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: The Valkyries.
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[SPEAKER_00]: They are very,
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[SPEAKER_00]: You know, they're very meticulous at being able to defend and contain.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Let's put it that way, contain the other teams top scoring option.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So definitely, I mean, when the absence of, you know, psychs and kiki rise, yeah, I mean, let's, let's be real.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Well, acknowledge that it definitely makes it a lot easier for them to kind of
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[SPEAKER_00]: You know, you see the amount of defensive success they had compared to some of the other teams, right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, I, you know, the sparks are kind of their own issue, uh, defensively, so maybe that's not the best parameter, but still, right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, like,
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[SPEAKER_00]: I think, you know, friend of the show Nathan can't allow, he talked about this like the last week, where he kind of pulled up, you know, all the top scores from each of the last of Valkyria ponens, and you see, right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, how much they keep them under their scoring average.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It's nearly almost like, almost like eight to 10 points below on average, like below those players scoring average.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it will be interesting to see if or when they face some of these teams, like when some of these teams get like some of their key players back.
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[SPEAKER_00]: But I mean, again, they find ways to adjust.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And it's not just anyone person.
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[SPEAKER_00]: That's the thing.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It really is a true like defensive or team defensive effort.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And it's really been impressive.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It's been impressive because again,
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[SPEAKER_00]: the be able to switch up coverage from possession to possession.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I've said this before on this show, I've said it on other places, I've written about it, but that's not easy.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Because especially two, when you're doing it with a different personnel, so that means you really need to understand right, like timing, positioning to be able to call out and recognize certain plays or the opposing
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[SPEAKER_00]: It's, at times, it looks like the opponent is just basically like stuck in mud, you know, I mean, like, you know, for all the criticism of the Valkyries offense, they somehow make their opponents look even more lost, you know, when they're on offense.
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[SPEAKER_00]: it will be interesting.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It'll be interesting in these next couple games too, because in theory there should be playing some teams with a lot of higher power, but we'll get to get that a bit, but there's some interesting load management going on with some other teams.
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[SPEAKER_01]: think that there was a comment necessarily on the injury.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And then I see that she's questionable for Friday's game, which, uh, you know, questionable, questionable.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So sometimes you'll play sometimes they don't.
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[SPEAKER_01]: But that's something to look at because they have been fairly
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[SPEAKER_01]: injury free this year save for losing early on a repair at the beginning and see not because of injury but because of her pregnancy, but throughout the season, you know, players have gotten dinged up, you see tip haze go down and almost every game where you kind of hold your breath.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Um, you know, Veronica's had to deal with a couple of different things, but otherwise they've been fairly healthy.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And so this will this will be kind of another thing for them to figure out.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And they've been fantastic about figuring out certain things except for maybe the ACEs, which may they just may never be able to figure out the ACEs, but like this is another thing for Natalie in the team to kind of go like, okay, now how do we play without.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Who I believe is their best player if they if she's not playing on Friday.
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[SPEAKER_01]: If they want a restaurant because like you said they have a bunch of games still coming up.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So this is another interesting one and you know if she misses I do wonder what is the go to does does you stay get a little bit of tick does that mean it's the Caitlin show like you know like there there are options there and but have you heard anything about Gabby?
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[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, after the game, Natalie basically said, it's like, again, one of her common phrases anytime, someone gets dinged up.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, we asked her, like, what was the status of Gabby?
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[SPEAKER_00]: And she said, she hadn't had, she hadn't received an official word or diagnosis from the training staff.
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[SPEAKER_00]: She said, simply that Gabby was in the locker room in all smiles, right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: So you take that for what it is, but so no, other than that,
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[SPEAKER_00]: there's been no substantial update, you know, whether or not she got like an MRI or anything like that.
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[SPEAKER_00]: But yeah, to your point, like if and again, I, I stress this last night.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I'm,
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[SPEAKER_00]: The values have not overlooked any opponent, they will not be overlooked in Connecticut.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't matter what their record is.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I'm simply saying that again, if you want to be a little bit more cautious or conservative with Gabby Williams health, then perhaps sitting or out tomorrow would be the prudent move, given that again, they don't play
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[SPEAKER_00]: again until next Wednesday, right, when they finish out the road trip in Indiana.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So, you know, I mean, again, if you just don't want to risk, you know, either re aggravating or exacerbating that injury, maybe it would be good to sit her out.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I think in all likelihood, if she does sit out either tip,
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[SPEAKER_00]: I think not only will go out in one of two ways, like, and it's based on the players, you're going to see it's like, you're leading heavily in one direction or the other.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Either she goes with tip to maintain again a lot more of like that rim pressure.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Or you've seen Gabby be a significantly more aggressive, especially in this winning streak, significantly more aggressive in terms of attacking the rim, and they found a Korean quarter when they needed to.
17:40.047 --> 17:59.915
[SPEAKER_00]: They've got like some really creative ways of getting her like springing her free to get her downhill You know a lot of like those hand-offs in transition or like those DHOs where Veronica is the one You know executing the hand-off because then obviously at least one defender is gonna go with VB So then all of a sudden you kind of have like
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[SPEAKER_00]: She has enough to get a step on her defender, and she's sliced down the lane.
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[SPEAKER_00]: You know, they're giving her a lot more drag screens, like double drag screens, and, you know, again, she's just so agile.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So she can get, she can generate room pressure, but she doesn't do it the same way VB or Caitlyn does.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So having said that tip.
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[SPEAKER_00]: is one of the few who again, right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Like, she may still have the fastest first step, like the quickest first step on this team, even at 36.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So if you want a little that like scoring pop that rim pressure in the starting unit, I could see Natalie going with her.
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[SPEAKER_00]: If they go more defensively, it's got to be Kyle Charles.
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[SPEAKER_01]: That would I was thinking.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And some of this is
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[SPEAKER_01]: That has been like ball in against the other team's second team.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Tip is a big part of that because they do have to respect her ability to get to the paint.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And when they
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[SPEAKER_01]: when when they've kind of hedge a little bit, that's when she gets by people and she can still get to the rims so quickly.
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[SPEAKER_01]: But I think having tip out there and having her be that aggressive piece that the defense has pay attention, it does help Caitlin open up and Caitlin is attacking right now.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And we'll talk about Caitlin in a second.
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[SPEAKER_01]: But I think
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[SPEAKER_01]: I'm actually, I didn't really mean to go here, but, you know, they've been winning.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So you can't really complain about how they've been winning.
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[SPEAKER_01]: But the, the Chetchie,
19:39.347 --> 19:39.727
[SPEAKER_01]: minutes.
19:40.688 --> 19:51.612
[SPEAKER_01]: They've been a little bit more frustrating of late because in order for Chetchie to be Chetchie, she does have to kind of stop the ball a little bit because that's how she can kind of create her own shots.
19:52.513 --> 19:56.635
[SPEAKER_01]: And she hasn't been as bad defensively as maybe in the beginning.
19:57.095 --> 20:02.937
[SPEAKER_01]: I think she's been okay, but you you definitely see that that's what the other team does want to attack when they get the opportunity.
20:03.438 --> 20:03.698
[SPEAKER_01]: And so
20:04.678 --> 20:18.665
[SPEAKER_01]: Chachy and Kyle together, I think that works out, but I almost want to see Kyle in the starting lineup no matter what, if you're just going to go heavy defense, like you said, with that starting lineup to set the tone.
20:19.186 --> 20:19.886
[SPEAKER_01]: But, um,
20:20.126 --> 20:23.449
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, I can't really argue about what they're doing because what they're doing has been working.
20:23.489 --> 20:28.893
[SPEAKER_01]: It's just the little, the little things that you see that you kind of hope get a little bit better.
20:29.173 --> 20:35.639
[SPEAKER_01]: I do wonder about those, those catchy minutes, you know, down the line if if they see a little bit of turbulence.
20:36.924 --> 20:52.552
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it's interesting you bring that up because last night Natalie was asked if you know there's any consideration of you know maybe tweaking the lineups and everything like that especially given like it wasn't just last night right that there's been like the last.
20:53.380 --> 20:54.381
[SPEAKER_00]: handful of games.
