Game 1 Recap of the Good Vibes Finals

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We're talking right after game one of the WNBA finals. The Golden State Valkyries escape with a win in Valhalla. They protect home court. So we're going to talk about the WNBA finals. We're going to talk about the WNBA finals. trying to find out. those holes when the defense is good and i think that the second half i mean the second quarter she just exploded i think it was probably around 14 points and i mean overall performance i thought she was great today like i said she put the team on her back and carried them for me when it comes to the scoring because like i said nobody will score over 10 points yeah no she was the only one in the 20 like the tens of the 20s right yeah like yeah she it was really her team she also had a team high plus 16 and she hit tough shots too she was taking way more mid-range jumpers than i'm used to her taking i think even maybe her first or second shot was a mid-range jumper which was surprising to me when you consider kind of how this team plays yeah um but maybe that was an adjustment on their end too to kind of try to switch things up but i thought honestly look i'll i'll eat crow right now for a player where i had questions about her ability to actually be the closer at the end of games you she is evolving in real time same i agree in the post game there was there was a great question by annie costabile friend of the show about how at the end of the game gabby kind of like masks the game out and then she starts looking at the clock one of the trainers told gabby i know when you're about to take over the game because you start looking at the clock and she's like yeah i'm counting like i'm counting okay this many 24 second possessions this morning 24 24 second possessions until the game is over is is over so this is like my time to take over and you could feel that in the in the fourth quarter and then there's also these moments where it's like she man her defense just turns into offense like how like she just gets the the steel and the layup she's off to the races um one of those players i think this series is full of players like this that are that are unconventionally great and when i say unconventionally great i think i mean like you know there's this sort of like typical players that you imagine imagine you're going to see on this stage asia wilson brianna stewart um you know like this guard generation that's coming in that can you know they have any dribble move in the game they can get to their midi their three level scores and get any shot they want at any moment they have the quote-unquote go-to move the sort of thing that we have with such great reverence for in basketball like okay well what's your go-to move like what are you going to do with the end of the game right and gabby gabby doesn't have a go-to move i agree but you know she doesn't right she doesn't but you know what she but but you know what she does have is like you can get like she's trying to get to that left hand on these drives like she's starting to develop counters um she's starting to read the defense that second quarter that you brought up i think out of a timeout or maybe this was at the end of the first quarter um they run a pick and roll and gabby who's like taking contested mid-rangers finds kia stokes yeah it was awesome and and is also like was was getting open off of off of those coverages making angel reese commit golden state made did a great job making angel reese commit and then atlanta's help wasn't great after that and and gabby was like had a great play there but like veronica burton had a couple of those tip haze even though she didn't have a great shooting night had a couple of those like dumped down passes i think caitlin chen had one as well um kia stokes who you really don't expect to score much as the second leading scorer in this game with with nine points um she like and she also shuts down um angel reese a couple times on the other end with her blocks like that was a funny thing about angels like first first half or so like it was either she was gonna make the shot or she was gonna get blocked but she was getting the shot up she was making it in the first half um but yeah when she started doing and then when angel is like because we said that before the game even started i was like i said kia block i said kia stokes is probably gonna have i said a minimum four blocks she had that like in the first half but when they start breaking out angel it's like angel started coming out on perimeter a little bit and taking the ball to the rack that was adjustment but also too they put they took i want to say they took angel out early and then kia stokes came out and they put angel back in and that's when she kind of took advantage on offense when kia stoke was on the bench yeah that's actually should we get into should we get into green flag red flag go ahead yeah go ahead okay let's do it let's do it because that gets that gets into one of my big red flags for atlanta probably the biggest one that i have um it is the minutes without angel reese in the minutes without naz hillman uh i reset five minutes they go minus six and then even worse they go minus 11 in the 10 minutes that naz hillman sat that's good and yeah and duana bonner didn't really have a good game didn't make an impact on this game didn't play a lot of minutes um nita okot didn't get into this game either i think as the series goes on i'm gonna have big questions about atlanta's ability to just keep their legs underneath them against the golden state front line that starts with kia stokes you have kayla thornton who on it didn't even have a good game today didn't play much they throw out leticia and me here which i thought would have been a perfect time to throw to test out okot but they throw her out this is a natalie adjustment they throw her out right when carl goes to the small lineup without naz or bonner or angel leticia and me here she comes in she immediately gets to gets the bucket kayla charles gets an offensive rebound kayla charles has 10 rebounds yes valkyries win the offensive rebounding battle which you can't you can't like if you lose that battle as atlanta you're probably going to lose this game right because this is something that's so interesting to me about this game as i was watching it i agree with you i was i felt like okay atlanta's control of this game like up until like the last three minutes of the game i'm like oh yeah like they kind of mostly have like a five six point lead it's really hard to score in this series five six point leads in this series i really feel like double digit leads right like no team cracked 70 in this in this game so i'm feeling like okay they're in control of it as long as they just kind of keep doing what they're doing um now granted they miss an amount of threes that is kind of rare for them as well in in the late game um but then when i actually looked at the box score at a loss listed all over it four for 25 three point shooting for them not three for 17 combined for alicia and ryan howard um they get outshot in this game as well they get outshot by i had it in front of me um hold on i got it too no you're cool 14 14 14 shots that doesn't happen