0:00

Before we get started, please rate and review

0:02

our show. It helps people find us. On

0:08

this episode of Sports Illustrated Weekly, the

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w NBA Playoffs are upon us and

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we have everything you need to know to get ready.

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We are delighted to be joined by Jordan Legans

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from The Spinsters podcast and Buckets

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for our postseason preview. I'm

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your host, John Gonzalez from Sports

0:25

Illustrated and I Heart Radio. This

0:28

is Sports Illustrated Weekly. Jordan

0:38

Legans, Welcome back to Sports Illustrated Weekly.

0:41

Thank you for having me. So happy to be here

0:43

again. Oh, it's delightful to have you

0:45

on as always. The w NBA Playoffs

0:47

are here and you're gonna help us set

0:49

the table. Before we get I want to run through

0:52

all of the different matchups with you, because nobody's

0:54

just plugged into the w n b a as you are, so it's gonna

0:56

be great for all of us. But I want to talk about the change

0:58

to the format in the playoffs, which I find very

1:00

interesting. Jordan's so no more buys.

1:02

Every team plays in the first round, no receding

1:05

after the first round. This is the component

1:07

that I find interesting after six

1:09

years of single elimination first and second round

1:11

games. We have now moved to first round

1:13

matchups as a best of three, semifinal

1:16

and finals best of five the

1:18

first round Jordan's this is the wrinkle.

1:21

First two games at the higher seed at home.

1:24

If the lower seats somehow pulls that off,

1:26

they get the decisive game three on

1:28

their core. What do you make of all this? Do we like it? I

1:31

like it? I like it. It's like the new

1:34

old format because this is a

1:36

format that the W used to have

1:38

back in the heyday. The single

1:40

elimination was just chaos

1:43

and it was fun, but it

1:45

was like March madness at a pro

1:47

level, and some players hated

1:50

it, like if you have an off game and

1:52

you're a top seed, you don't

1:54

have a chance to redeem yourself. So I

1:56

like this series. It gives

1:59

us more games just in general,

2:01

more playoff games, which is what we want. But

2:04

it's time it allows for some

2:06

bounce back games, because that's

2:08

how the Chicago skuy won last year. They

2:10

had their best games in those single elimination

2:13

games and then they ended up winning the finals. They came

2:15

into the playoffs at five hundred and

2:17

they still won the finals, so it

2:20

they kind of stopped that right after

2:23

Chicago did that you

2:26

make a compelling point. More basketball is always

2:28

good. We love basketball here. On the one

2:30

hand, I am an agent of chaos in

2:32

my own life. I also embraced

2:34

chaos as a content creator. However, if

2:37

you were a basketball player and a basketball

2:39

team, and you were a higher seed, you

2:41

certainly want more games because, as we know, the

2:43

statistics bear it out. If you have an

2:45

actual series, the higher seeds, the

2:47

more accomplished teams tend to get

2:50

through as opposed to Hey, on

2:52

any given night, if it's just one game, now,

2:54

all of a sudden, there might be an upset. So it is a little

2:56

bit fairer for the teams that are putting

2:58

the work during the regular season, which brings me Jordan's

3:00

to these matchups. We'll start

3:02

with the one versus the eight. It's the Las Vegas

3:05

Aces versus the Phoenix Mercury.

