GOOD FOLLOW - New York And Phoenix Head Into Game 2, Natisha Heideman Reveals A New Look, Paige Wins ROTY & More

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We're listening to DraftKings Network.

Hey, what's up, everyone?

Welcome to Good Follow Show presented by DraftKings.

I'm Ross Golden Wooday, and I am here with five-time WNBA All-Star Angel McCotri.

What's up, Angel?

What's up?

What's up?

How you doing, Ross?

Girl, girl, I am doing a million things at once.

So my big, beautiful Brooklyn, New York City summer is coming to an end.

And I officially do kind of make the move back to LA.

And I move out of my space tomorrow morning.

Ask me if I've packed or done anything towards that.

Wow, Ross, you have a lot.

Yeah, I haven't done anything towards it.

And so I'm going to spend today cleaning, packing up, trying to make this move.

How are you doing, Angel?

You good?

We're good over here.

We came to Atlanta.

So just seeing the fam.

My mom's birthday is today.

She's also Virgo.

So doing some fun things today.

Happy birthday to your mother.

Thank you so much.

How beautiful that you two are so close in birthdays.

When you were born, you were kind of like a slightly late birthday present.

Slightly early.

Slightly early birthday present and we're kind of like the same person very goofy people don't know we're very goofy and uh we're virgos so we're always in our heads but let's do this let's get started let's do it let's get into it child we have so many great things to talk about because guess what it is w nba playoffs the postseason is here y'all we are dead in the thick of the first round and let me take you through today's menu so what we are talking about on good follow today First round WNBA playoffs.

We're going to identify kind of our watch lists, our X factors of the two series that are going to play game two on Wednesday.

So we're looking at the Liberty versus Mercury series, game two.

We're looking at the Lynx versus the Valkyries and looking at X factors in those series.

And then for the playoffs on a whole, we are following the WNBA playoffs and storylines in a brand new game.

You know, we like games here at Good Follow.

And the name of the game is Good Follow or Unfollow.

Woo!

So you guys can check out episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Please continue to like, comment, and subscribe.

Thank you for having me here, Ross, as usual.

Yep, Angel, you're the best.

Well, let's start off with the Liberty and the Mercury.

So, you know, if you look back at that game one real quick, the Liberty beat the Mercury in overtime, 76, 69, and they're up one in the series.

Look, you know, Alyssa Thomas smoked that layup that would have probably won the game.

Instead, they go to overtime.

Liberty win.

Right.

um however they do have a loss within it and it's brianna stewart you know holds on to that knee and goes down and at the time of taping we're still waiting to hear an update on stewie but it didn't look good she was like teary-eyed on the bench she looked uncomfortable um so as we like look ahead to game two which is going to take place on wednesday evening um

what

what are some of the x factors and the things we're watching for i mean i mean i think first and foremost it's got to be stewie's health health, right?

It's definitely Stewie's health.

Whenever someone goes down and they're holding the knee, I know from experience, from holding the knee, that it can be something very serious, especially when tears come down your eyes.

So I'm hoping it's just nothing long-term, that she can bounce back because they're going to need her Wednesday.

Phoenix is ready.

I think they're riled up and upset that they lost at home.

Raj, you don't lose at home when you first came.

Yeah.

I mean, they say in playoffs, it's not a series until someone steals, right?

Well, like with this new 111 format, 111, yeah, yeah like they're you know right off the bat the steal happened and so now the liberty are heading home with a chance to close out the series at home and win two out of three games so look you know with Stewie's health

she grabbed the left knee it's the right knee that with the bone bruise that caused her to miss over a month in 13 games so it is a different knee

but it's it's a huge loss for the Liberty if she's not available to play in game two or beyond and for me you you know, Stewie is one of the most effective leaders on the New York Liberty, and I covered the team all season.

She is not the loudest or the most rah-rah, but she is, she has the, she has the best messaging.

She knows time and place.

Remember, she is the one that called the Liberty out publicly and said that the effort, urgency, it wasn't championship level.