to atlanta atlanta wins a possession battle that's how they that's how they beat new york liberty yeah that's like the biggest thing for them that's why angel reese is so amazing for them they possession max they get re offensive rebounds they get steals they get turnovers they they shoot more shots than you yeah golden state won that battle if they win all those things yeah like yeah you look at it you're like okay yeah this actually like it's sneaky became like oh yeah okay yeah this actually makes sense that golden state won this game but sorry that was that was supposed to be my yellow flag no you're cool no you're cool that is like this it's at the end so it's like i was just kind of like wait how did we get here because it's like i literally like like i said i picked golden state to win but like atlanta just it's like we had it had it had it then the last three minutes it was like where did this turn go but the game the whole game was back and forth and what we see like 11 and 2 run a 7 and 0 run 8 0 run like it was just it was such a game of runs but no to your point yeah the the shot they and i felt like that happened kind of towards the end it seemed like as far as getting more shots because i feel like it's towards the end atlanta really couldn't score no not at all what's your what's one of your uh flags well we're gonna go ahead and get to it early um our girl yeah ron ron howard getting the ball at the end of the game um i felt like she i just didn't understand it she had a turnover a jacked up three and it's like did we did they mean to go up don't go to her at the end because it's like she was in the corner she could i want to say jordan canada had the ball that somehow ron with it and it's just like alicia slipped alicia slipped yeah she slipped that's who i wanted to get the ball that's who i felt like should have injury and all so it's like ron gets the ball and it's like she don't want to drive and it's like she never really directly goes to the basket she's like goes right to left i don't know if she's trying to make a move it's like she did had no clue what she wanted to do with it so for me it's like who was that on like it's not was she supposed to get it what happened is that on carl like her just having the ball at the end of the game and not making nothing happen but to me like she had to get the ball and it's like she's a bad offensive game i felt like she had gotten pretty good pretty uh better in this the last series of driving the ball not settling for threes but i felt like we reverted back to that yo that's honestly i was watching this game and i was like i can't believe that the two times that like you guys are going to be on the podcast are the time that we had to give it to ryan for taking that three at the end of the game against indiana from that point on we all talk about how much angel reese has changed since then that game right yeah we talked about angel reese in that game and i kind of went hard at her and i was like look this finishing yeah it's the only thing stopping her from being all wnba superstar type player she shot 67 from the restricted area since then the other thing though was that ryan howard started taking a lot more shots at the rim getting the free throw line and the mid-range so i was honestly hoping that next time we talked we would do a celebration right now and this is like i don't know what it is maybe whatever we're doing a podcast together she's destined to have one of these games i don't think she could have taken worse shots in this game if she tried like between the the the quick three-pointers the like the the kobe fade away turnaround rounds in in the lane some of them end of the clock you get it but she just looked rushed she couldn't find her footing this entire game and i think in that last play i wonder if once alicia slipped it's very loud in that arena yeah i wonder if they just had a hard time communicating what to do next but the other thing though i didn't i i i that i was kind of questioning was like the side of the floor that everything was running on to yeah as as well like i just didn't i didn't like that final play either i wasn't proud of it and you know what and that's something that i felt like i've talked about with atlanta since last year i felt like they're terrible coming out of a timeout and i feel like that's something that they have gotten better with like as far as this year but it's been a few times where dwana bonner which they had her in the first time i want to say it was the first play when they had it on side of the bounce and then they changed it up but i i mean i just feel like she's got to be better like it's the same story with her like i said i felt like in spurts against you know liberty we saw her get a lot better but i don't know what happened with this game where she reverted back to the bad shot the i don't know what to do with the ball she's like it was working for you to drive look at your team you swept the last two series and then we go back to that and then look lost i don't get it for real yeah all right i'm gonna i'm gonna give the atlanta fans a green flag or at least a reason a reason to be somewhat optimistic they're not gonna shoot four for 25 from the three-point line again they just aren't yeah i don't care i don't care how good that defense is atlanta's got a lot of tough three-point shot makers um alicia ryan three for 17 combined i don't think that's gonna happen again i think you know as much as you know it's so funny with ryan because like you'll give her hell and you'll be like oh take more take like take more layups next game she'll just go and hit those tough threes that's just what she does it's what she does that's her game that's her game it's her game she's a tough three-point shot maker she live and dies by it yeah yeah my other atlanta green flag is i like isabel borlase's game me too me too yeah she's got a lot man she's giving them she's giving them big minutes in the playoffs for real yeah yeah her her drive into the lane was big um yeah yeah even though she didn't make some of those shots it creates opportunities for angels to get rebounds which is why again it's important for like don't stop short in the midi yeah like don't stop short in the midi just get in the lane get in the lane you you take a crazy shot it's all good angels right there you got to give her a little bit of space because these guys are gang rebounding like they had they had like forget okay like you had kyla charles and then you had you had kyla charles get some gets three offensive boards but like kia stokes gets another three then five of their guards get one one a piece and that's how ultimately they're gonna have to do it yeah um yeah and the other atlanta green flag i had was i think chetchy is gonna be pretty bad in this series first uh first play of the game she plays like life alert defense on alicia gray who gets to the room for a layup and you're like wait really is this is how these wmba finals are opening up like alicia gray's just getting a layup i just said that wasn't on my bingo card then i went back i like immediately rewind and i was like oh chetchy had a horrible close-out uh that's a player i think that they can probably attack yeah i'll tell you so my green