3:07

The race. The number one Vegas barely held off the

3:09

Chicago Sky, the aforementioned defending

3:11

champions by a half game. It

3:14

lost any sass, I'm

3:16

the number one overall. See

3:19

in the radio playoffs

3:22

Vegas one all three games versus the Mercury

3:24

in the regular season. Uh,

3:26

what do you see? From Vegas. What are their strengths

3:28

to the Does Mercury have any shot here? Vegas

3:31

is going to win the championship, That is

3:34

my statement. I was gonna save that

3:36

for the end, but all right, let's do it up top. Let's do

3:38

it up top, because they are winning this

3:40

series and they are beating everyone. Asia

3:42

Wilson is my m v P, so

3:46

I don't think the Mercury have a chance. Diana

3:48

Trassi is is out. She

3:50

was out for the regular season. It's a question

3:52

mark if she's playing in the playoffs. Skylar

3:55

Diggins didn't finish the regular season

3:57

for personal reasons. So this Mercury

3:59

team him is kind of stitched together

4:02

barely. They don't have their all stars

4:04

Superstar and Britney Griner right now. The

4:07

Aces also have some injuries with Derick

4:09

A. Hanby, but they are rolling

4:12

Kelsey Plum. If Asia wasn't

4:15

the m v P, Kelsey Plum might

4:17

be the m v P. Becky Hammond

4:19

has his team moving like a

4:21

machine and they're gonna

4:23

beat everybody. So the Mercury are first up

4:26

and they're gonna beat them too. I like it. I

4:28

like how declarative and definitive. This is as

4:31

you mentioned, that first round matchup for the

4:33

Aces doesn't seem like a tall order because

4:36

of all the things that Phoenix has had to go through this season.

4:38

There were five games under five hundred, they finished fifteen

4:41

and twenty. As you mentioned, Diana Tarassi has

4:43

a quad strain. Who knows if she'll be back.

4:45

And then the entire Britney Grinder situation,

4:48

which has been just a really awful situation.

4:50

Her lawyers, we should mention, just appealed her sentence while

4:52

the US government tries to arrange a prisoners swap.

4:54

There's no real good transition here. It's just like a

4:56

weight that's that's over everybody. Uh

4:59

and that that, obviously and rightly

5:01

so, is a massive distruction because there's

5:03

more important things in basketball. But because we're

5:06

discussing basketball here, Jordan's just imagine

5:09

you made the case for the Aces rolling and

5:11

they're gonna win the championship, and they're they're playing so

5:13

well, what would a Mercury upset

5:15

have to look like? What would they have to pull off?

5:18

They would have to score

5:21

a hundred and fifteen points each

5:24

game. There's a lot of points, especially

5:26

in the debut. The Aces are scoring

5:30

so easily and so

5:32

much, and they're going they're the fastest

5:34

team in the league pace wise, so

5:37

it's like you have to score

5:39

more than them and you have to be faster

5:41

than them for three games

5:43

or two games. I don't see that happening,

5:46

especially for the Mercury team. So if

5:48

they would, if they were to win, they don't

5:50

have to take it to the whole series and probably

5:54

shoot from three

5:58

breaks. As a basketball

6:00

fan, I feel like is

6:02

a tall order, uh, from or

6:05

from anywhere on the court. So got speed

6:07

to the Mercury. You've got some nice parting

6:09

gifts coming your way. Let's go to number two Chicago

6:11

Sky versus the number seven New York

6:14

Liberty. Chicago almost got the top

6:16

slot. They're the defending champs for

6:21

the first time in franchise

6:23

history, the Chicago Sky

6:28

champions. We know that their interior

6:31

with Candice Parker is excellent, and

6:33

yet you're already saying that this

6:36

is a rap. It's gonna go to the Aces. Tell me more

6:38

though about the Sky before we get to the Liberty

6:40

and why the Sky could maybe up

6:42

end your Aces in your prediction. The

6:45

Sky have that championship

6:47

experience, right like going back to back

6:50

you know what it takes to get there. The Aces

6:52

have been to the finals before, but this pretty

6:55

much same unit with the Sky.

6:57

We're just there so they know what

6:59

it takes. They have great leadership in Canus

7:02

Parker. They have Courtney bandersup,

7:04

they have Khalia Copper and they're

7:07

they're just have their mindset there, like we

7:09

know what it takes to get there. We're going to get back whoever

7:11

is in our way. We're gonna bulldoze them. But

7:14

when they meet the Aces again, that's

7:17

where it stops. I have Chicago

7:19

going all the way up until but we

7:22

just had the Commissioner's Cup not too long ago,

7:24

which is basically they're in season

7:26

tournament for the w n b A and

7:29

the Chicago Sky and the Aces met there.