20:55.341 --> 20:57.962
[SPEAKER_00]: Where the starters have kind of come out sluggish.
20:58.002 --> 20:59.083
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's, let's, let's, let's be real.
20:59.443 --> 21:07.827
[SPEAKER_01]: That second team played all the way into the fourth quarter until like maybe like four minutes left and the fourth, I was like, yeah, just myself.
21:07.868 --> 21:08.548
[SPEAKER_01]: Keep them out there.
21:08.588 --> 21:10.569
[SPEAKER_01]: Like there's no reason to bring the starters back.
21:10.829 --> 21:14.794
[SPEAKER_00]: I was truly wondering if Veronica was going to come back into the game, right?
21:14.834 --> 21:16.616
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, like, Caitlyn was was rolling.
21:16.716 --> 21:25.686
[SPEAKER_00]: Obviously, Janelle was on fire, but, you know, now he basically said, like, you know, in so many words, basically, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?
21:25.927 --> 21:27.188
[SPEAKER_01]: And I agree with that.
21:27.228 --> 21:28.289
[SPEAKER_01]: I completely agree with that.
21:29.050 --> 21:51.634
[SPEAKER_00]: You know me and my analytics by net rating because remember earlier in the season like after the first game, I think tip started that game, right, and then she got injured, right, she and Chetika both got injured in that game and then Kyla was starting like, I don't know like five games six games, you know, like the starting lineup.
21:51.654 --> 21:54.935
[SPEAKER_00]: So if like a lineup with VB Gabby Kyla
21:57.347 --> 22:08.033
[SPEAKER_00]: KT and Kia, that's still, that starting line up still has the best net rating, like the Chechi one, and I'm not blaming Chechi, but the Chechi one doesn't even come close.
22:08.653 --> 22:08.973
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
22:09.854 --> 22:13.115
[SPEAKER_00]: And ironically, they just can't muster enough offense.
22:13.336 --> 22:20.119
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think in my opinion, I was actually, I'm still trying to finish up a piece about Chechi.
22:20.179 --> 22:21.000
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think, you know,
22:22.287 --> 22:37.481
[SPEAKER_00]: These last couple games, at least for her individually, like in terms of offensively, why like kind of starting around even though they lost that game the game against Minnesota at chase center like where she had like 20 plus points or something like that.
22:39.003 --> 22:40.945
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, I think there is.
22:42.908 --> 22:46.171
[SPEAKER_00]: specific way of how she needs to be used at this point in a career.
22:46.191 --> 22:58.300
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not trying to say that she's declining or slowing down, but I think at this point she's very much more of like a stretch for as opposed to like a wing, definitely not a guard.
22:58.981 --> 23:04.065
[SPEAKER_00]: In that starting line up, she has to be, she's used exclusively as a wing.
23:04.185 --> 23:05.246
[SPEAKER_00]: Now of course, right?
23:05.286 --> 23:06.187
[SPEAKER_00]: Like we want her to shoot
23:09.089 --> 23:10.871
[SPEAKER_00]: doesn't play to her strengths, right?
23:12.293 --> 23:14.436
[SPEAKER_00]: She's having to do way too much ball handling.
23:14.997 --> 23:22.947
[SPEAKER_00]: She has to be responsible for too much like too many swing passes at the top of the arc and that doesn't allow her to really get into her rhythm.
23:22.987 --> 23:25.451
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, she likes to kind of step into her shots.
23:27.233 --> 23:35.558
[SPEAKER_00]: But when they start, you know, subbing in players and now she moves to the four, then you start to see her get into more of a flow, right?
23:35.678 --> 23:43.562
[SPEAKER_00]: Where she likes she loves really getting like to initiate her own offense around the mid post, maybe the elbows, right?
23:43.622 --> 23:44.203
[SPEAKER_00]: Because then,
23:45.269 --> 24:09.056
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, when you involve her as like the initial screener, you know, she could basically kind of find herself like, you know, hunting a mismatch like she switched on to a smaller, like a smaller player on the block that's when she goes like to like Kobe mode, right, she know, a little one to back it him down and then goes to like the turnaround fade away or she'll pop out into the slot.
24:09.956 --> 24:15.218
[SPEAKER_00]: and then boom, right, she's going to shoot over like a slower four or center trying to chase after her.
24:16.178 --> 24:20.679
[SPEAKER_00]: These are the things that like I think the coaching staff recognizes, but I don't know.
24:21.279 --> 24:30.242
[SPEAKER_00]: I guess they want her in that starting lineup just because of the three point threat that she is, like, you know, that teams do they know the scouting report as they have to chase her out there.
24:30.922 --> 24:37.251
[SPEAKER_00]: So, but I agree, I agree, it's been rocky, but Kyla again, right?
24:37.291 --> 24:46.162
[SPEAKER_00]: Like she just does so much, it sounds like times we do or we don't do her enough justice, just because we say like, oh, she does so much, right, and it doesn't show up in the box score.
24:46.703 --> 24:47.324
[SPEAKER_00]: But, um,
24:48.185 --> 24:49.145
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, she really does.
24:49.325 --> 24:51.126
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, again, she is fantastic.
24:51.826 --> 24:57.487
[SPEAKER_00]: Like her technique of crashing the offensive glass is really good, you know, she's never caught ball watching.
24:59.468 --> 25:07.170
[SPEAKER_00]: And, you know, that's why she's always like, you know, one of the first to a loose ball and stuff like that, but I feel like if she just.
25:08.692 --> 25:26.658
[SPEAKER_01]: sat in the gym all summer or all winter and just like shot the three and just developed like you couldn't take her off the court like what would be the reason to take her off the court I mean I think she is a better three-point shooter than she's shown this year now you can also make an argument that last year
25:27.667 --> 25:35.152
[SPEAKER_00]: was like an incredibly hot shooting streak, you know, and like, you know, when she closed out the season with the Valks last year, it's somewhere in the middle.
25:35.472 --> 25:36.273
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
25:36.473 --> 25:45.839
[SPEAKER_00]: But again, I think that's why I really am pro-Kyla because Magnum steak, I like three pointers.
25:46.019 --> 25:51.183
[SPEAKER_00]: I do like players who can, you know, space the floor.
25:51.503 --> 25:55.906
[SPEAKER_00]: So to speak, but I like players whose game isn't dependent.
25:56.900 --> 26:11.323
[SPEAKER_00]: on necessarily knocking down a three and Kyle is very much isn't, you know, like she's just really good at identifying the gaps that are developing like before and that's why she can get in there such active cutter, you know, or slasher.
26:13.244 --> 26:19.245
[SPEAKER_00]: So we'll see I mean, again, like I think they'll be okay going in either direction if they want to go tip or college tomorrow.
26:22.046 --> 26:28.792
[SPEAKER_00]: I would expect, regardless of who starts their minutes will be ramped up more Caitlyn.
26:29.073 --> 26:38.401
[SPEAKER_00]: I am very skeptical like the fact that 11 out of 12 suited players played yesterday like got minutes.
26:39.253 --> 26:44.595
[SPEAKER_00]: And the one that didn't was you stay at this point, I'm very skeptical that she'll get any real substantial playing time.
26:44.615 --> 26:52.358
[SPEAKER_00]: Like I think it's going to have to take more than one injury before she actually really gets rotation minutes.
26:52.398 --> 26:53.439
[SPEAKER_00]: And I hope I'm wrong.
26:54.219 --> 27:00.522
[SPEAKER_00]: But this is no shade, really, about nothing negative about Nadia Fingol.
27:01.182 --> 27:05.044
[SPEAKER_00]: But like Kia Stokes, a me here, they weren't in foul trouble.
27:06.252 --> 27:34.468
[SPEAKER_00]: And now they just decide to go to her and you know what I get right I mean they had they only had 11 points in the first quarter you want to try something different I get it, but I mean the fact that, you know, you say didn't see any playing time like at this point I'm I'm kind of under the impression that this is like a quote unquote red shirt ear for her and so Marissa wrote something I think it was last week or maybe the week before where.
27:36.724 --> 27:47.707
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't even know if this was her thesis statement or whatever, but it was like what Natalie is waiting for is to see certain things in these stay ready games.