flag i just really like i really i mean like i said i feel like atlanta's been doing this the whole series just the half court defense was was solid like it was it was definitely solid so i that's the green flag for me but that's something i feel like they've been doing i felt like they just they look they my other green flag is they really do finish possessions it's like i feel like they really do kind of limit you as far so i think it's like i want to say because i've talked about the third quarter they end up winning the third quarter atlanta 17 to 9 and i think the third quarter is the most the most important quarter of the game so it's like when the fact that like i said the outcome of this one them losing it i'm just kind of like what but i felt like it really they set the tone at the beginning of the third quarter at the after the after halftime and just that half court defense like i said finishing plays not letting them get any offensive rebounds so that's my that's the green class for me all right yeah i like that i like that who do you have who do you think wins game two it seems like you're pretty optimistic like i'll use it i mean from what i saw i mean atlanta they gotta they they gotta get in that locker room they gotta go talk they gotta have a little team meeting tonight because that one like i said they gave that one away it's like i don't it's like i asked myself like did they give it away did they just take it like what what happened um i i'm going with i'm going with golden state to get it home okay i'm going with golden state to get my home i truly am i just i just i like how they just like for me i saw it firsthand like we talk about them just want you to sleep atlanta had all this energy and also too the uh i'll tell you a green flag for golden state like as far as when it came to like angel reese they did a good first of all they made an adjustment on angel reese i want to say she scored what three points in the second half she's their engine she's what makes them go if she's at the if she's in that boat where she can't talk her talk and run her mouth and you know get in people's faces that's her game that's a big part of her game they limited that all night tonight all night tonight so that's she got that one yeah she got that and one on kaylo thornton and she went she started to talk some shit she started to get the crowd into it the crowd started to boo her and i was like uh oh this is about to be an angel reese environment like yeah she's she's getting that negative feedback loop going um she's about to be an angel reese environment like she's she's getting that negative feedback loop going um she's about to be an angel reese environment like she's she's getting to start taking it personally yep yep but they yeah they did they took her out of the game honestly by way of i think making her defend the hell out of the ball because then the second half starts and she just starts making uncharacteristic mistakes yep and this is an interesting thing with angel like i think she for her so much of success is going to be about channeling her energy facts and you saw her do that so well in the first quarter she was excited she ended up with the ball in her hands in the end of the shot clock and she was like okay i'm gonna get to the rim i'm gonna finish she slowed down on those finishes um when she got the ball in transition i think just slowing down is so huge for her like when you think about who she is as a player like the ability to get the rebounds and the steals so much of her greatness is about being fast moving being reactive doing things instantaneously and you see it with like the ball or she even hypes up her her teammates and stuff too right like she is a very reactive person and that has worked for her better and for worse it's like how quickly she gets a tweet off whether she's like i'm gonna manifest the finals right or anything else um and that's great but then like when it comes to like just slowing down and like finishing a shot those are the things that like i think she's really started to work on yeah um but then there's still the other aspects of it where it's like okay you have the ball in transition don't go one on three don't go one on three against the ball and then you're like okay i'm gonna manifest the finals right or anything else that's not yeah that's not it that's it's they have the best transition defense in in the w right so i think i think atlanta's gonna win game two okay yeah i i like i said i had golden state winning today but not like this not like this i'll tell you you saw the circumstances and you were like oh this is sorry go ahead yeah no you're cool um i just i love the way that natalie the way she utilizes her bench like if you're not producing you gotta sit like it's literally game by game and i think that that takes a lot and i think that that's an advantage that she has over atlanta because like we carl if you it don't matter if you're not producing you not have your game he's not gonna look at the bench and set anybody he's gonna play his people 35 plus minutes and that is what it is and i think like you talk about them being wore down he's done that all season he has not utilized that bench all season and eventually it's it's catching up with you and it caught up with him today yeah they they basically run a seven woman rotation like it's bonner and borlays sometimes pow pow when alicia gray was out yeah i like i i think he's i think if there's anybody like one thing that's contingent to me on an atlanta win is i think carl smesko is gonna have to go back the drawing board in a number of different ways in this series um i think they gotta have an adjustment for the degree to which angel has to step up on defense yeah she needs some help on the back side yeah he's got to give old cod an opportunity yeah i agree he's got to give tahina pow pow an opportunity alicia gray is coming off an injury yeah she's five for 19 from one for one for eight from three um look i thought she had a good game it's not that but it's a lot to ask jordan and ryan only get two minutes of rest in this entire game this is the first 40 feet four game regular season this could be a long series you gotta find something off of your bench you just do and you have the depth you have the players you just you gotta believe in them and i expected i expected alicia to like be on a minute restriction today like the fact that she still played 33 minutes was like crazy to me yeah i don't think i felt good about her honestly i was listening to the pre-game stuff in practice like they seem pretty excited about having her back i didn't think about it i mean i think the thing about like getting her like her procedure or surgery or whatever it might have been on her hand is like it's not necessarily something that requires a minute's restriction necessarily it's not like she had like some like lower leg injury as long as she was like staying in shape doing her cardio like and look frankly like she looked like the most well-conditioned player on the team for a good chunk of it i think she's rested frankly i think she's rested yeah that's that is she might she's the one player i think oh maybe you'll peak later in the series i worry about angel peaking too