GOOD FOLLOW - Paige Drops a 40-Piece, Liberty and Lynx Rivalry, A’ja’s MVP Run, & More

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Hey, what's up, everyone?

Welcome to Good Follow Show, presented by DraftKings.

I'm Rise Gold on Wednesday.

That is Logan Hackett, and that is my girl who just played in a pro am.

Tell us how the golf swing was looking.

How did you do, boo?

It was looking good.

It was so much fun.

I was actually paired up with three players on the Toronto Scepters.

And then we had LPGA players, two of them come for each nine.

So Gigi Stole and Amy Yang.

An amazing time just being with them, hanging out with them, and being able to golf, which I love so much.

Did you win?

No, we didn't really keep score or we had a score keeping score for us, but she didn't really tell us at the end what was going on.

It was, it was for vibes.

Did you have a cute, did you have a cute golf outfit on?

I did.

It was, we're in like a cold front right now, so it was a bit cold outside, but I did wear my Jordans.

I have these Jordan golf shoes and they're my prized possessions.

So that really tied everything together and obviously got lots of compliments.

We are so proud of you here in the Good Follow family.

I know everybody watching and listening right now is so proud of Logan.

You go, girl, representing for us.

But hey, you know what is hot?

Our show that we have for you.

We got the heat coming your way.

Let me give you the menu.

Let me tell you what we're serving up and dishing out on today's show of good follow.

The Liberty and the Lynx regular season series have come to an end, and we are going to cover what our thoughts and reflections are from it and the trash talk that came out of it.

Remember, I was just there on the call at Bar Place.

And then Asia Wilson, she continues to do her thing.

She's propelling the aces to eight straight wins, and she's making the MVP race tighter and tighter.

And Paige Beckers, she went off for 44 points.

So I ask, is the rookie of the year race over?

And then Angel Reese, she's making her return to the court.

She made a return.

She comes to Barclay Center tonight.

We're going to talk about Angel Reese's comeback.

And we return to our conspiracy corner.

What on earth is going on with the Indiana fever and Caitlin Clark, y'all?

It's getting very, very confusing over there.

We dive in.

And don't forget, y'all can catch new episodes, not once, but twice a week, one on Tuesday and one on Thursday.

And as always, thank y'all for subscribing, commenting, liking, following our socials, telling your friends about our show.

But we have a good show to get into.

So Roz, are you ready?

I'm ready.

Let's do this thing.

Let's do it.

So I feel like all season it was leading up to Liberty and Lynx because it seemed like they weren't playing each other and then they faced off four times in a span of 20 days with Minnesota taking the dub three times.

Now, both teams had key players out with injuries, but that didn't really seem to slow anyone down.

How does the series that we just witnessed prepare the Liberty for the playoffs?

Yeah, and I was just at Barclays on the call for this game, Liberty Lynx, the fourth one.

It was absolutely electric in there.

Of all the Liberty games this season, it was the most exciting.

It was so cool to be on the call for it.

And I do think in some ways it could prepare the Liberty and the Lynx for the playoffs if they see each other, you know, again, as they're expecting to.

Because I know for a lot of Liberty players, you'd hear them saying that this felt like a mini playoff series within the regular season just because of the way the schedule lined up.

And they had so many games to play against each other.

For the Lynx, it was three straight versus the Liberty.

And for the Liberty, they actually said, you you know, they actually had to take a West Coast road trip in between those games.

So they did have some extra turmoil to deal with, just saying.

But the miniseries, it was like you had to make adjustments from matchup to matchup.

I also think it was important psychologically for the Liberty to come away with that victory against the Lynx and not get swept in the regular season series.

I think, and I, and even though no team really seemed to want to admit it, you could very much tell on the court that the Lynx wanted to shut the Liberty out and the Liberty really, really wanted to get one against the Lynx and certainly at home.

But after that, I think it's a little bit harder to say just how helpful it is because there's a lot of players missing in the series.

Obviously, the Lynx are without, you know, their MVP candidate in Nafisa Collar.

They're only going to get better when Fee gets back.

But here's the thing: no matter who is on the court, we know exactly right now who the Lynx are.