27:47.967 --> 27:54.729
[SPEAKER_01]: So whatever it is that she's not seeing from you state could be the reason why she's not getting on the court.
27:55.609 --> 28:02.871
[SPEAKER_01]: What is like, it seems like the questions have kind of died down about them and that's what winning does is winning means like, hey, we're doing something right.
28:06.545 --> 28:30.538
[SPEAKER_01]: In some of these games, it is pretty clear to me that they are the better team and that they are going to win these games and you could still develop, you say, and put her in situations where, you know, she gets actual real game time, just to kind of prepare for the end of the season when injuries may occur and you may need to turn to her, but she just has those game reps. Like, like, let's say,
28:31.798 --> 28:39.504
[SPEAKER_01]: The idea is like do we play you stay here or do we play Chetji here and Chetji is going to be a point and a half better than you stay.
28:39.524 --> 28:41.165
[SPEAKER_01]: Well you're winning by 12 points.
28:41.245 --> 28:44.868
[SPEAKER_01]: So like you can try it for a little bit like that's kind of my mentality.
28:45.268 --> 28:54.315
[SPEAKER_01]: But again, when you win, there's no real argument about what they are doing from the perspective of what their job is, which is to win basketball games.
28:58.598 --> 29:09.646
[SPEAKER_01]: What we thought they were going to be, which is a kind of developed, developed play competitively, ultimately not, but right now they're, you know, that they're in the top echelon of the league.
29:09.666 --> 29:21.614
[SPEAKER_01]: So I get it, but do you think that that is why kind of the questions have died down a little bit and really the, there was, there was a fan thing too of like, why isn't you stay playing?
29:21.634 --> 29:25.597
[SPEAKER_01]: What's going on, you know, but now I feel like that has died down a little bit.
29:26.920 --> 29:37.723
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, I mean, it has, I'll acknowledge that, you know, from a media members perspective, I will acknowledge it has died down, you know.
29:39.543 --> 29:45.991
[SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't really make sense, you know, to kind of be to dead horse, right?
29:46.051 --> 29:48.574
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, it doesn't seem like there are any new developments.
29:49.235 --> 29:56.244
[SPEAKER_00]: So I don't know, at least speaking for me in a couple of my colleagues, and that's kind of why we haven't really explicitly asked her these questions.
29:58.627 --> 30:05.258
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, maybe a little bit during practice, but definitely not like post game because like, you know, you only get so much time in a post game session.
30:05.338 --> 30:13.051
[SPEAKER_00]: So you want something relevant to to the game that you just covered, but You know, in terms of this though, I think
30:14.694 --> 30:15.654
[SPEAKER_00]: I like your breakdown.
30:15.674 --> 30:18.675
[SPEAKER_00]: I like your assessment or how you frame it because it's true, right?
30:18.735 --> 30:23.757
[SPEAKER_00]: Like it doesn't seem like it has to be binary, right?
30:23.797 --> 30:30.779
[SPEAKER_00]: Like it seems like in what their goal is this year, which is to win that there is opportunity.
30:33.205 --> 30:41.329
[SPEAKER_00]: for you stay to get some minutes, albeit developmental, can still actually make a positive impact.
30:41.349 --> 30:46.512
[SPEAKER_00]: See that I think for me, I don't like how it's become framed as
30:48.163 --> 30:57.690
[SPEAKER_00]: Like if you give her minutes, and yes, this is for developmental purposes, that that somehow equates to losing, like I don't agree.
30:57.770 --> 30:59.291
[SPEAKER_00]: I think she could step on right now.
30:59.371 --> 31:02.874
[SPEAKER_00]: If you tell her to do one or two things and only do that, she could do it successfully.
31:03.094 --> 31:08.078
[SPEAKER_00]: If you wanted to be a catch and shoot shooter, which again doesn't really make use of her skillset, but she could do that.
31:08.838 --> 31:19.023
[SPEAKER_00]: And so when you see the team, I think it's fair for fans to say like when you see the team being going, you know, almost half quarters without a single-made feel goal.
31:20.044 --> 31:34.011
[SPEAKER_00]: How are you saying that this pert like this player who is a top five score in all of your league, who average more points, then this year's current all-star, Gabby Williams, right, that she's incapable of contributing.
31:39.372 --> 31:49.219
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know, like I think it's, this is just me, but like the way Natalie is kind of framed it is again, right?
31:49.239 --> 31:55.204
[SPEAKER_00]: Like she wants to, she wants you stay to develop into a point guard.
31:55.284 --> 31:57.185
[SPEAKER_00]: Cool, okay?
31:57.906 --> 32:06.532
[SPEAKER_00]: She's never actually been a true point guard at most maybe a combo floor, but she's more of like, you know, like a ball handling.
32:07.750 --> 32:12.592
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, shooting guard, wing, you know, and I don't know.
32:12.712 --> 32:24.015
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, I feel like if you're brought in, under that, you know, if I thought you hired somebody to do one job, and then all of a sudden you say, I want you to do this other job.
32:25.156 --> 32:32.958
[SPEAKER_00]: And that employee is struggling to make the transition to the job, like should he really get penalized, or he or she get penalized for that?
32:35.347 --> 32:49.038
[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe it's not the best analogy, but I'm just saying like I think it's a little odd that, you know, the way we look at her developmental trajectory.
32:50.518 --> 32:58.525
[SPEAKER_00]: is in the lens of a role that I don't think she was, you know, brought in initially to do.
32:59.045 --> 33:11.756
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's not a knock on Katelyn Shen, but to me, that's more of a roster issue that, you know, you built this roster without an adequate amount of capable point guards that now you're lost.
33:11.796 --> 33:18.201
[SPEAKER_01]: They lost one in the expansion draft to somehow on the ESPN list ranked higher than
33:20.788 --> 33:28.174
[SPEAKER_01]: Carly, we love Carly, though, you know what it reminds me of a little bit is and all of my analogies are NBA related.
33:28.394 --> 33:29.015
[SPEAKER_01]: I apologize.
33:29.035 --> 33:34.059
[SPEAKER_01]: There will be a moment in my WNBA fandom where I will have these WNBA analogies.
33:34.619 --> 33:42.606
[SPEAKER_01]: But I think it was just last year where Jason kid was like, you know, you're gonna play Cooper Flag at Point Guard.
33:42.866 --> 33:43.126
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
33:44.647 --> 33:44.988
[UNKNOWN]: Yeah.
33:46.370 --> 33:50.873
[SPEAKER_01]: or in Kevin Durant's rookie year, PJ Carlisamo was like, you know what?
33:50.893 --> 33:52.153
[SPEAKER_01]: He's going to play shooting guard.
33:52.173 --> 33:54.034
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, dude is six, 11.
33:54.074 --> 33:54.695
[SPEAKER_01]: What are you doing?
33:55.195 --> 34:01.498
[SPEAKER_01]: But you know, the other thing about it is, and what we'll, you know, what the team is doing good.
34:01.899 --> 34:07.101
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't want to be too negative here because we have a bunch of things to talk about that are actually really great stories.
34:07.622 --> 34:10.023
[SPEAKER_01]: But the other thing about you state is,
34:11.427 --> 34:18.494
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, from the, what I hope is, you know, she is not a US foreign player.
34:18.574 --> 34:20.696
[SPEAKER_01]: She didn't come up in the AAU circuit.
34:20.736 --> 34:22.417
[SPEAKER_01]: She played internationally.
34:22.958 --> 34:27.722
[SPEAKER_01]: Like she is, she has a certain expectation of professionalism.
34:28.443 --> 34:30.325
[SPEAKER_01]: when it comes to her role.
34:30.966 --> 34:38.673
[SPEAKER_01]: And I hope that the coaching staff and the front office understands from her perspective, kind of like what the expectation is.
34:38.853 --> 34:50.244
[SPEAKER_01]: What her role is, how you are communicating to her in these moments and keeping that relationship strong, because if it is not strong,
34:51.085 --> 35:17.609
[SPEAKER_01]: then you're like creating reasons for her not to play or you're creating reasons for to pass the right her and a ghost of a geralitis is in the he's in the chat and he said is she a trade piece and to me I would say if they saw her as a trade piece maybe they would put her in some situations where she could cook to show that thing off because as she is not playing
35:19.000 --> 35:27.050
[SPEAKER_01]: I think she still has a high trade value, of course, because she's got so many skill sets, but if you're trying to maximize that part of it, she would probably be playing a little bit.