And she has the respect factor to do that.

That was very strategic of her.

So I think she always has the right message for this team.

She is so integral to their defense.

She's one of the best defenders in the league.

She's a all-WNBA defender in my book, you know, with her length, her blocks, her versatility, her steals.

And obviously, I think, you know, the Liberty have a lot of talent.

But for me, now that I've watched the whole body of work from the season this year, when the Liberty need a bucket or a response, they can go to Stewie.

She's either going to...

find a way to score or get to the free throw line.

Stewie is second in the league in free throw attempts and free throws made.

And now they don't have that.

So if Stewie is not playing, it is a huge loss.

It's a huge loss.

And I think, like you said, from that bone bruise being on the right side and it's the left knee she was holding.

Sometimes we don't realize we're overcompensating all season because of an injury from something else.

And that's kind of what happened to me, tearing my ACL twice.

I was overcompensating on the strong leg for so long that it just gave out.

So prayers up to Stewie.

I mean, they, I think they have a big four, not a big big three, with adding across the cloud, making them the big four.

So she was great.

She's been great.

So I feel like if Stewie is out, she's feeling in that big three spot

for the Liberty.

I mean, 23 points, six rebounds, five assists.

She's holding it down right now.

I absolutely agree.

And I think Tosh has been.

important for this Liberty team on the season, but certainly in a playoff run.

She came in and said, I'm going to be that dog.

You know, I think she, in game one, she had emotional control of the game for the Liberty.

She came out just fired up.

And I talk with Tosh all the time.

I love a little pregame, you know, kiki with her.

And she talked about how she wants to be intentional with setting a tone for toughness.

And like, she'll do that by attacking the rim, which she did over and over against the Mercury or defensively, getting up in somebody and trying to like create offense off of defense and momentum and fire that way.

I also think for this Liberty team, I talked about how like Stewie's a little bit more of a reserve leader.

So is is JJ.

So is Sabrina.

These aren't super, you know,

emoting leaders.

Doesn't mean they don't lead.

And I want to be very clear again about Stewie.

Stewie is one of the most competitive players I've ever had the chance to be around.

It doesn't show as like,

but

I'm watching this woman play every game.

She's competitive.

Same with Sabrina, same with John Quill.

So, you know, but the way Tosh is, she adds a little bit of fire and loudness and voice in huddles and in a locker room that sometimes is quiet.

And, you know, that's valuable, right?

To have some rah-rah too?

You have to, it's a great balance.

I think this team has the identity of being, like you said, the kind of quiet leaders.

They lead by example, but they still get the job done.

And Natasha adds a little bit of that oomph.

I don't know what's up with this mask.

Is this something with the mask or what?

I'm glad you brought up the mask, girl.

So I have some tea on the mask.

So first of all,

so she's been shooting incredibly with the mask, like way improved.

So for the season from three, she's shooting 34%

from three.

But over the last five games that she's played, she's way up.

She's shooting 41% from three.

So I think one, you know, Tosh steps it up for postseason.

She's really stepped her game up.

Two, I think a little revenge never hurts.

Right now, she's played great in game one.

That's against her former team.

in the Phoenix Mercury.

Yeah.

But I spoke to her about the mask, you know, like everybody's saying the masked Avenger.

But what Tosh likes, she said, I like to think I'm the villain when I have the mask on.

Like,

like she likes to like,

you know, some people, like, she's cool with being the villain.

And she said, she actually said that the mask is really tough to play with.

It's sweaty.

It slides.

She said, she's so funny.

She said it messes up her hair and her braids.

Like, she'd be getting her hair freshly braided and it immediately looks all.

messed up after the mask.

And actually, they had to cut and widen the eyes on the sides of the mask because her peripheral vision.

So like it's been a process with the mask, but for some reason, through all of that, she's been even better.

So it seems like because she's upset with the mask in a way, she's taking it out on the other team, which is actually making her play even better.

I don't know.

Villain Tosh, though, is in her bag right now.