They are phenomenal on defense.

My goodness.

And then they share the ball so well, they take care of it and they knock down threes.

That's who they are, no matter who's on the court.

On the other side for the Liberty, their identity is not nearly as in stone.

And actually, in some ways, I think that means from this point on, if you look at both teams, in my opinion, I think it's the Liberty who have more upside.

It makes them more dangerous in some ways, the potential of what they could be once they get Stewie back, once and they combine that with Emma Miseman and John Quel Jones and that like triplet of bigs get a chance to mesh and work with each other because of their IQ and because of their versatility, all of them could play with each other on the court.

The Liberty could be super big on the court.

Imagine also putting Leonie Phoebish on there as a wing at 6'4.

And then it's Sabrina Jonescu.

She's 5'11.

Or at times, we've even seen Coach Brandello use Stewie as a point guard.

and they could be really big.

But I'm just, I think with the skill, the versatility, the IQ, the Liberty could be very dangerous.

We really have no idea just how much so.

And if they can put it all together in time, we shall see, you know, all season they've been recovering from different injuries and trying to figure out, you know, rotations.

So now's the time to try and put it all together just in time for a playoff run.

I feel like if they do end up meeting in the finals again, it's going to be even bigger and better than last year.

But that actually brings me into my next point.

I feel like since last year, there has been a huge rivalry between the two, and it is giving us so much entertainment this season, especially with the trash talk, which y'all know that I love the drama.

But this dudbut said this on stream with the new Lynx Jalen Schrod.

Take a look.

I already said my one piece that I was gonna say, Jay with the good guys now.

She left that punk ass team and she with the good guys now.

Tradle.

Believe it.

Believe it.

Tea.

absolute tea.

But word about this got back to coach Sandy and she had this to say.

I heard about the punk ass thing.

That's it.

So yeah.

So I just called,

I saw, I saw Jalen and then I saw Natisha Heinemann.

I'm like, who's calling us a punk ass team?

She goes, not me, not me.

I am absolutely obsessed.

And the best part about this is that it is very much, it's not a one-sided rivalry.

I mean, you think about Serena Maria Sheripova, that was very much one-sided, but this could be pretty even, but Ross, do you think it is the best rivalry in the WMBA right now?

For sure.

This Liberty Lynx are the best rivalry in the league right now.

They're really the only real rivalry that hasn't been manufactured or pushed on us by like media or league PR.

This one is new.

It's growing.

It's blossoming, but it is real.

It has come naturally via tough games and controversial finishes, having a championship on the line.

And the trash talk, you know, you're seeing it.

It's coming from the players.

It's coming from the coaches, the fans.

You know, Coach Frandello laughed it off there, but I know that John Quaul Jones was asked about the comments that Courtney Williams made on the Studbuds comment podcast, and she didn't like it.

I know the Liberty for Effect heard that punk ass comment and used that for motivation.

And it was interesting that Courtney did that with their former teammate on the podcast show, Jalen Sherrod, was there, which put Jalen in such an awkward situation, you know, I was like, dang, what's she even going to do?

Because obviously that's her old team, but she also wants to fit in with her new team.

And like, I feel like that was kind of hard to do that to Jalen, you know, on the podcast like that.

But, you know, then the Liberty hit back.

So post-game, Sabrina Yonescu hits that big shot.

They win the game and she gives the interview.

She says night night.

And, you know, as soon as she said night night, I was like, oh, but at the same time, I was like, ooh, I hope that doesn't come back to bite the liberty because I know for a fact that the links on their end are going to hold on to that night night.

Oh my God.

And they're going to be waiting for a chance to give that night night back to the liberty.

So, you know, this is a rivalry.

Okay.

It's very clear.

Players are losing sleep over this.

You know, Courtney Williams talked about how after game five of the finals last season, she played poorly.

And like she changed her entire life because of the Liberty.

Her diet, her regimen, her routine.

Think about Nafisa Collier, who once was so sweet.

And now during Unrivaled, she did an interview talking about, yes, I am a sore loser.

I'm sore about losing.

You know,

her villain origin story came out of that final series.

So there's so much to follow here.