35:27.070 --> 35:29.312
[SPEAKER_01]: So I lean more towards what you said earlier, which is,
35:30.239 --> 35:41.166
[SPEAKER_01]: Maybe this is just a red shirt year and she's got to deal with that and figure it out, you know, as the season goes on, maybe maybe somebody else gets hurt and then she doesn't need to play.
35:41.186 --> 35:49.552
[SPEAKER_01]: But like, I just hope that there is like a concrete plan because she is still a very young player in the WMBA.
35:49.632 --> 35:50.933
[SPEAKER_01]: She is an asset.
35:51.313 --> 35:54.896
[SPEAKER_01]: She obviously has some really great skillset.
35:55.076 --> 35:56.016
[SPEAKER_01]: You talk to her,
35:57.438 --> 36:02.342
[SPEAKER_01]: at the Warriors World event, she's media savvy.
36:02.382 --> 36:03.603
[SPEAKER_01]: She's cool.
36:04.283 --> 36:17.254
[SPEAKER_01]: She feels like she really understands what's going on and that she's a smart player, not just like some web behind the ears rookie who you can just say, okay, you're going to sit down and watch like she's actually been successful in her professional career.
36:17.274 --> 36:21.017
[SPEAKER_01]: So there is that massaging of this thing that I also hope is happening.
36:22.427 --> 36:24.250
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, no, definitely, definitely.
36:24.550 --> 36:25.852
[SPEAKER_00]: And there's just like one final thing.
36:25.872 --> 36:26.754
[SPEAKER_00]: So again, you're right, right?
36:26.774 --> 36:33.164
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, it's not really, you know, I need to make negative discourse, right?
36:33.244 --> 36:35.888
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, amidst a six game winning streak.
36:35.928 --> 36:36.689
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, but it's just,
36:37.601 --> 36:44.507
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, the more they win, the more they continue to either submit themselves at the top of the standings or climb the standings, right?
36:44.527 --> 36:58.078
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, they have an opportunity to, you know, these next couple games, depending on what happens with Minnesota and Vegas, they could, they could go a couple, couple spots up and, you know, if they truly fancy themselves.
36:59.332 --> 37:15.362
[SPEAKER_00]: championship contenders, then wouldn't it be who of them to explore every option on their roster to put forth the best possible team, you know, or best possible lineup?
37:15.922 --> 37:23.407
[SPEAKER_00]: And again, I think we can all admit that as well as they're doing, they can be better on offense.
37:23.807 --> 37:24.428
[SPEAKER_00]: And you know,
37:25.883 --> 37:37.249
[SPEAKER_00]: Are you exploring that I think those are fair questions for the fans to be asking, you know, because again, the defense is absolutely impressive.
37:37.769 --> 37:45.233
[SPEAKER_00]: So what if we were just a little bit better offensively, right, and could she be, you know, someone who helps out that cause.
37:45.634 --> 37:51.397
[SPEAKER_00]: So we'll see, I mean, again, we have a little less than half the season to go and because of, um,
37:52.692 --> 37:57.096
[SPEAKER_00]: you know, both the all star break and the world cup break, the international break.
37:57.136 --> 37:58.658
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, there's two breaks coming up.
37:58.878 --> 38:05.185
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, my understanding is that she will also she will not be participating in the world cup.
38:06.646 --> 38:09.108
[SPEAKER_00]: So, I mean, you know, she's a gym rat.
38:09.309 --> 38:10.009
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know.
38:10.069 --> 38:11.411
[SPEAKER_00]: She'll necessarily be in the area.
38:11.451 --> 38:11.871
[SPEAKER_00]: But again,
38:13.213 --> 38:20.881
[SPEAKER_00]: She'll have the opportunity to, again, continue working on all these things that Natalie has been asking her to work on and who knows, right?
38:21.321 --> 38:34.054
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, perhaps opportunity will present itself, you know, whether that's matchups or God forbid any injuries, but, you know, um, there's still time, I think, for her to, you know, make her mark.
38:34.976 --> 38:41.959
[SPEAKER_01]: So let's talk about a very just exciting player to talk about Kaylin Chen.
38:42.799 --> 38:48.822
[SPEAKER_01]: Now I was looking at I wanted to go back to look at her college stats because I was like
38:49.978 --> 38:52.039
[SPEAKER_01]: Did she score like this in college?
38:52.079 --> 38:59.002
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think her best numbers in Princeton, when she was at Princeton, before she went to Yukon, I think it was 16 a game.
39:00.402 --> 39:06.184
[SPEAKER_01]: And that was against college players in a college system as well.
39:07.465 --> 39:17.809
[SPEAKER_01]: But Caleb Chin, it's kind of like, you know that shack meme where I forget the player he was talking about and he's like, I have to apologize and really know your game that well.
39:18.641 --> 39:41.786
[SPEAKER_01]: And, you know, Brian and I, the one, the one preseason game the Valkyries actually had, we both looked at each other and we were like Caitlyn put in work just seeing the difference from last year to the to the preseason game, but it's preseason so you don't want to go out on a limb and say, oh my gosh, she's going to be a difference maker and she has she's she had some good games early, she had some slow games early.
39:42.666 --> 39:46.188
[SPEAKER_01]: but she's been absolutely eye-opening of late.
39:46.368 --> 39:57.776
[SPEAKER_01]: And some of it, it's like, I think when you think of the type of player that she was and maybe again, alluding to last year, sometimes that was just worried she wasn't gonna be able to get to ball over half court last year.
39:58.596 --> 39:59.176
[SPEAKER_01]: And now,
40:00.545 --> 40:13.880
[SPEAKER_01]: she's just looking to score the basketball when when the opportunities are there, she makes great passes as well, but it's not like she is just someone running the offense and making the pass and making the right decision.
40:14.300 --> 40:20.747
[SPEAKER_01]: No, she's looking for openings and she's looking to cook the other player like she's she's looking at players going like
40:21.548 --> 40:22.309
[SPEAKER_01]: way to second here.
40:22.590 --> 40:30.200
[SPEAKER_01]: You put this player on me, crossover, you know, bunny across over, uh, floater.
40:30.300 --> 40:32.824
[SPEAKER_01]: Like I'm just like, she is attacking these people.
40:32.884 --> 40:33.224
[SPEAKER_01]: And then,
40:34.603 --> 40:39.705
[SPEAKER_01]: After she makes the bucket, just laughing, like the biggest smile on her face.
40:39.965 --> 40:43.906
[SPEAKER_01]: And it's just like, I'm just like, man, this is a joy to watch this woman play basketball.
40:44.726 --> 40:55.450
[SPEAKER_01]: How much of this did you see coming being that, you know, this is part of what you do, which is kind of like, look at the strengths and the weaknesses of individual games.
40:56.130 --> 41:01.072
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't imagine you saw her being as aggressive as a scorer as she's been of late.
41:05.650 --> 41:08.891
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not going to victory lap, but I have my receipts, right?
41:08.931 --> 41:30.318
[SPEAKER_00]: I told all of you guys what I saw every day at training camp, you know, I made a nice long thread about why I thought something was different with Caitlin that, you know, I mean, I think it was kind of um, you know, an unofficial, you know, um, training camp battle for like the last couple
41:35.943 --> 41:42.169
[SPEAKER_00]: Unprotected contracts, right, it was like, you know, Caitlin, Kate Martin, I mean here, right.
41:42.209 --> 41:47.313
[SPEAKER_00]: So it's essentially like those three battling for like two and I don't know.
41:47.473 --> 41:49.695
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean from the first day of training camp.
41:49.875 --> 41:51.116
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean things look different.
41:51.477 --> 41:52.618
[SPEAKER_00]: She looked great at Praha.
41:52.638 --> 41:58.583
[SPEAKER_00]: She looked good at AU, you know, but for the same thing you're saying, right, like, okay.