I'll take one mask, please.

I like to order one.

I'll take a mask for everyday life.

You know, just to round out the combo on the Liberty, you know, I think another X Factor could be Emma Miseman.

You know, activate your not-so-secret weapon.

She found a lot of success being isolated, literally play five out.

And so, like, if they're out and then throw her in there to play one-on-one, to post.

Also, you could bring her out higher, give her the ball, and let her facilitate.

She's so cerebral, can make plays for others, you know, fake a hand handoff, turn around and pass it, or just take a jumper.

But I also think if Stewie is out asserting herself as a a rebounder and everyone, guards, everyone get in there and rebound, that's going to be key because a possessions battle is always important for the Liberty who turned the ball over, Angel, 20 times

and gave 15 points off of those turnovers.

But Angel, before we go to the next game, I just want to ask you.

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This, look, in game one, none of the Mercury's big three played amazing, right?

In the sense that, like, AT had a slow first half, Alyssa Thomas.

Kalia Copper started strong, but she had foul trouble that disrupted her.

And Satu Sabali, uncharacteristically, I mean, she shot very poorly.

Two for 17, one for 10 from three, took 10 threes, only four free throws.

Like,

how does their, these are finals MVPs, players who have played in WNBA finals, players who have played in the Olympics.

How does experience, and how can they turn this around for themselves?

They have to turn it around.

This is where I would depend more on Dewana Bonner.

She had 12 points, five rebounds the last game, but she's the, she's, to me, the real X factor who has the most experience out of anyone, who has the most champions, she has championship rings.

She's the one that has to rile this team up, get inside Tuesday face that, listen, whatever it is, let's go.

I know players are tired during this time, but we don't have time to make excuses.

Figure out, you got to figure it out.

The tiredness can't be, you can't let it control you.

Satu with eight points, eight rebounds.

Yeah, that's a good game for someone else, but not for you, Satu, because we hold you to a higher standard.

Satu, you are the X factor.

If you want to win this next game, you got to score points, baby.

It's just as simple as that.

Find a way to win.

Will your team to win and score?

Find the way to score.

I'm, uh you know

close with satu and i talk with her i know she's very much relished the opportunity for this new chapter in phoenix and i know that this is the culmination of everything this playoff run with them of everything she was hoping for in coming here and so you know i expect that that she's going to turn this turn that another turn in a better game And, you know, they're a very well-coached team, coach Tibbetts as well.

But I think another key for them might be rebounds too.

The Liberty Out rebounded them.

Why do I say rebounds is important?

A defensive rebound helps you play with pace.

Liberty's defense was suffocating.

Like they held Phoenix to 35% shooting from the field and 23% shooting from three.

So beat that defense down the court and create some pace.

And actually, it was when they were able to play in space and with some pace that Alyssa Thomas started to find her groove and was able to get some assists going and impact the game in all the ways that we know she can.

The Lynx and the the Valkyries

game one, you know, look, a matchup of the one and the eighth seed, and it's tough.

Congrats to the Valkyries.

It was the franchise's first ever playoff game.

And in the first quarter, they came out red hot.

They actually outscored the Lynx

28 to 21 in that first quarter.

Of course, the Lynx then turned it on from there, absolutely.

Yeah.

Turned up their defense.

And the Valkyries never scored over 18 points in any quarter after that.

And they ended up losing by almost 30, 101.72.

All right, it was what it was.

Now the Valkyries are headed back to the bay with the chance to tie it up.

And first of all, shout out with their newly crowned most improved player of the year, Veronica Burton.

I do think Natisha Heidemann has been an X factor for the lengths.

She is the X factor.

I don't know, once again, the pink hair.

I don't know.

Everybody's funny their swag.

That thing that gives them their swag.

18 points, three rebounds off the bench.

That is the most important thing for a championship team to have those bench points.

And she's shown that being aggressive.

I mean, to me, that's the mark of a championship team.