It's a lot of fun.

I think also mixed in, there's a lot of respect.

Sabrina Yonescu told me that playing the Lynx makes them better.

So a lot of respect too.

And I look forward to hopefully seeing them again in the playoff run.

Yeah, absolutely.

And that playoff run is going to be absolutely close, just like the MVP race.

And oh my gosh, I feel like new names are coming up every single day.

Everyone's being added to the mix, but I want to talk about Asia Wilson because the Aces have now won eight straight and she has been absolutely showing out, earning herself another Western Conference Player of the Week title and recording 32 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, and five blocks against the dream.

Now, this is Asia's fourth game with 30 plus points in the past five games.

So how much pressure do you really think that she's putting on this MVP race?

Asia is absolutely putting pressure on this MVP case.

It is getting interesting.

Listen, it's Asia's dominance, her sheer will, carrying the aces to eight straight victories.

This is against top opponents right now.

The last victory against the Atlanta Dream, that's the number two seed in the standings.

It was a lot on the line.

They won by one bucket.

As of taping tonight, they're going to play the Phoenix Mercury.

That's a huge game.

You know, you're looking at two teams that are fighting in the top quadrant of the standings right there.

And for Asia, it's not just the physical dominance for me, it's her mental dominance and how it's contagious for her team and just her overall leadership.

The body of work through the season, even though her team has not been consistent at the beginning of the year, the Aces stacked up losses.

Asia's been very good when she's been on the court.

And her stats will speak to that.

She's number one in the league and blocks.

She's number two in scoring and rebounding.

In this eight-game winning streak, she's averaging 27 points, about 13 rebounds, about two blocks, one and a half steals.

It's offense and defense.

I mean, it's absolutely pressure on the MVP race.

And here's where it's going to get tighter and tighter and tighter.

It's where Fi continues to miss games.

So Nafisa Collier has missed five straight games.

And the more that she misses and Asia dominates and the Aces find ways to continue to climb the standings, the tighter this thing will get.

But one thing I really want to push back on and say should not be part of the discussion, I don't like penalizing Nafisa Collier's MVP case simply because her team is good or that they've been able to win without her.

You'll hear people say that, like, oh, Fee missed, you know, all these games and her team continued to win.

Well, she shouldn't be punished because they're talented and well coached.

So that's what I have my eye on in this tight, tightening MVP race where Alyssa Thomas is also a candidate and Kelsey Mitchell is certainly in the conversation.

And also, Fee's mounting amount of games that she's missing.

We'll see when she comes back, which Coach Reed said is soon.

Ooh, I cannot wait to see that.

But I wonder what the criteria is like for choosing an MVP.

And I'm sure there honestly is none, but you made a great point there with not penalizing fee for missing games because that is a huge aspect, especially because the liberty of only or sorry, the links have only lost one, and that was to the liberty.

But y'all, coming up, we talk buckets, conspiracies, and more.

We'll be right back.

The rivalries, the bans, the upsets, college football is back.

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Welcome back to Good Follow Show, y'all.

This episode is presented by DraftKings.

DraftKings, the crown is yours.

Logan, the crown is yours.

What you got for us?

The crown actually belongs to Paige Buckets right now because we have got to talk about her performance last night.

She went off for 44 points while shooting, 81%,

and broke the infamous DoorDash Curse.

She is the first player in league history with 40-plus shooting and over 80% from the field and has the highest scoring game this season.

I mean, there was was a huge debate about rookie of the year leading up to last night.

And at this point, I don't know if it's a conversation anymore, but what's the best way to describe what we're seeing from Paige in this rookie year?

Yeah, I have an answer for you.

Hold on, Logan.

Okay, fork.

Okay.

Fork.

Okay.

Fork.

Do you know what this is, Logan?

Do you know what this means?

Either eating or fork found in kitchen, not too sure.

logan that completely went over your head and i'm gonna say that because maybe you're just too young it means stick a fork in it the rookie of the year race is done okay

that's what these forks are for the rookie of the race rookie of the year race is done my friends that's enough that's enough everybody have a seat the discussion is over paige has ended it it has been very fun to and and honorable and you know to see how great sonia citron has been and certainly put some pressure on the discussion of rookie of the year, but the race is over, friends.