early ryan's got to show up i do think here's the thing here's what has shifted in the way that i would have talked about ryan at the start of the season versus the way i talk about her now i think she's gonna bounce back i don't think she's having a repeat performance of this game yeah you know ron's a player who is like she just scorns me i'm scorned when it comes there it's like i have a toxic relationship with her like i truly do because it's like as soon as i start praising and i'm like man like okay she's killing it i'd be damn excuse my language that we legit go back to what i'm always talking about but like i said i think that you know you gotta that's why film's important you go look at film look at the mistakes you're making you make those changes and i mean i can see them doing that but i still i still got golden state game too okay no hey that's hey valhalla you know yeah 17-5 in valhalla they have not they don't lose games there they haven't lost a playoff game there um i don't know i don't know what it is i think i've just had a feeling about atlanta this entire time and maybe maybe i'm wrong um i just look at the circumstances of this game um i don't know i don't know what it is i think i've just had a feeling about atlanta this entire time and maybe maybe i'm wrong um i just look at the circumstances of this game um i just look at the circumstances of this game um and it didn't because i get i get what you're saying in sort of principle of like the the game that you want to steal is game one yeah in in the finals when you're on the road like i generally believe that to be the case um but i think that the other way around if they hadn't won this game we'd be talking about game two like it's a it's it's a damn emergency and it was three minutes left uh it looked like atlanta was gonna win so i think honestly i i think a lot of it is just threes i know that's like very simple make or miss like i like i i think people expect a bigger depth of analysis here but man they missed so many threes that they normally make especially in that fourth quarter i think smesco said it after the game he's like he said we wouldn't even be talking about some of these mistakes if we just made some of the threes that we normally make um and i think that's true i just don't i don't see them having a repeat performance like that from the three-point line and from the valkyrie side you could definitely say that they could have a better three-point shooting night as well um especially um and and tip but i i think atlanta's three-point defense was also really good at the same time so yeah i agree i agree no for sure 100 somewhere out there is a chevy truck and the person who drives it well that's a chevy person you probably know one your buddy your sister ones who always show up they're the first to rise the last to leave they always have that little extra something and maybe you've got it too together let's drive visit chevy.com slash trucks to explore the lineup the actions on the court and as the official beer sponsor of the nba michelob ultra is getting fans closer to the game with a chance to win courtside seats merch and more visit michelob ultra.com slash courtside to enter michelob ultra courtside 26 to 27 no purchase necessary open to u.s residents 21 plus begins on october 1st 2026 and ends on june 30th 2027 multiple entry periods see official rules at michelob ultra.com slash courtside for free entry entry deadlines prizes and details when you shop kroger delivery you can expect the savings you love and fresh groceries delivered right to your door our refrigerated trucks keep your items fresh while our associates are committed to getting every detail right carefully selecting and packing your order with care because bringing you fresh quality groceries is what we do best and right now enjoy 20 off your first online order of 75 or more restrictions apply see site for details kroger fresh for everyone when you talk so like me the way i feel when it comes to like them stealing this one so like i said i expected golden state to win today i expected atlanta to steal game two so it's like the way now you feel okay yeah so that's what i expected i expected to steal game two all along but it's like the way that this game was going i was like uh like damn like maybe that was the one like i felt like if you was gonna steal one it was that one because i felt like the way the gang was going you just lose control at the end and it was just kind of like here you go golden state let us just you know if that makes sense no for sure for sure can i do a shout out for two people yeah go ahead um natalie nikasi yes um she when when do we start talking about her like she's the best coach in the league i was mad she didn't win coach of the year again well i was mad she didn't win coach of the year again i was mad she didn't win coach of the i was kind of going for sydney but i wanted her to be she was probably my number two choice but i she's next level like she's gotta like the way that she just the energy that she coaches with like you would think that she's out there playing like she just has so much energy like she's always just so in tune with the game she's smart she makes great adjustments like she knows how to get the max out of her players like it's hard to get a team just to buy into defense the way that she does and just get them to be disciplined like they're such a disciplined team like just what she gets out of her players like it's hard to get a team just to buy into defense the way that she gets out of them like it's it's it's time to start talking about it she's excellent think about a year two a new franchise like she shouldn't be here but look where she's at no game one yeah incredible incredible yeah incredible um she had a great quote at the end of the game um she's being asked about tiffany hayes going down tiffany hayes went down in a crazy way tiffany hayes had met the hardwood um like straight up like game speed momentum like really tough looked like a percussion then she's out um and on the on the bench celebrating again within within five minutes i'm gonna be nice i'm gonna be nice what's up what's up what's up no what's up what's up what's up so i feel like with tip i feel like this was she i feel like she starts flopping and she just started in a bunch of rolling around now i mean at the that that one did look like it was serious but i'm gonna be honest with you i was annoyed as hell like i felt like she was just rolling around it was the one time it was the one time it was the one time but i was annoyed i was annoyed with her this game but go ahead you was trying to be you was there's an element of girl who cried wolf here going on yes i think we can acknowledge that yes yes but i will say that her head collided with that hardwood in a very serious way i don't think no could she have maybe created some momentum going to the ground yeah potentially but did end up being a real like a real doozy for sure i don't think she planned on the problem it's me i'm the problem girl i'm the problem it's not it's not anybody else it's me i'm the problem okay you're saying the quiet part out loud and that's what we appreciate about the problem that's the thing i'm the problem honestly though like