In the latest episode of Locked On Women’s Basketball, The Next’s Gigi Speer welcomes Nets Daily reporters Brian Fleurantin and Lucas Kaplan to discuss Tuesday’s game between the Minnesota Lynx and the New York Liberty as well as Tuesday’s announcement of the WNBA All-Star roster.
The Liberty avenged losses to the Lynx in the regular season and in the Commissioner’s Cup final with a 76-67 win on Tuesday. Fleurantin talks about the impact of point guard Courtney Vandersloot, who missed several games in June while dealing with a personal matter:
“It feels like she’s getting more comfortable the more she’s back on the court. I think especially for any player, especially a starter like her, it takes you a good amount of time to sort of regain your rhythm and regain your bearings. And I think that she’s really been able to do that since she came back in.
“She had those driving lanes tonight. [Her] decision making is still really on point. And I think that she gives them another good ball-handler so that way, you don’t have [Breanna Stewart] bringing the ball up the court having to initiate the offense. You can have Sabrina [Ionescu] fly off more screens, be more active in that way. So I think that Courtney sort of works as a salve for the group, so that way everyone else can sort of slide back into their natural roles.”
Later in the episode, Speer breaks down the WNBA All-Star team, which includes New York center Jonquel Jones. Jones will play for Team WNBA against Team USA, which features her Liberty teammates Ionescu and Stewart. Speer gives us a behind-the-scenes look at Jones’ reaction to being named an All-Star:
“I’m sitting here [in the] Liberty postgame press conference [room]. For those not watching the video, there’s Liberty logos all behind me. We were here when Jonquel Jones found out that she made the All-Star team. Yes, she’s one of those players. And Sabrina was banging on this table [in support]. … And Jonquel goes, ‘Yeah, but [I’ll] still block her shot, though.'”
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