That's enough.

Look, on top of the history that Paige has already made throughout her rookie season and all of the statistical categories that she's currently leading all rookies in, the 44 points in that game, as you brought up in that beautiful graphic for us, was not only the most for any rookie ever in WNBA history, it was the most by any player of any age or rank at all this season.

Nobody has scored more than 44 points this season.

And certainly nobody ever in the history of the entire WNBA has anyone scored 44 or had a 40 piece at 80% shooting.

She missed four shots.

She was perfect from three.

She shot 17 for 21.

If you enjoy basketball, go watch the highlight of those buckets.

It was surgical.

It was clinical.

Like if you watch, you will just see that her bag is so deep.

Okay.

She's got such great craftiness and skill and the finishes and the handle and her poise and her change of pace and all the ranges she can score from and the footwork.

It's off the catch.

It's off the bounce.

Like Paige went so crazy.

Her talent is so crazy.

She's about to go so crazy on this league over the course of her career, health withstanding.

I just find it really exciting as a basketball fan.

Like, I think the future of Paige and the future of this league is very bright.

Absolutely.

There could be a little conspiracy here, actually, with the fact that she's a DoorDash athlete and she happens to be the first player to break the DoorDash curves.

Who knows what's going on?

But very ironically, if you were to say a few years ago, maybe in her freshman year at UConn, that she were to score 44 points in her rookie year, a lot of people would believe that.

And I think over the years, she's been a bit caught up or maybe has trended downward in the conversation between laymen.

And if she wouldn't have missed those two years, maybe she'd be higher in the conversation.

But I love that everyone is now seeing what we have been seeing.

I mean, there's a tweet from someone, forget the name, but she is what, seven years old saying, remember the name, Paige Becker, she is going to be a good one.

And that's what we're witnessing right now.

Yeah, I think part of it too is like being able to stack seasons of healthiness.

And like, that's hard for players who are constantly riddled with injuries.

And like, it's not even just like putting together consistent seasons that you play it's where your body is strong and at its fullest potential and so um you know health has played a big role in in paige's storyline and we're seeing her healthy and we hope that we get to for a long time And actually, speaking of that, we saw Angel Reese return to the court Tuesday after being out with a back injury.

I feel like she's missed a ton of time as well.

And despite the loss to the storm, she still recorded 19 points, seven rebounds, and four assists after her seven games away.

And she had this to say after the game.

It's my pride and joy.

Sitting on the sidelines, it's no fun.

I have great sitting and just doing what we have every single day.

It's no fun.

And also just sitting and figuring out what's going on with myself.

And I think I learned a lot about myself in the last three, three, four weeks.

But I'm just super grateful for everybody that was in my corner, my teammates, my coaches that were here for me through the whole process.

So I'm really happy to be back with the team and just being being able to be out there and give them a hurricane.

Absolutely love that.

Now, I believe 100% almost that Chicago is out of playoff contention.

They won't be going on to postseason.

But even with that, how should we reflect on Angel's second year in the W?

You know, watching Angel talk about, you know, I'm so glad to be back playing the game that I love.

She tweeted that as well after the game.

I just, I believe that.

It takes a lot of love and passion for the game and heart and work ethic to push through a turbulent second season.

That's what it has been for not only Angel, but the Chicago sky this year.

You know, when you think about the struggles, personally, how hard it was that she started out the season and she raised her hand and said, look, it wasn't a strong start for me.

But the way she battled back and then strung together

an amazing run of performances where like the skill level showed improvement to go along with the great rebounding and just like the the response of that and how she carried her team with her, it was incredible.

And then an injury hit, right?

And injuries hit the entire team.

There were many players that either missed chunks of the season or were out altogether.

She missed seven games right now with the back injury.

Instead, comes back and puts up 19 and seven.

And so I think what I see is someone who is resilient, has a love and a passion for the game in a bumpy season, and she has a lot of respect from her peers.

So tonight, the Sky are in New York.

They're going to play the Liberty in Brooklyn.

I'll be on the call for the Liberty Sky game.