this game so tip goes down gabby goes down she like well she had a weird collision with jordan canada coming from the three throw line where her knee kind of went inward turns out she's fine she says she's fine after the game she closes out the game beautifully veronica burton goes down ryan howard excuse me ryan howard goes down this series is physical man yes like these guys are going at each other like that's why i look i look at like like if we go game seven if we get to get like who's gonna be on the floor facts who's actually gonna be around to play this game seven it's a war out there and i feel like the officiating was pretty fair i feel like they did a good job like i feel like they let them play as much as they could they definitely let them play here's here's my gripe with the officiating um i think every time a wnba ref just doesn't want to be decisive they just call a jump ball that's a good point you gotta make a call like your job you have to just just make a decision you have to make a decision that is good that angel reese like quote unquote jump ball that was clearly a foul at the end of the game yes you you know under the half sorry it's either not it's not clear about either you call that a travel or you call it a foul and an add one you're right it's one or two things it's not a freaking jump ball there are so many there are so many unnecessary jump balls in the wnba cheerly because a rep is like a jump ball i guess right no that's not you you have to make a decision you have to make a decision that is your job that is your job and then you can deal with the repercussions of it of it after um but that is that is what comes with it as don draper said that's what the money is for so that's that's what you gotta do that's what you gotta do great there's just too many too many vibes based officiating um and then what's so crazy about that same possession you talk about that's the only time we saw okot for that 0.5 seconds and i was like literally he's playing he's playing well yeah i mean she needs help man she needs she needs help in that front court no one needs help in that front court too it's it's it's a lot it's a lot but yeah so natalie after the game um she has a couple great quotes she tells valhalla to um rest and recover and not drink too much because they got to bring the same energy but better for game two which is so funny like this is this is so natalie nakase core as like the the one who expects you within the 40 minutes to be like everything that is necessary as she says empty the tank but immediately once the game is over we are going to start refilling that tank right away like they the way that they do their recovery after the game the way that they do their recovery is she like is consistent about making sure that they're rested the way that she had game planned for this like i said she measures her plans in centuries um and then the other one was i'm going to put more energy into film because i want to win for tip um they get so fired up by each other yeah they have this collective energy like when one player makes a hard play it just it truly like you can feel and motivate the rest of the team and atlanta has that same element like truly like this is i think maddie maddie kenney said it when she was on the podcast last week but this is a series of friendship like this is this is a series of like defense Like, defensive-minded friendship. Like, these girls all have each other's backs. That's good. When one goes down, it does fire them up, you know, which is a really cool thing to watch. I think Golden State had that edge. They had the 50-50 ball edge, just super. Talked about it at halftime as well. But I thought that was just cool. Like, that was a cool moment for me. Like, that just really exemplified, like, what really makes this team tick and what makes them, like, burn for each other. No, that's good. Like, so somebody was telling me a story about how she had factored in. When you talk about just her preparation as a coach and, you know, just factoring in their rest and what they're going to need. How she just talked about how just her with FIBA, about who they factored in, like, who's going to need what rest? Who's going to need more rest? Like, stuff like that takes you a long way. It's like, you've got to be, for you to be a win, to be a competitor and for you to win and be successful, you've always got to be 10 steps ahead of your opponents. And I feel like that's something that she's always doing. Always. Always. Well, they rested players right after the FIBA break. They didn't make anybody go right into playing. Like, Gabby missed a bunch of games. They were pretty much fine with, like, their seating position as long as they were rested, which I thought was great foresight on her part. But I also think one thing that's cool about her is that so much of her coaching philosophy is built on her own experience as a player. She stopped playing due to a career-ending injury. So it's something that she's really, really mindful of. Like, she knows and understands the pain of that and potentially, like, the regret of that. And she knows what it's like to, like she says, empty the tank, right? And she knows that players are always going to want to give everything they can. That's just, like, the way that they're psychologically wired. So it's her job and it's her performance team's job to make sure that they're, A, well-rested, but also to save them from themselves at times, too, as well. And, like, she's, like, this whole team is built in her image. Like, it is, she was, I've said this before, but, like, I'm going to play the hits. It's five, one, and three-quarters UCLA walk-on. That ended up on the team because of her IQ, her hustle, her grit, her determination. Yeah. And that's what she looks for, too. Like, I remember having her on the podcast, like, when she first started this gig. And she's talking about how, like, they, like, as much as, like, yeah, this team is, like, physical, they have athletes, things like that. Like, Atlanta actually has the better athletes in this series, in my opinion, for sure. For sure, for sure. She's, like, she doesn't, like, as much as the rest of the league is, like, super, like, wingspan-pilled, like, that's what she's looking for. That's what she's looking for. That's not what she's looking at. Like, if anything, like, she's looking at the players that succeed despite limitations. Yeah. Because that's what she did. And she, like, and she's kind of built this team that kind of has this, like, camaraderie around those things as well. Like, being underestimated and having a kind of skill set that doesn't necessarily leap off the page right away. But if you put them in a position to succeed, like, Kia Stokes, right? Like, Kia Stokes plays one possession last year, like, last year in the finals, right? Big possession makes a big stop on a three-point shooter. But she plays one. One possession. Yep. This game, she played what? Like, game one of the finals, she plays. 25 minutes. 