BROOKLYN — The New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx are set to tip-off on Thursday night for Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, and players and coaches alike addressed the media ahead of the series’ beginning.
For the Lynx, less than 48 hours separate a Finals-clinching Game 5 win over the Lynx, and the tip-off of the WNBA Finals. For the Liberty, discussions centered around the differences between this year’s team and last year’s — and what it will take to get over the hump this year.
Here’s what we learned in both team’s pre-Game 1 media availabilities.
1. The Lynx’s quick turnaround from semifinals to Finals has been wild
On Tuesday night, Minnesota clinched a spot in the Finals with a win over the Sun.
Twelve hours later, they boarded a flight to New York City, and headed straight to a late afternoon media availability at Barclay’s Center.
Early Wednesday evening, Bridget Carleton said that the team hadn’t even had a chance to go over film in preparation of the Liberty game, though Cheryl Reeve reiterated a number of times that the quick turnaround was no excuse.
The Liberty, meanwhile, have been off preparing for the Finals since Sunday, after defeating the Aces in Game 4. Still, Breanna Stewart wishes the the Finals schedule was extended past October 20th (the current date for Game 5) to give teams additional time between rounds, and between Finals games.
“This is the biggest moment of the season, and it’s going to be condensed into possibly 10 days, you know?” Stewart said.
2. The New York Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx are stylistically similar
The Liberty-Lynx matchup should be fun for a number of reasons, and one of them is that both teams are stylistically similar. That wasn’t the case between the Lynx and the Connecticut Sun — head coach Cheryl Reeve actually described the teams as stylistic opposites — and it wasn’t the case between the Las Vegas Aces and Liberty, either.
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Photo by Catalina Fragoso/NBAE via Getty Images
“I think we both play a really fun style basketball,” said Lynx guard Bridget Carleton. “We both rely heavily on assists, assisted baskets, sharing the ball. I think that’s what’s entertaining to watch. I think that’s why fans have liked watching both our teams play this year… we know each other so well. Everything’s going to be harder in the playoffs.”
2. The Lynx might not be as battle-tested as New York, but they’re not any less hungry
The narrative all year has been that the Liberty are seeking redemption after falling to the Aces in last year’s Finals. Defeating Las Vegas in the semifinals was the first step toward that redemption.
The Lynx, meanwhile, are a newly-assembled team. Only five players return from last year, and the group doesn’t share a trauma the way New York does. Still, the lack of playoff experience together doesn’t make Minnesota any less
“All of us, individually, are hungry,” said Carleton. “It’s kind of cool. Obviously, we don’t have, the ‘losing a championship last year’ like they do. We kind of all just came together this year.
“We’ve had some ups and downs throughout our season. Obviously, winning the Commission’s Cup [was a high], and then we went to Dallas and lost to Dallas. So, it was some highs and lows. We’ve learned a lot and we want to be a consistent team.”
Cheryl Reeve said the the regular season was an opportunity for the team to grow.
“I don’t know that we have any scars. We have been battle-tested in games, and have gone through adversity in the season.”
Reeve said she noticed that when opposing teams went on big runs, Lynx players were able to figure out how to respond.
“I think we are terrific at problem solving… that’s what I enjoy the most about this team,” Reeve said. “Their emotional maturity, their ability to sit on the bench together before the coaches come in and rip them for what just happened. They already know what needs to happen, and you can see it on their faces.”
3. Lynx players knew it was a special team from the beginning
The Lynx added Alanna Smith and Courtney Williams in the offseason, and from the jump, the Cheryl Reeve and players have attested the feeling around the team was very different.
“There’s always a good vibe in training camp,” Carleton said. “I think that’s been well documented that from day one — we all got along really well in the locker room, and it translated energy on the court.”
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Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images
“And I think when we won the commissioner cup, it was like, ‘okay, we can really do some damage. We can make a run in the playoffs, we can compete for a championship.’ That’s when we knew we could be really, really good. But again, it clicked early — our chemistry off the court has translated on the court from day one, and it hasn’t wavered, even through the highs and the lows.”
Reeve has said a couple of times now that her confidence in this group was instilled on the second day of training camp.
“I had these moments where I looked around — and I know last year wasn’t great in terms of some of the stuff that we were trying to get done —but this group, they just, they just had a natural instinctive way right away,” Reeve said. “Really good people, really enjoy each other — all things that have been said.”
5. This is a different Liberty team than last year’s
All year, Liberty players have reflected on just how much more experienced and connected this years’ team was from previous versions.
“I think this moment feels different just based on the experience — that part of it, having this group together, and knowing the growth that we’ve made,” Stewart said.
They’ve also added Leonie Fiebich, who provides them additional shooting, length, and versatility.
“And then at the same time, it’s like, this is a new year, you know? We have that scar and that hurt and that memory of what happened last year, but [it’s an] entirely different situation, different team, and [we’re] gonna be ready for it,” Stewart said.
Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello echoed that sentiment.
“That’s part of the journey, isn’t it? [We have a] scar from last year, but it motivated us to be better,” Brondello said. “That was just a reminder. It wasn’t who we were. It was about building the chemistry, and having the connections, and continuing to trust each other and grow, and that’s what we did.”