7:32

The Aces were up by thirty in

7:35

the first quarter, Like it's

7:37

a lot of points. They score a lot

7:39

of points. That's what I'm getting at. So if the Sky

7:41

can match them there and kind

7:44

of prep each series like

7:46

Okay, this is what we need to work on to beat

7:49

the Aces, then that's what's going to get

7:51

them there. First up for the Liberty, they

7:54

are a tough team and they barely

7:56

made it into the playoffs. If you guys didn't know, the

7:59

last regular season games

8:02

all decided the last three spots

8:04

of the playoffs. So the Liberty got that

8:07

spot because they beat the Atlanta Dream.

8:09

So the Liberty got that spot two times

8:11

in a row. They've squeaked in. But you

8:14

have Sabrina Esque,

8:17

which you're gonna bet money on. You're

8:19

gonna bet money on that. She's going to have a great game,

8:21

She's gonna have a good series. But Nigel

8:23

Laney, Um, so many

8:25

players on this Liberty team are going to fight

8:28

till the end. But I still don't think they make

8:30

it past Chicago and their experience.

8:33

Yeah, as you mentioned, Liberty just snuck in. They

8:35

finished at sixteen and twenty. Uh.

8:38

Doesn't look good for them either, in the same way that it doesn't

8:40

look good for Phoenix. But now we get into

8:42

some of these matchups that could potentially be

8:45

slightly more competitive. You have number three Connecticut

8:47

Sun versus the sixth seed

8:49

the Dallas Wings. The Son had a really good season

8:52

and eleven just a half game behind this guy in a game

8:55

behind the Aces eleven and three.

8:57

Since the All Star break, they're playing their best basketball

9:00

right now. What do you think maybe a potential

9:02

spoiler somewhere in here. Yeah,

9:04

the Connecticut Son. I always

9:06

say this about them. They are the

9:09

bride'smaids, but never the bride. They

9:11

have wonderful

9:13

regular seasons top top

9:16

three for the past like four

9:18

years, but they when it gets to the postseason,

9:21

it gets a little shaky. So

9:25

if I'm yes,

9:27

and if you're the Wings, you want

9:30

the Connecticut Son. I'm excited

9:32

for this series because the Wings are a team

9:35

that will blow up everyone's

9:37

bracket. Like they are really

9:39

good and they're peeking at

9:42

the right time. Without their

9:44

superstar, Rique gomal A, one

9:46

of the best players in the league, is

9:48

injured right now and she is expected

9:50

to miss the first round. I hate

9:52

to see it for such an awesome player. Plus,

9:54

don't forget she's just came back from

9:56

that ankle injury. But the Dallas

9:58

Wings have actually been playing better without

10:01

her, which is very interesting.

10:03

Usually that doesn't happen. Well, so let me let

10:06

me stop you then, because there they were a game under

10:08

five hundred. They finished at seventeen and eighteen. As

10:10

you mentioned, they don't have their top score the best player

10:12

Rique, She's got an abdominal

10:14

injury and yet You're excited

10:16

for the series and think that the Wings want

10:19

the Sun. So what are the Wings doing

10:21

to the Sun or what do you think

10:23

the Wings can bring that could potentially spell an

10:26

upset. The Sun are really

10:28

good inside in the paint.

