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WNBA FINALS MEDIA CONFERENCESeptember 25, 2013Carolyn PeckLaChina RobinsonRON HOWARD: Thank you very much and to the media members on the call, thank you for your patience and getting connected in. Once again, the Conference Finals begin tomorrow night the East with Indiana and Atlanta, 7 p.m. on ESPN2, and that will be followed by Phoenix at Minnesota, 9:00 p.m. Eastern, 8:00 local also on ESPN2. With us are ESPN analysts Carolyn Peck, and LaChina Robinson. Thank you, ladies for your time. I know, Carolyn, you have a limited amount of time, so we'll go right to questions and answers. Q. Can you both talk about how the match‑up, how the Lynx now are healthier, playing better defense. It seems that they're a different team. Can you talk about how you see the Mercury matching up now against Minnesota? CAROLYN PECK: It's really interesting. Rebecca Lobo tweeted today that she was watching the early match‑ups between those two teams and Phoenix looks like a totally different team. Back in the regular season, I think first when Corey Gaines was coaching Phoenix, they were trying to figure out how to use Brittney Griner. Then you make the switch back to trying to play a normal style of what Phoenix basketball tend to be known as. Then you think you're going to have Penny Taylor back, then you don't have her, then do you. But in the process, you've had other players that have stepped up. And DeWanna Bonner has really settled into the starting role and having Jasmine James doesn't play like a rookie. She's grown up really fast, and having her available to play the point position really frees up Diana Taurasi to find her spots and pick her poison of how she's going to hurt you. I think that difference is Phoenix is playing some of its best basketball right now. Griner, during the game Monday night, I guess her knee brace broke. She went back in and played without it. Hit the game‑winning shot, so that's got to give the rookie a lot of confidence. But Minnesota knows how to win championships. And Lindsay Whalen had a phenomenal year and should have been a candidate for MVP to go along with the play of Maya Moore and Seimone Augustus. I think the key will be rebounding. And that is something Minnesota does really well with Brunson and McCarville, and having Devereaux Peters come in. LaCHINA ROBINSON: You said it, I think defense is the biggest thing. Phoenix held L.A. on their home‑court under 40% shooting. And I think that is the biggest chance when you're facing the Lynx is how to slow down their offense. In the series, which at this point means nothing because those five games were so long ago. But I believe Minnesota averaged 87 points a game and shot 44% from the field. And this is a different Phoenix Mercury team. I think, unfortunately, we don't know how much Taylor will be able to play. But Briana Gilbreath I think sets the tone for them defensively. Really gets after it and brings some defensive intensity to that lineup. Candice Dupree is hungry. You think about the big players for Phoenix whether it's Diana or Penny or DeWanna they've all got that championship ring, And that is something that I think Candice is really hungry for. She's really led the way and obviously played well. So very different team. The number, I think we'll have to keep an eye on is field goal percentage defense for Phoenix. Can they continue this intensity against Minnesota I think the fact that Phoenix was so long, I believe they're the tallest starting lineup in the final teams that are still playing in. And at length it really makes it difficult to score on them. That's going to be a challenge for Minnesota. Q. Can you talk about Brittney Griner's adjustments recently especially in the playoffs the first three games? You had one huge game, a couple good games. How much has she improved as the season has gone on? LaCHINA ROBINSON: I think she's improved tremendously, but I think a lot of it has to do with her overall health. When you think about the mental focus it takes to hit a game winning shot, you have to have everything right between your ears. And she's shown a lot of poise in that situation, so she's had some mental growth. But also just physically feeling better. When you look at the match‑ups between Phoenix and Minnesota for the most part rosters have not been in their entirety. I know Brittney missed a game or two in there, and she makes a big difference. Now she's getting to the point where I think she can focus on what's important. It's funny. Because as the game is going on. I was just saying to myself, wow, Brittney's really having a quiet night, and then she hits the biggest shot of the game. So I think more than anything she's learning from the example of Diana Taurasi that competitive, never die, never quit attitude. To me, that is half the battle when you're a rookie is the mental focus. CAROLYN PECK: I think that experience is a phenomenal teacher. When Brittney first started the season, there was a lot of pressure on her. I think she was going to have to do everything to carry that title of the number one pick. Then the philosophy of the team and how they're going to play changed. Now the game has come to her. She knows that within their system and how they play now, there are going to be packages that are going to be run to her. But there are opportunities where when you've got a great scorer like Diana Taurasi on the floor or Candice Dupree, you're going to earn your money by really playing clean‑up and being that blue‑collar worker, and Brittney has bought into that. Q. LaChina, I'll ask you this because you see the Dream more than anybody, and I'm sort of trying to figure out why has this team been so different on the road and at home. Obviously, they had the big playoff win at Washington. But it seems this whole season they've been very different home and road. What are your thoughts on that first? Then second, we saw Indiana just take Chicago