On today’s Dishin & Swishin podcast, two coaches that know the finalists intimately break things down.
Mike Thibault led the Washington Mystics into the Eastern conference playoffs, where they almost knocked off top-seed New York in the semifinals. Thibault’s Mystics won 2-of-3 meetings with the Fever this season. When he was coach of the Connecticut Sun, he saw the Fever “magic” from the sidelines, when Indiana came back to win conference final on their way to their WNBA title.
After years of success, including a championship, in Seattle, Brian Agler took the reigns of the Los Angeles Sparks this season. The Lynx won 3-of-4 games against the Sparks this season, but Los Angeles fell to Minnesota 2-1 in the conference semifinals. Agler did not get to see the healthy team he envisioned on the court all season, yet still gave the Lynx all they could handle.
Thibault and Agler discuss the strengths and weaknesses of both teams, their paths to getting to the finals, what their personal experiences show them about the finals and look at how to defend stars Moore and Catchings. Finally, the storied duo discusses “The Foul” at the end of the Minnesota-Phoenix series, and their thoughts on the changes in the WNBA from their beginnings to today.