25 minutes. She plays 25 minutes. Like you said, four blocks. And it's a completely different context for her, right? Like, she's surrounded by three-point shooters, so now you're not worried about her lack of spacing like you would be with the aces, for example. But, like, just that combination of, like, seeing something in people that isn't necessarily, like, obvious and then also putting them in a position, where their strengths are going to shine and their weaknesses are going to be limited. It's just awesome. And they give each other, like, such a huge margin for error with the way they play defense, too. I agree. So, like, with everything that you listed, just her grit, her IQ, that's what I meant when I talk about just, like, her coaching the way that she played. Like, you know what I'm saying? So it's, like, all of those things, you can see that in her coaching. And it's, like, even what you talk about just with Kia, just her putting them players in positions, like, even with Kia, like, Kia having nine points is, like, an excellent game. It's an excellent game for her. That's a 20-point game for most of the game. Excellent game for her. Excellent game. I should check this. I haven't, I gotta check this. I'm gonna go check this after, but, like, I would be shocked. I mean, like, how many times does Golden State lose a game if Kia Stokes has nine points? Exactly. I'm, like, because I was, I did not even expect, like. She said she only had one game over nine points in the entire regular season. That was. A 13-point performance against Atlanta, actually. Coincidentally. Yeah, that wouldn't even be a good stat because nine-point games don't happen for her very often. But to your point, yeah, like, nine points is a lot for Kia Stokes. A lot of points. A lot of points. Yeah. Oh, that's so funny. That's so funny. All right. Before I let you go, like, any, like, do you have any, do you have anybody you want to shout out or, like, any, like, kind of overarching thoughts on the series? Um, you know what? I got to shout out Alicia Gray. Like, just her being so tough. Like, just the injury. Like, you said now, like, you just being determined, like, not taking, I'm not playing for it. And I'm no for an answer. Just going out there and, like, performing the way that she did and the way that she looked. Because, I mean, it's like, you know, my, you know, I played, I'm older. You know, we always talk about just a generation, younger generations being soft. You know what I'm saying? It's just, like, she literally went out there and, like, man, she did her thing. So, she's definitely just my shout out for sure. Just, like, she was, she plays fearless. She wasn't, like, timid or scared to get hurt. Like, you would have thought she had no injury whatsoever. So, shout out to her for sure. You know what? This series is doing a ton for Gen Z workplace PR. Facts! Like, facts. You know, like, these guys, they're not taking, there's no flex days with the Atlanta Dream and the Golden State Valkyries. Yes. They're not taking time off. Exactly. They're not resting. Exactly. Exactly. Man. Yeah. There's so much, there's so much collective toughness in this series. Do you think that, like, a lot of people have been wondering how is this changing, is going to change team building going forward? Like, we had these, like, offensive-minded regular season. The guard play was out of control. Kathy just did her press conference talking about records and three, wait, wait, what's up? What's up? No, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm processing. No, I'm processing what you're saying. I'm, I'm, keep going. I'm processing it. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Yeah. Well, you had, you know, these big threes, but then now you have these two teams in the WNBA finals, number one and two defenses. They both put a lot of emphasis on rebounding. They both, even as we've critiqued Smesko, I think that this is a team that generally has more depth and has put more of its, like, cap into depth. But then obviously the Valkyries, they care more about depth than anybody, any champion that we've, that we've seen in the WNBA maybe ever. Any potential champion, that is. That's a fact. I tell you, for me, I think it's just, it's basics and it's old school. Like, offense sells tickets, defense wins games. I mean, you got six players, six players on all defensive teams in this series. And that's gotta be some type of record. Gotta be. You know, so I mean, I think just for, just for that says a lot just about this series. And like, we expected it to be a low scoring game. It was, what, 64 to 68 today. Which I, I kind of, I expected this game to have a lot more scoring, but I expected them to probably be like under six, 60 maybe and below with the defensive game. But with the shot attempts, I mean, if they're going to keep getting shots at that, that's definitely going to change. But anyway, but I think just with, it's just old school, just offense sells tickets and defense wins games. And that's what we're going to see. Yeah. Yeah, that's true. Like as much, as much as things change, the more, the more they, the more they stay the same. Exactly. Yeah. Gabby Williams. Maybe the star made for this moment. Yeah. Yeah. And let me ask you a question. Did you see Gabby being a player to put a team on her back? And carrying them all the way through? Me neither. No. Me neither. No. And look, that's, that's no, that's no. Yeah. No shade. No shade. She's been a hell of a performer this year. Like she's like made me appreciate her game like 10 times more, but she knows she even said herself, like she felt like in the media, she's never really got a chance. She doesn't have the respect that she deserves. And it's like, I love that. She's, you know, I'm not saying necessarily saying she's proven people wrong, but it's like, even in this game, a lot of people still didn't pick the Valkyries to win. As much as they've accomplished as much as they look good this season. Like she's really just made a believer out of me when it come to her game and what she can do is better as good as she's got. No, look, I think they are proving people wrong. Yeah. They're absolutely proving people wrong. Like we just both. And I just, you and I just said it. Didn't see this coming. Yeah. Frankly, like this is, there's a lot of proven people wrong in this series in general. Maybe we'll get some proven people wrong from Ryan Howard in game two, but Angel Reese, proven people wrong. Gabby Williams, proven people wrong. Kayla Thornton, cut from Dallas, role player in Connecticut, proven people wrong. You know? Oh, sorry. Veronica Burton, Veronica Burton, cut from Dallas, proven people wrong. Yeah. Kayla Thornton becomes an all-star. Like that's just like, this is the sort of proven people wrong series, right? Like that is, that is very much. Like both of these teams were the underdogs. Both of these teams were underestimated. I agree. Honestly, I'm just so happy that we've got two different teams this year. I couldn't be any happier than that, to be honest with you. And like, and you talk about even just with Atlanta, it's so good for the game. Just so good for the game. Just so good for the league. And we talk about proven people wrong. Just Atlanta, I ain't gonna lie. At the beginning of the season, I was like, yep, Atlanta is going to be another first round exit. And then here we are. It felt like it. It absolutely felt like it. Both of these teams grew up. a lot through