apart in terms of dribble penetration and basically took control of those games by doing that. The Dream, I think of a better defensive team, what do you think the Dream can do to stop Indiana from setting that tone especially with dribble penetration? LaCHINA ROBINSON: Yeah, well, I'll start with home and road for Atlanta. I think that some of it was just the timing of injuries that occurred for them. They went on a huge road trip during the entire month of July where I think they only played one game at home. Well, to start that road trip, they lost Sancho in Minnesota. And within that, I think before they started that road trip, they lost Tiffany Hayes. So losing those two players and going on a month pretty much on the road, some of that has to do with timing, I think. Then having two point guards there in their first season with the team. So you lose your veteran experience with Sancho Lyttle, and at the same time, what she brings to the team and trying to incorporate some new pieces is difficult. If you ask any coach in this league, I'm sure they say point guard and power forward those are the two most important positions. I didn't think they really had the consistency of getting Jasmine Thomas acclimated in when they started that long road trip and then they lost Sancho for good. That is one piece. The other part of it that they've been up‑and‑down, I think, really all year without much explanation. You can call it growing pains, you can say it's injury. But I think Atlanta is what I've been calling this year just a Jekyl and Hyde team. When they're on, they're on. When they're not, they're not. The road to the WNBA is a challenge anyway, but I think when you're trying to incorporate all those new pieces, it can really be difficult. As far as the dribble penetration of Indiana, I mean, wow. They were very impressive. I think right now they're playing with a lot of chemistry and confidence. And the experience factor, obviously, is big. They have a lot of faith in what Coach Dunn is asking them to do on both ends of the floor, and that's a very difficult team to beat. If you look at the series the last few years between Atlanta and Indiana, the equalizer for Indiana has been three‑point shooting. They shot the ball last season. They shot the ball very well against Atlanta, and when they do, they have success. I think one key for Atlanta, I believe we'll see Angel probably play more power forward. I think Fred will probably play a smaller lineup because that will help some with dribble penetration. You can switch more. Tamika Henry played at the power forward in the Washington series a lot because her size was better for that match‑up. So a lot of it has to do with how you match up against Indiana. I think Chicago because they are big, they had trouble containing those small quick guards. Again Indiana they were just spectacular and very confident in taking the ball and getting into the paint. That will be a big challenge for the Atlanta Dream. Q. If I could follow up with a question for Carolyn. We saw last year the way that Erlana Larkins just put such an imprint of her toughness, I think on this Indiana team that really came through in the playoffs. I wonder how big a factor do you think she'll be in this particular series as well as Érika de Souza been playing? How big a factor is Larkins both defensively and whatever offense that she can bring? CAROLYN PECK: I think she's vital. She was key in the Chicago series defending Sylvia Fowles who was much taller than Erlana. And the thing that Erlana has added to her game this year, last year she pretty much was to be that anchor defensively in the paint for the Fever. But this year she's a go‑to post player. When they need paint points now, Indiana has the confidence that they can go inside to her, and she even has what's called a no‑pass mode. When the ball comes into her in the paint, the coaching staff has an expectation now for Larkins to be a scorer. When she establishes herself, because she's so strong, she's usually going to be able to score or get post players into foul trouble, and I would suspect that's going to be part of the game plan for Indiana going against de Souza because de Souza has been putting up Double‑double. The best way is to put her on the bench. Q. If you could mention a player or two besides Larkins that you see on each of the four teams remaining that you consider x‑factors or are going to be hitting surprises that will propel their teams to success? CAROLYN PECK: Well, we'd start first with Indiana. I would see Karima Christmas. She is a player that was pretty much the tenth player coming off the bench last year until the finals. Now she has moved into the starting role in the absence of Katie Douglas. She can hit the three. She can switch defensively with Tamika Catchings and still have that defensive impact on the forward. She's a rebounding guard. For Minnesota, I believe that would be Monica Wright to continue to be that impact player to come in off the bench and continue and sustain the scoring that Minnesota gets from their big three. I'd also have to say Rebekkah Brunson. She is an animal rebounding‑wise for the Minnesota Lynx. For Atlanta, I think the x‑factor is going to be Aneika Henry. With the questionable injury, with Le'coe Willingham out with that knee, Aneika Henry has got to be a post that catches and finishes inside for the Atlanta Dream, especially if they have Tiffany Hayes to play alongside with Angel McCoughtry and, it's going to be Aneika Henry that's got to have that huge presence inside. Then for Phoenix, oh, you know, I think that it's going to be a combination of the bench and what they're going to get. When you don't have Penny Taylor available, will it be a Lynetta Kizer, will it be a Jasmine James? Will it be Briana Gilbreath that will come in and relieve some of the offensive pressure for the Mercury? LaCHINA ROBINSON: For me, I guess I'll start with Indiana. I think one of the