42:00.076 --> 42:07.139
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a you, you know, like, is it going to translate just for the same reason people say, like, well, cool, you did that in unrivaled.
42:07.159 --> 42:10.121
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, that really translate, you know, to five on five WNBA, but.
42:13.937 --> 42:29.599
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, I think, you know, you mentioned how like, oh, there are times where you felt nervous if she'd be able to, you know, bring the ball past half court without turning it over like, yeah, she completely revamped her entire technique.
42:30.720 --> 42:50.416
[SPEAKER_00]: it seemed to me really apparent on day one and obviously right we still got half season to go like maybe these takes will age poorly by the end of the season but for her sake i hope not right like and i think for the values they want to see her continue to have like this this this success on a game to game basis maybe not the same scoring totals but you know
42:51.301 --> 42:52.281
[SPEAKER_00]: the impact, right?
42:52.301 --> 42:57.963
[SPEAKER_00]: The nature in which she is able to, you know, dissect defenses, right?
42:57.983 --> 43:06.786
[SPEAKER_00]: I think that's what I think Natalie would like to see on a game to game basis, but in terms of was this something that could kind of been foreseen or predicted?
43:06.906 --> 43:11.947
[SPEAKER_00]: I want to say, partly yes, you know, at the beginning of training camp, you could definitely see
43:13.768 --> 43:16.189
[SPEAKER_00]: She had her, her handle was significantly tighter.
43:16.329 --> 43:21.050
[SPEAKER_00]: I really liked the way like kind of her posture when she's attacking the lane.
43:21.070 --> 43:26.392
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't want to say like she's hunched over, but you know, she's kind of lowering her shoulder a little bit more like a running back.
43:28.112 --> 43:29.493
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, because she always.
43:30.453 --> 43:34.275
[SPEAKER_00]: was very shifty, you know, Yukon at Princeton.
43:34.835 --> 43:42.958
[SPEAKER_00]: But the handle was always loose, you know, and sometimes she's a little bit, you know, like a little too vertical.
43:43.458 --> 43:49.781
[SPEAKER_00]: So, you know, the protection dribble was really, you know, kind of right there by her hip, can't get stripped as easily.
43:50.501 --> 43:51.322
[SPEAKER_00]: And, you know, she's
43:52.142 --> 44:10.020
[SPEAKER_00]: Lisa's five nine, she probably closer to five eight, you know, and yeah, you know, the low center of gravity, I think like it's all kind of come together, where she really feels comfortable again, right that like the ball security is now kind of on par.
44:11.210 --> 44:12.411
[SPEAKER_00]: with her court vision.
44:13.211 --> 44:18.155
[SPEAKER_00]: So now that's why I think a lot of these crazy takes that she has as she attacks the cup.
44:19.095 --> 44:25.400
[SPEAKER_00]: She's converting them, you know, and it might seem like a wild shot, but like it works for her.
44:25.800 --> 44:28.862
[SPEAKER_00]: She's always really good at attacking at different angles, right?
44:29.762 --> 44:32.024
[SPEAKER_00]: She never likes to go just directly down the lane.
44:32.064 --> 44:34.145
[SPEAKER_00]: She likes to slice across it, you know, and maybe
44:36.705 --> 44:38.626
[SPEAKER_00]: And is this something that she did?
44:38.746 --> 44:41.406
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, she did do it at Princeton, you know?
44:42.027 --> 44:43.467
[SPEAKER_00]: And even pull up her tape, right?
44:43.487 --> 44:45.528
[SPEAKER_00]: When she did it against UCLA, you know?
44:45.828 --> 44:49.189
[SPEAKER_00]: Not her Yukon year or senior year at Princeton, you know?
44:49.209 --> 44:58.052
[SPEAKER_00]: But again, can she adapt those skills to get it to the level where, you know, she can do it against WNBA competition?
44:58.572 --> 45:01.513
[SPEAKER_00]: It seems like it's all coming together now, right?
45:02.173 --> 45:03.833
[SPEAKER_00]: Because she's always been a very skilled player.
45:06.180 --> 45:09.664
[SPEAKER_00]: But yeah, I mean, she is on a bit of a hot streak.
45:10.044 --> 45:10.965
[SPEAKER_00]: You like you said, right?
45:11.005 --> 45:12.947
[SPEAKER_00]: Like she'll have her high, she'll have her lows.
45:13.528 --> 45:19.894
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, I think in this like 16 or the six game winning streak, like she's 13 or 14 on layups, you know?
45:20.355 --> 45:26.601
[SPEAKER_00]: But what I like and I've been saying this is, I mean, we're well past a halfway point of the season.
45:28.059 --> 45:52.652
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, she is quite literally the Valk's most efficient isolation score, right, and she's actually one of the most like efficient isolation scores in the entire league, you know, and for a team that really struggles, they don't, let's be real, they don't attempt a lot of layups, right, and they struggle to generate room pressure like I mean, what Caitlin is doing.
45:53.792 --> 46:02.474
[SPEAKER_00]: it obviously stands out because her teammates don't do that as much like tip hand, but she's a lot more selective at this point, you know.
46:03.274 --> 46:11.917
[SPEAKER_00]: But I mean, the ability to again put pressure on the rim and convert that changes things.
46:11.997 --> 46:15.878
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's why I was saying like a couple of weeks ago when like, you know, she went off against Dallas.
46:16.498 --> 46:17.098
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm like, man,
46:18.317 --> 46:30.065
[SPEAKER_00]: Like this, this is a different dynamic, you know, and you were saying earlier about like, how you kind of like the second unit lineups that feature both Caitlin and tip together because they kind of get each other going.
46:30.505 --> 46:31.506
[SPEAKER_00]: They absolutely do.
46:32.066 --> 46:40.212
[SPEAKER_00]: And you know, Natalie kind of pulled out a couple of plays, some base sets that she ran for, ironically for Chetchie and Jaw last year, right?
46:40.232 --> 46:41.613
[SPEAKER_00]: Some double isolation sets.
46:41.753 --> 46:44.215
[SPEAKER_00]: But now, instead of the two of them attacking,
46:44.955 --> 47:00.132
[SPEAKER_00]: from the elbows or pulling up from the mid range, you have like Caitlyn and tip basically attacking from the slot, you know, and you know, going to the cup, getting like directly, you know, scoring opportunities at the rim.
47:02.553 --> 47:06.715
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I mean, I think it suits her right now.
47:06.775 --> 47:09.936
[SPEAKER_00]: I know there's a lot of enthusiasm from Caitlin Shen fans.
47:09.976 --> 47:13.877
[SPEAKER_00]: I saw some people in my comments saying like she could start for all 15 teams in the league.
47:13.917 --> 47:14.958
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know if we're there yet.
47:15.418 --> 47:17.739
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, let's keep it realistic.
47:17.819 --> 47:29.323
[SPEAKER_01]: As somebody asked me in our YouTube comments, like, could she theoretically be a back-to-back of Alcaris, most improved player type of finisher this year?
47:32.701 --> 47:37.124
[SPEAKER_00]: that I think she will probably get like some national attention.
47:37.324 --> 47:42.868
[SPEAKER_00]: I would be surprised if she wanted simply because again while impressive like her overall totals.
47:43.148 --> 47:43.948
[SPEAKER_00]: She's not starting.
47:44.188 --> 47:44.469
[SPEAKER_00]: Good.
47:44.609 --> 47:44.889
[SPEAKER_00]: Right.
47:44.929 --> 47:45.909
[SPEAKER_00]: She's not starting.
47:46.490 --> 47:49.252
[SPEAKER_00]: And yeah, right, her totals aren't like, you know,
47:49.972 --> 47:50.673
[SPEAKER_00]: They're efficient.
47:50.853 --> 47:51.774
[SPEAKER_00]: They're not gotty.
47:52.294 --> 48:03.683
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, and I think they're going to want, you know, the voters tend to favor, you know, those players who, you know, someone like Carla will get more votes just because it's getting more minutes.
48:04.484 --> 48:04.764
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes.
48:05.085 --> 48:10.609
[SPEAKER_00]: And frankly, I think, Carla, if she isn't the leading candidate, she probably should win it, right?