10:30

Most of their points are right

10:33

in the middle. They have Alyssa thomas Um,

10:36

they have Bree Jones who just clog

10:38

it up. But the Dallas Wings have Tierra

10:40

McCowen, who is having a breakout

10:43

season on this new team. She was with the

10:45

Fever before, now she's with Dallas

10:48

and we're really were able to see her blossom

10:50

into this dominant post player

10:53

that we knew that she could be. So they

10:55

have that matchup in the in the paint, it's

10:58

it's not going to be so easy for them where they

11:00

have John Quo Jones typically you

11:02

know feasted inside, but they have

11:04

Tierra McCowan to at least be a barrier

11:07

and stop them. They also have Izzie Harrison,

11:10

who is a post player. So I think

11:12

that matchup in the paint is usually where Connecticut's

11:14

son beats everybody else. Dallas

11:17

has that marked. And then on the

11:20

outside, Dallas has Marina Maybury

11:22

who's having an incredible season, and

11:24

it is really stepping up while Rique is

11:26

out and Connecticut

11:29

is a little inconsistent

11:31

on the outside with their guards. I think Heidelman

11:34

is doing well. Courtney Williams is

11:36

great, but I think Marina

11:39

Maybrey is gonna drop a thirty point game on them,

11:41

and they're not gonna see it coming because they're expecting

11:43

a Rique to do that, and since she's not

11:45

here, maybe they fall back a little

11:47

bit um and Dallas kind of

11:50

strikes. That's what I'm hoping

11:52

for. Are you gonna do it? Are you going

11:54

to pick the upset? Oh? Yeah,

11:56

let's do it. Let's do it. Let's do it. Yeah,

11:58

there we go. You're gonna hear first on Sports

12:01

Illustrator Weekly, Jordan's picking the upset? Alright?

12:04

Last one for you, number four Seattle Storm versus

12:06

the number five Washington Mystics. Uh,

12:08

they finished with the same record, both were fourteen

12:11

tiebreaker and home court go to the Storm.

12:14

Super even what are we looking for here? Aside

12:16

from farewell to Supper who

12:18

was like one of the great, not just great all time

12:21

basketball players, but one of the great all time athletes.

12:23

Ever. I can't believe she's retiring. I

12:25

can't believe it either. I'm so old. I'm

12:27

so old. It's it's bizarre.

12:30

I don't know a w B A without super

12:33

like shea going

12:35

to college. She has

12:38

been winning at every level for so

12:40

long. But this has been a wonderful

12:42

farewell tour to her every

12:45

game, her last home game, her last

12:47

regular season game, like everything has really

12:49

been this. We love

12:51

you, Sue, we love you. Now is the playoffs,

12:54

and uh, I don't know if the Washington

12:56

Mystics are going to be so so nice

12:59

to you on her farewell tour.

13:02

But it really helps that Sue

13:05

is on a Seattle Storm team with Brianna

13:07

Stewart and Jue Lloyd and all

13:10

of these one Tina Charles, like all

13:13

of these really great basketballers.

13:16

I watched the Seattle Storm the other day and I

13:19

was like, they could win it all. Like

13:21

they're that good. They are so good.

13:24

And when we talk about experience in the

13:27

postseason, this is a core

13:29

that has won multiple championships

13:31

together, have been to the playoffs almost every

13:33

season, have been to the finals, so

13:36

they know what it takes. They're like, you know, a regular

13:38

season, Yeah, yeah, we're the fourth seed,

13:41

but we're going to turn up in the playoffs. This

13:43

Washington Mystic team is trying to figure

13:46

that out. Atlanta de Ladon was a part

13:48

time player during the regular season just

13:51

to save her for this moment um.

13:54

Natasha Cloud is a little bit of a question

13:56

mark. I know she got banged up in the last the

13:59

last game, Zone Philly Zone.

14:01

Natasha contractually obligated

14:03

to mention that anytime anybody for Philadelphia

14:05

appears, So yes, very excited

14:08

for you. Got Khalia Copper to North Philly.

14:10

She's on the Chicago skuy so you you'll

14:12

love her too. But the Washington Mystics

14:15

are close. I don't think

14:17

this is their year to make it past

14:19

Seattle, but they're close.

14:22

They're like a season or two from

14:25

winning it again. So it sounds

14:27

to me like you're going with the storm though, or are

14:29

you wavering? I'm going with the storm. I'm

14:32

going with the storm here. Jula Lloyd

14:34

had thirty eight I think in

14:36

the last game, and every

14:39

time I watched her play basketball, I'm just

14:41

in awe and she is

14:44

wonderful at the sport, and I think

14:46

this is her time to shine. She wants People

14:49

have kind of only been talking about Sue's farewell

14:51

tour and not really about how good Seattle

14:54

Storms team is. And I think she

14:56

wants to kind of prove like, yeah,

14:58

we're good and we're gonna we're gonna go far.