more important players is going to be Jasmine Hassell. They don't have a lot of depth in the post, and Larkins is already undersized. I think that now as Carolyn mentioned, Aneika Henry has been playing much better. She's got a 6'4" body with a 6'8" wing frame. They're going to need someone to come in and be physical. I think that Jasmine Hassell looking at the bench options can provide that. Obviously, they lost Jasmine Davenport this season, and so on and so on. But I think they're going to need some cushion in the post if Larkins does get in foul trouble. For Indiana, I would say probably Alex Bentley. I think against the defense that is as tough as Indiana, you're going to have to be able to move the basketball well, with confidence. I think Jasmine Thomas does a great job of that. They have Hayes, Herrington and Angel McCoughtry. But when you go to the bench, Indiana had Erin Phillips who was huge last year in the finals, and at the guard position it's going to have to be Alex Bentley. Now, depending on Le'coe and how her knee is going, you don't have a lot of options. So I think how Alex played especially against her home team being from Indianapolis, that would be something I'll be keeping my eyes on. For Phoenix, I think it's going to be Charde Houston. She's had a rather quiet series against L.A. and Monica Wright comes off the bench and gives Minnesota a lot. I see Charde Houston has that experienced person who has been in these situations who is going to have to provide. We've seen the load. When you try to match Minnesota's scoring, you're looking at a player like Charde, depending on how much Penny Taylor can go, to provide just some extra points. For Minnesota, I would have to say Janel McCarville. She is looking at pairing with Rebekkah Brunson and having to go against Candice Dupree and Brittney Griner. Then when they go to the bench, they also have Lynetta Kizer, Krystal Thomas. So I think McCarville defensively will have to to play well. They have Dev Peters, but in that starting lineup, I think she is going to have her work cut out for her in the post the way Dupree is playing and with the new confidence Brittney Griner may have coming off of the series. Q. LaChina, if you've watched the Dream quite a bit, first, in general, what sort of from a Dream perspective, what sort of advantages do you think they need to exploit to win this series? And they've obviously been here before in the Eastern Conference finals. How is this team different in terms of team culture and how the players interact with each other? I know you do the interviews with them at halftime, but how is this Dream team different? LaCHINA ROBINSON: Let's start with advantages for Atlanta. Obviously, experience, first and foremost. Erika and Angel and Armintie have been to two WNBA finals. This is not a team that hasn't been there. Now Indiana is coming off of a championship. But I think having that as an asset is definitely a good thing. I think Erika de Souza has to be an advantage. Larkins has played her well, but with her size, she's got to be a go‑to option in the post and make easy baskets and establish physical play. In thinking about advantages, one of the things Atlanta has to use is their team speed and try to get fast breakpoints. They've got to get out and run. If there was one stat that I would say you need to keep your eyes on it would be assists. Assists for both teams. Indiana because if they're driving and kicking for three, they're going to get assists, but Atlanta because they like to get out in the open court and get assists, and they need that transition offense. I think when you look at the back court for both teams, they have the faster back court, and they need to use that to their advantage. Angel McCoughtry, obviously, is always a lot of the advantage this time of the year. I believe she's plus 7 points per game in conference finals in her career versus that of semifinals. As far as Fred and the culture, not a lot has changed. You have to keep in mind Fred Williams was here. He wants to play fast, he believes in in‑your‑face defense. Maybe the biggest culture change is that he is quiet.  He's not as demonstrative as Medders maybe was. I think she was a little more fiery, which is a little more emotional from that end. So you'll see the players create more of that themselves. I think the team has taken on more of an emotional identity. You'll see Erik areally get into it and get excited and get going, and everyone is kind of creating that energy as a team. But other than that there really aren't a lot of differences of what Fred wants to do. Now what he's able to do depending on the health of the team and what that looks like versus what Atlanta would normally look like, that all depends on circumstance. Q. The question for Carolyn. Putting yourself in the coaching seat having taken over a team mid‑season, what would you say is the biggest challenge of that and the way the WNBA season played out? CAROLYN PECK: I think the biggest challenge is you've got to win over your stars and your leaders on your team to believe in what you're bringing in is going to help them to be successful. I think they've done a terrific job of that. And number one, emphasizing the defense. That is one thing that you might not necessarily get a player to score more points because the players have to develop confidence. But what you can get a player to do is improve their defensive intensity because a lot of times that's heart and motivation. And I think he has done a terrific job of selling the importance of playing defense, and when the teams started experiencing success from that defensive intensity, then that carried over for the turnaround of their season. RON HOWARD: Carolyn and LaChina. Thank you so much for joining us. I know you're both busy traveling en route to the games. Thank you so much, ladies. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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