the course of the regular season as well that's why those first games that they played against each other are all so early in the season that they feel completely irrelevant like atlanta became a finals worthy team honestly after that podcast that we talked was after that indiana loss they came to jesus baby and they also got the one of honor this hey this is the first loss since the one of honor actually joined the team um one thing on gabby that was interesting um when she talks she talks about her recruiting right so joe laker who does like a zoom call with her and one of the things that convinced her to go to gold state because i believe obviously seattle would have loved to have her back and then minnesota was recruiting her as well um he gets on a zoom call with her and it is so evidence that he has a deep familiarity not only with her game the wnba but also what she did with fenerbahce and what she did with the french national team as well like he had spent a lot of time watching her and he told her like what you do for the french national team what you do for fenner where you are like a defensive player of the year for france like you are an mvp type of player we can we believe that you can do that here we believe you haven't been given the opportunity to do that here in the wnba and that i think is the first time that she had heard that from like living having this like career where she's like kind of have like a split existence where in the wnba she's basically a role player and then she goes overseas and she's a star she goes to france and she's the most important player probably in the basketball history of that of that country like the only player that comes closest is her partner marine johannes right um and you know dom will come but like she's really created that legacy in in france like she is like she's an inflection point as far as that program goes she is honestly man like she's one of those players where she's talked about this with valhalla right like she's like she's like she's like she's like where she feels like there's magic in the arena and then she puts on that french uniform and it's like okay there's magic in gabby's game here um like she has you know almost almost leads them to a gold medal right yeah she is one of those players where if it where it's almost like you're watching a movie like the outcome that's supposed to happen based on what the screenwriters would want to happen because they're rooting for a character like abby williams is like is like what happens when she has a ball like she would like she hits the important shot in the important moment because like it feels like the entire energy of the moment has like galvanized itself around her and you hear her talk about this with like she loves valhalla as a safe space obviously she grew up playing basketball in the east bay like this this game it brings her back to the roots like she's talking about this this season being like for her younger self that grew up playing and didn't have like a gabby williams to look up to it is it is a beautiful full circle moment for her that is a beautiful story has been but like there's some it's a there's like some movie magic going on with gabby williams man like there's something there like there is something bigger than that just really yeah it's like you don't want to root for them right yeah that just really so hard yeah wishing her the best yeah wishing yes now i believe in you yes this is the best it's destined i mean she you know it just and it matters like just like he just somebody just being able to recognize that and just say like you haven't gotten that opportunity because you haven't gotten that opportunity because you haven't gotten that opportunity but we want to give you that here which that says a lot all it takes is for somebody to believe and believe in you and like and look she's delivering because like i said i mean look where they last year they were at first year they got put out the first round against the mystic i'm against the uh the links and if they they really weren't supposed to be there then they weren't even supposed to make the playoffs be a playoff team and just the transition and just what her lead and just where they're at right now and the way she played today it's phenomenal man wish wishes is the best for sure yeah honestly like and like joe said it after um which game was it i think after game two against the aces gabby williams is the best player in the world and we're all like yeah okay um let's not let's not let's relax all right let's turn down the temperature a little bit here but you know what she today she played like the best player in the world she hit all the important shots she did the important free throws she made the important defensive plays and she gave them calm and steadiness at every single moment this game where they needed a bucket gabby williams was there to give it to them she was everything for them tonight so you know what again this is this is another thing about this series it's a series of manifestation continue to manifest everybody angel reese manifested the finals joe lake of manifested a title in the first five years of the franchise he manifested gabby williams to be the best player in the world right now his powers of manifestation are are are winning um last thing i'm thinking about okay so the team of destiny aspect of all of this right now it feels like the valkyries right just coming out off this amazing win we're taught we talked about all the different synchronicities that make this moment really special for gabby um man honestly atlanta feels like a team of destiny too like up until this moment up until this loss like that's what is so interesting about this series it has a real like i hope both teams win quality to it like i'm just like i gotta i just like i like i like watching both these teams i like that they're new to the finals i like rooting for them um i love atlanta's big three i love jordan canada like the defensive bermuda triangle that they have going it's just such a good vibes final so far i agree i agree i'm like i said one i was just happy that it was just like literally two new teams that we weren't the same people used to seeing one i mean i'm happy for atlanta just because like i said them sweeping the liberty was not on my bingo card them just sweeping all the way through and this being their first loss was not on my bingo card um just the the the story is that they're not on my bingo card they're not on my bingo card story just with just the valkyries just with the franchise they'd be in year two is crazy and just with atlanta like them just coming up short underachieving to me underachieving every single year i feel like they underachieve like i'm picking them to win underachieve you do right yeah literally underachieving so it's just like like you said just the stories with both of these teams and it's like usually for the most part like i live in atlanta and like i did i do have atlanta to win in game six but just the story okay everybody how everybody's working just the the story with you know just the golden with golden state the story with just angel reese you know being down yeah coming over to the team defensive player of the year just the energy