15:00

And you've got me excited for that series. You've got me excited

15:03

for these playoffs. You've already mentioned

15:05

that the finals are gonna be chalk, and then

15:07

you've got the Aces winning. So

15:09

we've covered all that. Less exciting

15:12

probably for them, maybe not for us,

15:14

are the teams that were eliminated. I just want to rattle

15:17

off a couple here with you that did not make

15:19

the playoffs. The Sparks, Jordan's, the Sparks

15:21

missing back to back postseasons for the first time

15:23

since the first

15:25

two years as a team, traded away their

15:28

first round pick, Grimm, Grimm

15:30

and l A. Yeah, you know, I was at

15:32

the last home game last night, and

15:34

um, how did that go? It did

15:37

not go well because you know that Dallas

15:39

team that I was telling you about, Yeah, they beat

15:41

us by about forty It was not

15:44

good. A friend of mine Jordan's a

15:46

friend of mine went to a game recently and said

15:48

there was no energy in the building. It was kind of dead.

15:50

People are like only the hardcore

15:53

Sparks fans like you go, now, yeah,

15:55

it's kind of rough. I think me and my fiance

15:58

were there and we were looking around and we were like, it

16:00

isn't Sparks basketball. Like

16:02

it was actually bad basketball. They didn't

16:05

know what they're doing. I've interviewed

16:07

so many Sparks players this season, and it was

16:09

turnover with coaches and players

16:12

and egos. And you can make

16:14

all the shots on the court, but if everything

16:16

behind the scenes isn't working out and isn't

16:19

jelling together, then it kind of doesn't

16:21

matter. And that's what's going on with the

16:23

Sparks right now. It doesn't seem like anyone

16:26

is like, hey, remember when we were good. I

16:29

panned up to the championship banners

16:31

while I was there, and I zoomed in to just remember

16:33

the good times that, like, we were good at

16:36

one point, right, so we

16:39

got to get back there. We have to

16:41

get back there. I don't know what it's gonna

16:43

take, but this season was

16:46

pretty awful, Like it was pretty bad.

16:49

How long I mean when you say you don't know what

16:51

it'll take, I mean ball

16:53

park me Like, like, how grim do you think

16:55

it is? Like when do you think they're back in the mix. Are

16:57

we talking about like a full hard reset?

17:00

Your you know, this season

17:02

was the reset. It was pretty much

17:04

a whole new roster. And then I

17:06

saw a tweet the other day that said, like

17:09

six players are free agents

17:11

or unrestricted free agents. So will

17:14

they come back to this fire

17:16

storm? I don't know, are they going to

17:18

go somewhere else? I think we need a

17:20

new coach. Derek Fisher was

17:23

fired and then we had an interim with

17:25

Fred Williams, I believe, and

17:28

no one really bought into what he was doing because

17:30

it just seemed like it was temporary. So

17:33

if we come in, have a coach come in

17:35

and say this is our identity, this

17:37

is what we're gonna stand for, this is what we're gonna

17:39

play for. Hey, let's watch some

17:42

old game film of the Lisa Leslie

17:44

sparks and how packed it was

17:46

in Staples in the forum, Like let's

17:49

get back to how great

17:51

we can be. Then I think they'll be buy

17:53

in because the players want to play

17:55

at a high level, they want to win, and individually

17:58

they're all great players. They just have

18:00

to figure out how to jail them together. Small

18:03

small things. I mean, it's just so tiny

18:05

count the organization

18:08

change. Yeah, one more team

18:10

that I wanted to mention to you that didn't make it.

18:12

The links were eliminated, which means we say goodbye

18:15

to the great Sylvia Fouls a

18:23

lot of media attention, obviously and rightly so, as

18:25

she's leaving. Highly recommend by the way Ben

18:28

Pickman story on her in s I,

18:30

Sylvia is a legend. She's got a very

18:32

unique life story which I want to touch on with you, but

18:35

real quick. Uh as a basketball

18:37

player, fifteen year career to w NBA

18:39

titles, two finals, MVPs for Olympic

18:41

Golds, go on and on about total rebounds

18:43

and field goal percentage and double doubles. Member

18:46

of the WS Anniversary team,

18:48

just dunked in the most recent All Star Game. It

18:57

put her career in perspective. Explain

19:00

her greatness to people, man Sweet

19:03

Silk. First of all, she is the nicest

19:05

person I've ever met. Like sweet

19:07

Sill just is the perfect moniker

19:10

for her because she is so nice. But her

19:12

career is really dominance,

19:16

like pure dominance

19:18

for a really long time,

19:20

like a fifteen year career. She's

19:23

still the league leader in

19:25

rebounding. Her last season, she

19:27

has the all time leader

19:29

in rebounds. And it's so interesting because

19:32

when you see her play even this season,

19:34

you say, she's still dominant.