48:10.649 --> 48:15.513
[SPEAKER_00]: Because again, like Magnum State, what Caitlin's done is extremely impressive.
48:15.693 --> 48:16.714
[SPEAKER_00]: I look forward to seeing
48:18.112 --> 48:21.153
[SPEAKER_00]: how much further, like, you know, to what extent she can take her game.
48:21.173 --> 48:40.858
[SPEAKER_00]: So I do think that there is more for like, you know, so more upside for her to to explore and to reach, but for Carla to basically be doing it on significantly higher usage as a starter, as the main focal point for Portland's offense.
48:41.198 --> 48:41.898
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, right.
48:41.918 --> 48:46.140
[SPEAKER_00]: I think that's like the type of player that voters would probably
48:47.779 --> 48:55.627
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, gravitate toward first, but I definitely think she should get, you know, some attention for it.
48:55.807 --> 48:57.208
[SPEAKER_00]: And it's definitely well deserved.
48:58.269 --> 49:02.914
[SPEAKER_00]: And yeah, I mean, again, as you said, it's it's it's been night and day.
49:03.134 --> 49:05.256
[SPEAKER_00]: It's been night and day from where she was a year ago.
49:05.276 --> 49:11.802
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, you know, like she had some flashes here and there, you know, but they were probably a few in far between at this point though.
49:12.903 --> 49:19.936
[SPEAKER_00]: When I look at Caitlyn, I don't really see her as, yes, she acknowledged that she is Veronica's backup.
49:20.998 --> 49:22.601
[SPEAKER_00]: But I think at times, early in the year,
49:23.735 --> 49:25.636
[SPEAKER_00]: a lot of fans media.
49:25.856 --> 49:35.799
[SPEAKER_00]: We looked at Kaylin as you've gone to the point where you could basically give Veronica a breather like, you know, that's it.
49:35.979 --> 49:38.640
[SPEAKER_00]: You're a minute's eater, but now no, right?
49:38.720 --> 49:40.660
[SPEAKER_01]: I think she is last night's game.
49:40.860 --> 49:45.122
[SPEAKER_01]: I was like, if Natalie decided to let Caitlyn finish this whole thing,
49:45.882 --> 49:46.762
[SPEAKER_01]: I'd be fine with it.
49:46.842 --> 49:48.363
[SPEAKER_01]: I want to see Veronica in the game.
49:48.423 --> 49:51.524
[SPEAKER_01]: Obviously Veronica's she's she's a key key player.
49:51.904 --> 49:53.284
[SPEAKER_01]: But I was like, Katelyn's just cooking.
49:53.824 --> 49:56.825
[SPEAKER_01]: If she finished it, so be it, then you're just riding the hot hand.
49:56.885 --> 49:59.266
[SPEAKER_01]: Like I wouldn't have been like, oh my gosh, what happened here?
50:00.506 --> 50:00.747
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
50:01.267 --> 50:01.727
[SPEAKER_00]: Exactly.
50:03.013 --> 50:09.100
[SPEAKER_00]: Um, so yeah, I mean, she's definitely emerged as like a true weapon off the bench.
50:09.220 --> 50:15.347
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, I think she is essential to the team's rotation.
50:15.427 --> 50:16.789
[SPEAKER_00]: So, you know,
50:18.755 --> 50:21.177
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, yourself a backup point card all after all.
50:21.598 --> 50:21.778
[SPEAKER_01]: Yep.
50:22.178 --> 50:22.679
[SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely.
50:22.739 --> 50:23.019
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
50:23.039 --> 50:32.888
[SPEAKER_01]: So before I want to talk about one more player for a short amount of time, but before that, do you have any worries as we get closer to the playoffs?
50:32.928 --> 50:36.732
[SPEAKER_01]: And as we know the difference between the playoffs and the regular season,
50:38.213 --> 50:41.594
[SPEAKER_01]: the grind and the physicality and all these different things.
50:41.854 --> 50:47.955
[SPEAKER_01]: Because Caitlyn is a smaller player, you know, she hasn't really been tested in that way.
50:48.236 --> 50:52.056
[SPEAKER_01]: Nobody has the velcro's have one playoff, you know, series.
50:53.137 --> 50:57.178
[SPEAKER_01]: I do wonder, I, you know, I think she's up for the challenge, obviously, she's a baller.
50:57.578 --> 50:57.738
[SPEAKER_01]: But
50:58.478 --> 51:08.643
[SPEAKER_01]: Then the focus, maybe she's they're going to give her a little bit more attention, you know, and then, you know, the Arizona, she's doing X, Y and Z will let stop X and see if she can get to the other things.
51:08.683 --> 51:17.748
[SPEAKER_01]: I think as we get closer to the playoffs, I'm interested to see how she handles, you know, more attention and, you know, those minutes are going to be more important.
51:18.188 --> 51:26.821
[SPEAKER_01]: because, you know, you're going to want Veronica and Gabby in to for matchup reasons because the other teams going to play, they're starting unit much more in the playoffs.
51:26.841 --> 51:31.608
[SPEAKER_01]: So it's going to be interesting to see how they handle that going into the back end of this season.
51:33.366 --> 51:46.814
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, at this point, especially like heading into the break, Natalie has obviously been leaning more into into the bench and rightfully so.
51:49.055 --> 51:55.539
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know if the starter slow starts is because of fatigue, but if it was, I wouldn't be surprised.
51:55.979 --> 52:06.326
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, I think though again, because of the all-star break, because of the international break, there is an opportunity there to kind of get like some some rest that probably wouldn't be there in a normal.
52:06.346 --> 52:10.028
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, I don't know what is considered a normal WNBC is in anymore.
52:10.048 --> 52:11.689
[SPEAKER_00]: There's always like some kind of weird interruption.
52:12.069 --> 52:12.310
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
52:13.110 --> 52:26.075
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, I think there is an opportunity there, though, for the stars to get rest, because the reason why I keep saying that is because I think like a player like like Caitlyn.
52:27.696 --> 52:37.340
[SPEAKER_00]: I like her more as even though I said she is essential to their success and I do believe she is I still like her as kind of like that expactor as opposed to like.
52:38.770 --> 52:42.671
[SPEAKER_00]: their success is solely dependent on her doing X, Y, Z, you know.
52:43.231 --> 52:48.712
[SPEAKER_00]: And so in order for her to remain that expect her, you need Veronica, you need Gabby to be at their best.
52:49.192 --> 53:00.775
[SPEAKER_00]: So again, right, I feel like they'll probably try to manage their minutes a little bit better or tighter, you know, but again,
53:02.041 --> 53:02.601
[SPEAKER_00]: It depends.
53:03.042 --> 53:10.767
[SPEAKER_00]: Are there already getting to create separation between like the teams in like this six, seven, eight range?
53:11.247 --> 53:11.568
[SPEAKER_00]: Right?
53:11.928 --> 53:12.608
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
53:12.728 --> 53:14.810
[SPEAKER_00]: Where are they going to be after the All Star Break?
53:14.830 --> 53:18.873
[SPEAKER_00]: Are they still really going to be right there in the mix for one, one or two with three?
53:19.333 --> 53:22.055
[SPEAKER_00]: Like if they are, then I can understand them still pushing hard.
53:22.675 --> 53:27.839
[SPEAKER_00]: But I think they got to be like, yeah, very calculated about how they approached the second half of the season.
53:28.199 --> 53:51.020
[SPEAKER_01]: Would you put them at three in whatever your power pole would be behind Minnesota and the aces, I mean those are the teams that they haven't figured out yet, but everyone else, you know, they beat that they beat the Liberty twice, they beat the wings, they beat the dream twice, they'll play the fever again next week, they, but they're want to know again or one and one is a one and one against fever.
53:52.757 --> 53:53.417
[SPEAKER_01]: one and one so far.
53:53.437 --> 53:54.118
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, that's right.
53:54.878 --> 53:59.560
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, would you put them pretty much right behind only the two top teams right now?
54:00.240 --> 54:02.781
[SPEAKER_00]: Right now, I would absolutely put them at a third.
54:03.301 --> 54:03.541
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
54:03.861 --> 54:04.041
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
54:04.201 --> 54:05.382
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think you have to.