And as far as the Valkyries, I mean, having, you know, the sixth, the most improved player and Veronica Burton, I mean, for me, to them, you've done what you needed to do this season.

No matter what happens with the Links, I'm so proud of the Valkyries.

And you're going to take this experience and be, you guys are going to be a more dangerous team with years to come.

Absolutely.

so like take what you can from this first of all come out and compete if there's one thing about the valkyries they are a tough squad um and you know another thing that they can lean on too um is their crowd now the game is actually going to be at the sap i think it won't be at chase center um but it but it'll still be in the bay or it'll be in san jose something like that yeah um angel you've been displaced before in playoffs My feeling is this, I know the fans of the Bay Area are still going to make whatever arena they're in super loud and crunk um it won't be exactly you know valhalla but you think that crowd could be an x factor for them from my experience we were when i was in atlanta we were going to the finals every year and we got kicked out for disney on ice we love the kids but disney on ice i mean so it did throw us off a little bit we lost a lot of fan base the gym was smaller it was out in winnette not in the city so we had those issues but if it's still in sanfran in the heart of the city and the the fans are still going to be loud as they were in the chase center.

They should be fine.

Look, they got to lean in on that crowd.

Like if there's any team in the WNBA where I say the crowd was really like a sixth woman or an X factor, it absolutely fed the success of the Valkyries.

So crowd bring it.

And, you know, I think for the Valkyries to stay close in this game, you've got to take better care of the ball.

They had 16 turnovers.

And I think you've got to keep an eye on threes.

If they can hit double-digit threes, they have a shot at this.

They hit five of eight in the first quarter quarter and they were leading.

But then for the rest of the game, they hit five of 23.

And, like, literally, I mean, the Lynx have the number one rated defense in the league.

So, no surprise, they turned that defense up and shut that whole thing down.

And, you know, my last point I'll say for the Lynx is this: we called out Natisha Heideman, but the bench for the Lynx outscored the Valkyries 42 to 17.

And that's not just Natisha Heideman, that's Jessica Shepherd off the bench who had 12 points, eight rebounds, four blocks, four assists, one steal, no turnovers.

Like you got players coming off the bench and Shepard, who's a plus 26 and Natisha Heidemann, who's a plus 30.

That's crazy.

You got a good shot to win.

But I got to wrap this thing up because we got a game to play on the other side.

Y'all, stay with us.

We'll be right back.

Welcome back to Good Follow.

Today's episode is presented by DraftKings.

It's now time for the DraftKings pick of the week, presented by DraftKings.

Let's get it.

This week, I have my eye on the four and five seed matchup between the Phoenix Mercury and the New York Liberty in game two.

New York took the first game on the road, and now in front of their home crowd, I'm picking them to take the series.

My players to watch are Jonquell Jones and Satu Sabley.

When Jonquel gets a double double, the Liberty are undefeated.

And Satsu Sabli had an uncharacteristically rough shooting night in game one, but I'm counting on her veteran experience to help her bounce back with strong shot selection in game two.

I think we have another nail biter on the way.

This segment is presented by DraftKings.

DraftKings, the crown is yours.

Okay, okay, okay.

Guys, we have a game, okay?

The playoffs have already been wild and not just because of the basketball.

So in this game, we are going to follow some of our favorite storylines of the playoffs in a brand new game of good follow or unfollow.

All right.

You like that?

You like that?

Who's had a bigger year than the studbuds?

So you know they rock the pink hair.

And to show love, Minnesota Lynx fans have been rocking pink wigs at the games.

I mean, even dogs have been rocking the pink.

But if the Lynx and the Aces end up on a collision course in these playoffs, well then on the other side, Asia Wilson has been known to rock a pink wig too.

Don't forget from Media Day or Becky Hammond who rocked a wig post-game at a press conference.

So

good follow or unfollow?

Lynx fans and stud buds own the pink wig trend and made it pop culture.

I'm going to go with good follow for the stud buds.

Even though Asia did it first, the stud buds are, the trend is like trending right now.

They took it to another level, man.

The dogs are wearing pink.