19:36

Why is she hanging it up? But she

19:38

wanted to end on this note, and I

19:41

think as basketball fans we can always

19:43

appreciate that. We didn't want her to go down

19:45

an injury or um she was

19:47

going to retire in when she

19:50

had a hip surgery, but she don't want to go

19:52

out like that. She wanted to still go out as

19:54

this dominant, most decorated

19:56

player, and for an organization

19:58

like The Links where she helped, you know, really

20:01

create their dynasty and help

20:03

with that. But the game is

20:05

going to miss her. I think a lot of people

20:08

are going to be able to get more layups now

20:10

that she's not in there blocking and

20:13

uh, share the rebounds somewhere

20:15

else. But just as fans,

20:18

you know, she plays with such tenacity

20:21

and energy, but it's also super

20:23

super kind and really nice. We're

20:25

just gonna miss her. We love Sylvia. Foul's

20:28

here right to the last,

20:30

as you said, still dominant on the boards, still cleaning

20:32

the glass, still burying people, which is appropriate

20:35

because she's going to spend

20:38

her next phase of her life as a mortician.

20:41

Yes, I mean this is a wild

20:43

component. Again, I recommend people go read Ben

20:45

Pickman's story, but it's all about how she was

20:47

like into death from an early age and

20:50

she like just decided to have a side

20:52

hustle where she like showed up at a funeral

20:55

home and was like, I'll help you beautify these corpses,

20:57

and that's gonna be her life. It's wild.

21:00

It's so wild. She is probably

21:02

the most interesting person ever

21:05

because also she like knits, and

21:08

she like knit everyone a homemade

21:10

gift. On her last home game,

21:13

while she was receiving all these flowers and

21:15

gifts, she knitted everybody something

21:17

personal, like that's who she is. But

21:20

also yes, she says that

21:22

people just aren't educated in the mortician

21:25

area and that it's actually great

21:28

and she loves it. So more

21:30

about to a great retirement plan. Honestly,

21:32

Wow, I wish her the best.

21:35

She was a delight to watch. I'm excited

21:37

about the playoffs now because we've previewed them

21:39

with you, so we wish you the best as well.

21:41

Listen to Jordan on the Spinsters with Haley,

21:44

who is also a friend of the program, and watch her at w

21:46

NBA commentary on buckets. She's

21:48

our number one seed and a sure fire Hall

21:50

of Famer. Jordan leggands, thank you for

21:53

this, Thank you, thanks

21:59

for listening everybody, and a reminder to please

22:01

rate and review the show that helps people find

22:03

us. Sports

22:08

Illustrated Weekly is a production of Sports Illustrated

22:10

and I Heart Radio. For more podcasts

22:13

from I Heart Radio, visit the I Heart

22:15

Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or

22:17

wherever you get your favorite shows. And

22:20

for more of Sports Illustrated, its best stories and podcasts,

22:23

visit SI dot com. This

22:25

episode of Sports Illustrated Weekly was produced by

22:27

Jordan Rosieri, Jessica Armoski,

22:30

and Isaac Lee, who was also our

22:32

sound engineer. Our senior

22:34

producers are Dan Bloom and Harry sward

22:36

Out. Our executive producers are

22:38

Scott Brody and me John Gonzaltz.

22:41

Our theme song is by Nolan Schneider.

22:44

And if you've stuck around this long, we leave

22:46

you with this. I'm

22:52

I'm preparing for people to just show up and

22:54

be like, oh, well, this distant

22:57

cousin was invited song. I'm invited

22:59

right. That's how me and Jordan are going to

23:01

show up soon. We

23:03

were invited come to Santa Clarita, come

23:06

on down. All Jordan's are invited for

23:08

sure.