Lynx vs. Dream preview: Can Olivia Miles bounce back after tough loss vs. Valkyries?
Yahoo Sports' Caroline Fenton and women's basketball writer Cassandra Negley preview the upcoming matchup between the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx and the No. 4 Atlanta Dream. Catch the full conversation on the "Hoops 360" podcast, and subscribe on Apple podcasts , Spotify , YouTube, or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
On Sunday, we've got the Lynx and the Dream.
Lynx are trying to lock up that number one overall seed in the WNBA postseason.
Cass, what are you gonna be looking for in these games?
I'm looking primarily at is Courtney Williams still out?
What is that injury?
How long might she be out?
Will the World Cup help with that rest?
And can Olivia bounce back, Olivia Miles bounce back from, you know, not a great game?
Cheryl Reeve talked about she wants those kinds of games for her rookie to, you know, figure it out, to kind of problem solve in real time or afterward.
I think it's important that they have it now.
It's also an interesting point.
This is a rookie.
She is certainly in MVP conversation.
She's had an incredible year, but we are entering the playoffs.
And while they do say that you are no longer a rookie by the time you enter the playoffs, it will be her first postseason.
What does that look like, and how does that affect her?
So how does she bounce back from that game the other night in these games moving forward?
I'm so glad you brought that up about what Cheryl Reeve said about, you know, learning, just learning experiences from maybe not your best games.
We've heard that from A'ja Wilson so many times, that they kinda like it when they get their butts kicked because it's a learning opportunity.
We hear that from Don Seeley, from Geno Auriemma at the college level.
But those are coaches that have been coaching for a really long time, and that's A'ja Wilson that has been playing in this league at a very high level for a very long time.
It does take growth and maturity and time to get into that mindset of, hey, bad games are learning opportunities and learning experiences.
I'm not saying that Olivia Miles is not in that mindset.
I'm not saying that Olivia Miles can't learn from a down game, but this will be kind of a test, a rookie test for somebody that's new to have played a really long season, and we still have a really long way to go, and we still have the grind of the postseason ahead of us.
So, all learning experiences for Olivia Miles in her rookie season.