54:05.882 --> 54:12.465
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I think, and I think it's fair if you're a Liberty fan is like, hey, hey, we've had players in and now the lineup.
54:12.785 --> 54:13.265
[SPEAKER_00]: Absolutely.
54:13.545 --> 54:13.945
[SPEAKER_00]: I agree.
54:14.225 --> 54:15.586
[SPEAKER_00]: But because of that,
54:16.086 --> 54:27.455
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think that's a big, you know, thing that Christopher Marco is still trying to work through is that they haven't been able to kind of identify the optimal lineups, the optimal rotations.
54:28.596 --> 54:34.881
[SPEAKER_00]: And in turn, there just has not been enough consistency, you know, from from game to game and that's not.
54:35.521 --> 54:49.413
[SPEAKER_00]: fault on any player or anything like that, I mean, injuries happen and, you know, absences happen, but until they can, I don't feel comfortable putting the liberty ahead, because if anything, that is what the values have over them.
54:49.493 --> 54:57.340
[SPEAKER_00]: They do have that consistency, they have that continuity, you know, the chemistry and connectivity, all the sea words, right?
54:57.360 --> 54:59.502
[SPEAKER_00]: So yeah, right now, I would say
55:02.444 --> 55:11.171
[SPEAKER_00]: overhead of the liberty, because I think the valves have definitely, um, they have a very definitive identity, right?
55:11.211 --> 55:16.575
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think a lot of teams are still trying to really figure out what there is.
55:16.995 --> 55:17.276
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
55:17.896 --> 55:18.116
[SPEAKER_01]: All right.
55:18.196 --> 55:21.139
[SPEAKER_01]: The last person I want to talk about, and then we'll get out of here.
55:21.639 --> 55:26.082
[SPEAKER_01]: I know you have some warriors, a summer league watching to do still.
55:32.187 --> 55:45.506
[SPEAKER_01]: going back to the beginning of the season in my discord and key estokes struggling in certain areas and some of them she still struggles in today like.
55:46.400 --> 56:12.406
[SPEAKER_01]: you know catch catching a pass and going to a layup sometimes she'll drop the pass or yesterday I don't think she really saw how far underneath the bucket she was and like she had a like an easy layup and then she's like underneath the bucket and I think she hit like the bottom of the rim there are moments like that offensively where you're like oh like if she could just catch and finish like she'd she'd be I mean and yeah that you know that's part of every and not everyone unless your
56:17.328 --> 56:36.786
[SPEAKER_01]: But since the beginning of the season, I feel like she has improved not only just in her individual performance but also in the connectivity that you just stated defensively with this team because they're just they're going to be bigs that I don't think she's going to play well against.
56:37.587 --> 57:01.399
[SPEAKER_01]: no one no one plays well against ages so we can throw age out ages dominating everybody but certain bigs like you know one of them interestingly enough is is the uh young at land a player uh oh okay is that how you got like she's a bruiser and she just get she just puts her shoulder through kia every time but then there are others that she plays again it's who are maybe a little bit more one dimensional like angel reefs
57:01.959 --> 57:09.306
[SPEAKER_01]: Like she just angel Reese has one move and does it every single time and he is like right there and just puts her hands up and blocks a shot every single time.
57:09.666 --> 57:25.402
[SPEAKER_01]: So I think again in certain matchups she's going to be awesome and in certain she may not be that great, but I think she's going to be more on the positive side than the negative side just based on the players who who are in the middle in the WMBA, but.
57:26.202 --> 57:29.565
[SPEAKER_01]: Block you know blocking shots is a skill.
57:30.005 --> 57:31.827
[SPEAKER_01]: There's a timing aspect of it.
57:31.847 --> 57:34.409
[SPEAKER_01]: There's a sense of where you are on the court.
57:34.810 --> 57:38.353
[SPEAKER_01]: How many fouls you have she's a tremendous shop block.
57:38.373 --> 57:41.436
[SPEAKER_01]: I think she's like right up at least if she's not at the top.
57:41.476 --> 57:44.018
[SPEAKER_01]: She's right up there with with the best shop blockers.
57:44.739 --> 57:48.902
[SPEAKER_01]: She doesn't she's not a great rebounder with that size.
57:48.962 --> 57:51.424
[SPEAKER_01]: You think that, you know, maybe she should be a better rebounder, but.
57:52.500 --> 57:54.282
[SPEAKER_01]: Also she is very athletic.
57:54.382 --> 57:57.525
[SPEAKER_01]: She can get out there and get her hand up if need be.
57:58.206 --> 57:59.968
[SPEAKER_01]: She's shot a few threes this year.
57:59.988 --> 58:02.510
[SPEAKER_01]: I know they want her to to be out there for spacing reasons.
58:02.570 --> 58:12.980
[SPEAKER_01]: And she's like, okay, I'll take this thing and you know, the line drive, but it goes in sometimes and I just like, I know I think we all kind of gave her a little bit of a hard time.
58:13.000 --> 58:15.323
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm talking about the fans because she was not.
58:16.425 --> 58:17.486
[SPEAKER_01]: Rupert, right?
58:17.526 --> 58:19.909
[SPEAKER_01]: She's like the polar opposite of who Rupert was.
58:19.929 --> 58:22.872
[SPEAKER_01]: And you're like, oh, my gosh, we had this idea of what the season was going to be.
58:23.292 --> 58:27.296
[SPEAKER_01]: And now we have this more traditional center than we wanted on this team.
58:28.157 --> 58:31.160
[SPEAKER_01]: But I need to give her her kudos, because she has adapted.
58:31.180 --> 58:33.563
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think there's been some games or I'm like,
58:35.022 --> 58:40.066
[SPEAKER_01]: you didn't need to score 10 points to be as effective and valuable on the court.
58:40.266 --> 58:45.610
[SPEAKER_01]: And there are things that she does that I'm just like, man, she's been a benefit to this basketball team.
58:45.650 --> 58:48.613
[SPEAKER_01]: And the way that they also use her is a big part of that, I think.
58:51.120 --> 59:07.454
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, no, definitely definitely I know some of my colleagues have been definitely a lot harder on her than I have, um, but I've truly yeah, I've definitely appreciated the way he has gone about, um, you know, integrating herself onto this team and really finding.
59:08.835 --> 59:12.177
[SPEAKER_00]: her rhythm, finding her role, how to be best effective.
59:12.637 --> 59:19.760
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, obviously, yeah, she actually is as of this recording, she is second in the league in blocks per game, just right behind Asia Wilson.
59:20.280 --> 59:23.262
[SPEAKER_00]: So that's pretty cool, you know.
59:25.223 --> 59:35.368
[SPEAKER_00]: I think she actually has the best defensive field goal percentage at the rim, so that's really impressive, right?
59:35.408 --> 59:39.129
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, I think players are shooting less than 40% at the rim.
59:40.530 --> 59:47.972
[SPEAKER_00]: you know, uh, when she is, uh, you know, the back line, uh, protector, uh, for the valks.
59:48.552 --> 59:54.754
[SPEAKER_00]: So obviously, yeah, more often than not, her biggest impact will be on defense, but offensively, I got to give her credit.
59:55.034 --> 01:00:05.056
[SPEAKER_00]: Like you said, um, uh, I've, I've been a big proponent of her jacking up a couple of threes, uh, you know, when a feeder set and she's open three
01:00:09.785 --> 01:00:10.905
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, okay, let's be real.
01:00:10.945 --> 01:00:12.026
[SPEAKER_00]: She doesn't have the best touch.
01:00:12.626 --> 01:00:25.429
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, you know, so I don't know, I was like, man, if she had, I don't know what her hand size is, but if she had a little bit more hands, she'd get a couple of easy layups here and there, but and that's my logic.
01:00:25.489 --> 01:00:27.170
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm like, okay, right?
01:00:27.290 --> 01:00:37.153
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, if you're likely to make a layup 40% of the time and you're likely to make a 335% of the time, just take the 335.
01:00:39.702 --> 01:00:40.783
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's play the math game here.
01:00:41.504 --> 01:00:53.540
[SPEAKER_00]: So no, I gave her a lot of credit, but I mean, even though the actions they run with her at this point are predictable, I've literally seen other teams simulate the Kia Stokes DHOs in preparation for playing the BALX.