that she's brought to that team me saying for the last two years they need somebody to come in and bring some type of energy and her being the person the one about her coming in being that leadership that they needed like it's a whole lot of great storylines with this with this with this series with this final so i'm enjoying it yeah i don't want it to end so you have what your your prediction series is basically like vacaries when they're home games atlanta wins their home games atlanta comes to ball hall at game five wins and then closes out in six in atlanta i i expected atlanta to win in six i expected atlanta like i said me i expected to land to win game two is what i had initially right now i'm changing my mind on that one i expect atlanta to get both games at home okay i expect them to get both games at home you can't move to state farm for nothing right exactly exactly you know and they're getting so much love here like so much love i feel like the most love i've seen them get like people are seeing them out now and taking pictures with them like people are knowing who they are you know and it's like now like they're in the forefront and like we're they're getting so much support so i love to see that for the city so well they have an opportunity to connect basketball wise in a way that like the hawks have never had like they really only had that one run with trey young where it seemed like people in atlanta were really into the hawks but that it seems like this the the team is just like the team is just like the team is just like the kind of struggle to connect with the city but angel in atlanta is just you know she's bringing in all these celebrities there's like the hollywood of the south aspect of of all of it like she just brings this energy i remember i never wasn't there but watching that first game that they played at state farm just from home i was like oh this is this is different yeah it's perfect like she this is like the perfect spot for her just the culture of the city and just her life and her everyday life and her off the court basketball just who she is as a person this was the perfect example this is the perfect place for her and just like with just with this team like i said i just want it for the city anyway just with the falcons child how that's just a disaster every year and just you know but i mean so they can just have a potential just to bring just a winning team because like atlanta sports have struggled like other than the braves they're usually pretty decent but so the city needs it so like i'm i'm all for it yeah i'm excited for those state farm games i'm thinking of coming up for one let me know okay i will please i will let me know i'm i will be i will absolutely i will be gonna do the live live yeah about doing the live yes i will be available okay so you let me know beautiful thank you thank you we yeah we got we got to make this happen in real life yes uh takara thank you so much for making the time i appreciate you it's always a pleasure like you're one of my favorite people fun you too it's always so fun i'm always so curious what you're thinking about and i just appreciate that you will let it fly too there's a lot of a lot of fearfulness in the women's basketball community and hey super valid it's not for the week it is not for the week out here i get it but you let it fly and i always appreciate that yeah i'm definitely a crash out so yes i i don't i don't know no no other way so but no i appreciate you for always you know having us on and just like your support and what you've been to support for us just since we've been starting our show like you're one of my favorite people anytime i'm always I love it. - You guys are awesome. I can't believe you only been doing your show for now, like how long? long has it been now you guys started like it was a year and a half it was a year last august so a year and what okay two months year two three months yeah yeah you're too much three months yeah and it's going i've said this before but like just anybody who's because i know we'll probably have like different listeners during the finals i had been listening to you guys for a while and then the moment where i was like oh my god like these girls are locked the fuck in was when you started doing the transfer portal content because like here's the thing transfer portal especially like when it's just you two um it's not like you guys have like this huge team or anything um transfer portal happens and this year especially with like the cba going on it's like we had final four then we go into this speed run of like free agency trades training camp starting and the transfer portal is popping off and i'm like man like i need to figure out what's going on with the transfer portal you guys did this basically like actual like itemized lists of like what was going on with like like in any year that had like a thousand transfers i was like yo okay these guys are sickos like these yeah like yeah like i've been enjoying like the marsh madness content content and stuff like that but then like i saw that i was like okay yeah like that was like you guys it was it was it was tough but you gotta get you gotta get talia on your show talia goodman like because she i do i saw you guys this episode yeah yeah she she's a monster like and that's i asked her like how did she do it she said it was an all-nighter and i was like i believe it because like literally it was like five six videos a day just trying to get ahead of it and so yeah that was the monster but that was definitely a turning point for our channel for sure it was oh that's good that's good i'm glad the work paid off that's good it did that's awesome that is awesome uh you guys listen to mid majors check them out on youtube they go live during all of these games um they're an awesome fun outcast uh especially you know if you're you're adults if you don't have to necessarily worry about the kids and like you know maybe overhearing what's going on it's definitely a fun fun time and you guys are always doing like honestly on top of that you guys are also like doing all all of like your kind of like award show talk everything you guys are always on top of it and you're always having a good time um tap in with the mid majors guys please do thank you for having us thank you and thank you to stefan anderson for producing and we'll be back after game two now at kroger your points add up to more ways to save every trip use them your way to take dollars off groceries at checkout or save at the pump you can even save up to 35 dollars on your next fill up same points more choices and with low prices on fresh quality food plus digital and personalized offers tailored to how you shop your dollar goes further redeem your points online or in the app kroger fresh for everyone restrictions apply c-sider store for details the mosquito bowl is the incredible true story of four college football stars who walked away from nfl careers after pearl harbor to enlist in the marines from friday night lights director peter berg and starring nicholas gallatin bill skarsgard ray nicholson and tom francis comes a story of brotherhood and sacrifice four men who traded the gridiron for the battlefield the mosquito bowl in theaters october 30th