And actually, I chewed around today for the Liberty.

I spoke exclusively with Emma Miseman and I asked her about Angel Reese.

And just check out how much love and respect she gave to Angel Rees, who think about it.

Emma Miseman, this is her first time seeing Angel.

She just got back to the W.

She's never played her.

She's only seen her from a distance.

Take a listen.

I mean, I think she's a very aggressive player and like fighting for every single thing.

Like, I think that's a talent too.

Um, that

it's almost given, you know.

You can practice that, of course, and like it's a state of mind, but she's actually going for every single thing, no matter what the situation is.

So, I have a lot of respect for that, you know.

Also, like, having seen the game from outside since she came in the league, I think she has to be a very strong person

to be able to handle every single thing.

I don't know if I would be able to, um, at that age, to be able to withstand all that

hate almost negative comments.

So, the fact that she's still here, like, just for the love of the game and everything, like, says a lot about her.

Absolutely love that.

And I love how she touched on every single aspect because I feel like a lot of people would be kind of scared or weary to touch on angels' hate, but it is very clear that Emma is seeing that and speaking on it.

So, huge props to Emma for that.

But I do want to get into our conspiracy corner again.

Oh my goodness.

So many conspiracies come to mind now that I am watching.

When I watch the W, I just think conspiracy, conspiracy, but we have a huge one because what the heck slash and or what the fever is going on with Caitlin Clark and her injuries.

Girl, I don't even know who to trust anymore.

Like, who can we even listen to?

The messaging, it doesn't seem consistent and it's, it doesn't seem transparent.

We're getting different cues from everyone, from websites, from media, from reporters, from the franchise themselves.

Like, remember there was some hype coming in and people were getting excited for the term, the return of Caitlin Clark.

And then all of a sudden it was a strong, like just forearm in the face where coach was like, well, actually, no, she's not ramping up to come back.

She's still working on body weight running and like being full body weight.

And I was like, okay, well, she walked that all the way back.

And now we got a Scott Agnes report, I think, that reveals that there was a setback most recently that nobody told us about.

Apparently, that this ankle bone bruise happened on August 7th.

It didn't break until August 20th.

How?

Why didn't anyone say anything?

Why was it a secret?

How can we trust anyone?

Why the lack of transparency here?

Like, what is the motivation?

So, it is very mysterious.

Here's what I do know.

Okay, Logan.

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It might be time to shut this thing down.

Okay, it might be time, okay?

When you think about it, it started with the left quad.

then it was the left groin.

Then Caitlin tries to come back.

Then it's the right groin.

Then she tries to ramp it up.

Now we're hearing there's a left ankle bone bruise.

It's like every time she tries to do more, there's a new injury.

You might be playing with fire.

Already the season ending injuries have mounted.

Ari McDonald's, Sidney Colson, Sophie Cunningham, and it's all injuries to the guards.

Like, I don't even think the feet fever really have enough depth at the guard possession, at the guard position to support a Caitlin Clark comeback.

Like, do you have enough bodies to support that?

And then if you think about it, she's only played 13 games.

She's missed 22.

Right now, in a time of taping, there's nine left.

Like by the time you even bring her back, is there enough, it's barely enough time for her to really truly catch a rhythm.

You know what I'm saying?

And a stride.

So look, the season, it's been honorable for the fever.

Nothing but inspiration and respect for what this team has continued to do in the face of adversity.

But it just might be time to look on to the future.

Absolutely.

And maybe get some sage or something going on, especially in Phoenix, because also to think that there was the Caitlin Bone Bruce, Eric McDonald, and Sid Coulson all went down within that, what, 24-hour span in Phoenix.

I mean, maybe there's another conspiracy there, but maybe they need to never go back.

I love our conspiracy music, and that's how we're going to go out on this episode with talking conspiracies and all the things.

But

one thing, conspiracy, is how much we love y'all.

We appreciate you guys tapping in.

And that'll do it for this episode of Good Follow Show.

It's presented by DraftKings.

We're on Tuesdays and Thursdays each week.

I'm Rosa Golden Wedde.

She's Logan Hackett.

And we'll see y'all next time.