01:00:55.262 --> 01:00:55.822
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, I'll say it.
01:00:55.842 --> 01:00:56.703
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, Atlanta.
01:00:56.863 --> 01:00:58.103
[SPEAKER_00]: I was able to sit in there.
01:00:58.423 --> 01:01:06.726
[SPEAKER_00]: I was able to sit in in the shoot around and it's pretty cool Atlanta actually brought jerseys and they had the Valks starters and names on them.
01:01:07.386 --> 01:01:07.726
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh wow.
01:01:07.746 --> 01:01:11.248
[SPEAKER_00]: They were, they were running what they believed with the Valks base sets.
01:01:11.288 --> 01:01:12.848
[SPEAKER_00]: We're actually, they were pretty accurate.
01:01:13.068 --> 01:01:15.409
[SPEAKER_00]: I must say, and they had the whole
01:01:20.791 --> 01:01:23.112
[SPEAKER_00]: but she's been able to execute it really well.
01:01:23.432 --> 01:01:43.960
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, and again, we're talking about rim pressure like she executes that really well with Gabby and Veronica where it like she'll give the DHO and then it'll look like she's going to kind of cut to the rim but it ended up becoming like a flare screen and she kind of opens up a gap for Gabby or Veronica to attack.
01:01:45.060 --> 01:01:45.601
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm with you.
01:01:45.841 --> 01:01:56.168
[SPEAKER_01]: It would be nice if she could finish a little bit more consistently around the rim if she did if she was that type of player she'd be right now on somebody's team.
01:01:56.389 --> 01:01:57.369
[SPEAKER_01]: It's the thing.
01:01:58.350 --> 01:02:05.295
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, but again for a player who was originally supposed to be like the backup center for this team.
01:02:09.647 --> 01:02:18.214
[SPEAKER_00]: her having to play more minutes has actually been a big reason of why this team has been so successful, defensively.
01:02:18.694 --> 01:02:21.697
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, so I gave her a lot of credit for that.
01:02:22.017 --> 01:02:22.778
[SPEAKER_00]: Obviously,
01:02:24.552 --> 01:02:31.956
[SPEAKER_00]: I think she knows like she's well aware, like the fact that we play small so much is because of her limitations offensively.
01:02:33.457 --> 01:02:40.500
[SPEAKER_00]: But again, in her 20 plus minutes or whatever that she plays, 25 minutes, she's been extremely effective.
01:02:40.821 --> 01:02:42.802
[SPEAKER_00]: Definitely one of the team's better screeners.
01:02:43.702 --> 01:02:45.423
[SPEAKER_00]: And for the most part,
01:02:48.093 --> 01:02:50.614
[SPEAKER_00]: She really doesn't turn the ball over that much.
01:02:50.634 --> 01:02:53.936
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, and if it does, it's not a live ball turnover.
01:02:53.956 --> 01:03:13.025
[SPEAKER_00]: Like you said, yes, I saw that was a really nice, like pick and roll that should have been an easy layup and it went right through her hands, it went out of bounds, but at the very least, she doesn't really allow too many transition points off turnovers, no transition points off turnovers.
01:03:15.811 --> 01:03:23.992
[SPEAKER_00]: No, I definitely think that all things considered, she's been a very positive impactful player.
01:03:24.453 --> 01:03:24.673
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
01:03:25.613 --> 01:03:34.354
[SPEAKER_01]: All right, so the Valkyries, the next set of games for them, we mentioned Friday at Connecticut.
01:03:34.374 --> 01:03:37.195
[SPEAKER_01]: Connecticut is the worst team in the WMBA, by the way.
01:03:38.295 --> 01:03:44.536
[SPEAKER_01]: Not to say that the Valkyries always make these games easy because they don't, but that's a very winnable game.
01:03:45.236 --> 01:04:05.675
[SPEAKER_01]: on on Friday and then at Indiana on Wednesday, you know, we've kind of been talking about this like there's I don't know why there's a little bit of a sense of rivalry there, so we'll see if that kicks up again and then Washington Washington back to back Saturday Monday, so those are their next four games, the two Washington games are at home.
01:04:06.315 --> 01:04:11.678
[SPEAKER_01]: I think I'm going to try and go to the Saturday, Washington Game July 18th.
01:04:11.778 --> 01:04:15.100
[SPEAKER_01]: So that might be my first trip back to Chase this year.
01:04:15.120 --> 01:04:15.880
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, nice.
01:04:15.981 --> 01:04:16.601
[SPEAKER_00]: It's nice.
01:04:16.861 --> 01:04:25.846
[SPEAKER_01]: So if I do go, I will let you know and maybe say hi to you while you're on your doing your reporting.
01:04:25.866 --> 01:04:27.027
[SPEAKER_00]: And we'll meet up early.
01:04:27.187 --> 01:04:28.708
[SPEAKER_00]: We'll do a pregame pot or something.
01:04:31.089 --> 01:04:41.914
[SPEAKER_01]: I do have a equipment that I could bring, but okay, so I want to thank Conrado for taking time out of his day out of his watching the world cup out of cover in the warriors and summer league.
01:04:42.214 --> 01:04:46.056
[SPEAKER_01]: I do hope you go to summer league by the way, because I think I think you have a fun time.
01:04:47.737 --> 01:04:48.697
[SPEAKER_01]: It's like you said.
01:04:48.737 --> 01:04:49.818
[SPEAKER_01]: It's the networking.
01:04:49.878 --> 01:04:51.599
[SPEAKER_01]: It's the mixers.
01:04:51.679 --> 01:04:53.400
[SPEAKER_01]: It's the talk into people.
01:04:53.540 --> 01:05:02.806
[SPEAKER_01]: It's the, you know, just kind of getting a little inside scoop about something and let's not underestimate that, you know, you put a drink in somebody.
01:05:10.383 --> 01:05:11.424
[SPEAKER_01]: That's a great one thing.
01:05:11.484 --> 01:05:22.235
[SPEAKER_01]: So, okay, um, for Konrado, I'm WG, uh, follow Konrado on, uh, X at CP3.
01:05:23.417 --> 01:05:25.098
[SPEAKER_01]: Gosh, I had this and now I can't find.
01:05:25.138 --> 01:05:27.681
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay, sorry, CP3 underscore 7777.
01:05:29.931 --> 01:05:35.494
[SPEAKER_01]: And at the podium finish on Twitter, you can find all the places that he's writing.
01:05:35.714 --> 01:05:39.516
[SPEAKER_01]: And you have a Chechi piece coming out shortly.
01:05:40.036 --> 01:05:40.296
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes.
01:05:41.196 --> 01:05:47.639
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, actually, but that's after a piece about you stay O Sheetsa and her parents.
01:05:48.240 --> 01:05:48.360
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh.
01:05:49.458 --> 01:05:55.803
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, I had an opportunity to meet her parents about two weekends ago.
01:05:57.125 --> 01:05:59.587
[SPEAKER_00]: So yeah, I had an opportunity to sit down with them.
01:06:00.207 --> 01:06:01.368
[SPEAKER_00]: Have a nice little interview.
01:06:01.388 --> 01:06:08.514
[SPEAKER_00]: And yeah, get to know a little bit more get to know them, but also get to know a different side of you stay.
01:06:08.834 --> 01:06:09.475
[SPEAKER_01]: That's cool.
01:06:09.895 --> 01:06:10.355
[SPEAKER_01]: I like it.
01:06:10.876 --> 01:06:11.436
[SPEAKER_01]: It's awesome.
01:06:11.797 --> 01:06:12.677
[SPEAKER_01]: I can't wait to read it.
01:06:13.218 --> 01:06:14.639
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, I read all your stuff.
01:06:14.659 --> 01:06:15.420
[SPEAKER_00]: So thank you.
01:06:16.100 --> 01:06:17.402
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, that is it from here.
01:06:17.442 --> 01:06:21.466
[SPEAKER_00]: Forking Ronald, I am double G. We will see you when we see you.
01:06:21.947 --> 01:06:23.248
[SPEAKER_01]: Peace out.