I'm about to wear pink.

Yeah.

I think you're about to wear pink, Roz.

I don't know.

Yes.

And actually, they do have the upper hand, too, because I think, yeah, Cheryl Reeves said if they win the championship, she's going to dye her hair pink.

Cheryl.

Cheryl Reeves said that.

I think, I don't think I'm putting words into her head.

I remember that.

And,

you know, they've really...

become pop culture themselves.

They have transcended now just WNBA basketball.

Not that Asia hasn't either.

And I will say, if Asia is the best player in the world or a favorite or arguably the MVP, it hasn't been announced yet.

You know, that should stand for something too, right?

Oh, yeah.

And she did do it first, right?

She did.

She did.

But, okay, okay, okay.

But I kind of feel like we're saying stud buds and their Lynx fans that came to the game in the wigs might get that one.

Okay.

Speaking of stud buds, let's move to the next category.

Natisha Heidemann unveiled a new look on stream after getting her makeup done.

She got styled.

She borrowed a wig from teammate Dijanae Carrington.

DJ, DJ hooked her up.

Now, we know DJNA comes beat.

You know, she stays looking amazing.

Oh, yeah.

So she did her big one on Natisha and I saw they were saying Femme.

So Femmeee made quite the splash on social media.

And Natisha's new look, is it a good follow or an unfollow?

I'm an unfollow.

Wait, why were you unfollowing?

I can't believe that.

I'm not going to follow it.

I like the look.

No, I'm follow.

Stand for something.

Why?

You know what?

I'm just, I'm not used to it.

Okay.

So I'm going to follow that.

Don't hate me, guys.

Oh, no, no, no, no.

Don't be that.

That's the only time it's an opinion.

I think it's a great follow because, first of all, people were acting all surprised.

I was like, anyone with a trained eye could see that she had the potential for femti.

You know, she's a beautiful girl, you know, like her eyes are just, she just, you know, she just needed somebody, you know, I think we were just surprised.

She didn't need it.

Like you said, she put it to, they put it together.

You know, I could see her beauty in either with however she wants to show up.

But if she wants to get decked out and be femme, I wasn't surprised at all.

I was like, yep, I see, I saw that.

I pushed that.

And

what was funny though is that like I could tell that that's not her norm because like how she was walking in the heels or even how she was like moving her face, and she was like, I'm about to steal your man.

I was crying, laughing.

You know, but I, one thing I'll say is, I think this Lynx team is having a lot of fun, and that's really important for the playoffs, right?

Yes.

And, and one more thing I'll add: you know, I know we're having fun, but you know, not to not to get all think piecey on you, but I do think this is why the stud buds are important.

Like, they authentically have put to mainstream,

like, we're having conversations conversations about like expressions of femininity,

of masculinity, of sexuality, of like male or female presenting, like, you know,

being gay, being straight, being bi, like, and on huge stages, like they're doing vogue.

Stud buds have been on vogue, like they have transcended, you know, doing, you know, WNBA weekly, you know, so it's, it's, I think, and to be centered as

black

stud,

masculine presenting, lesbian boopers who don't usually get that stage.

And the way they're doing, and they're so captivating and natural, I think it's important.

And this is just one of the ways that they just naturally do it.

They're breaking the rules, and it's so much fun.

Paige Beckers has been announced the rookie of the year, but it was done in style with unique presentation.

Let's take a look.

She's the one.

Paige Beckers, I say hug.

Shooting buckets she's the one.

And

Oh my gosh, that was so creative doing that.

On the Jennifer Hudson show, that walk is like reserved for the biggest of celebrities

and a surprise for Paige who won Rookie of the Year.

Paige won with 70 votes.

So Sonia Citroen got two.

She won in dominating fashion, but not unanimous.

Sonia Citroen came in second with two votes.

So first of all, are surprise award announcements a good follow or an unfollow?

Always a good follow.

I mean, the dance moves.

I like this.

We're going to name this page, this dance with your hands.

I mean, and then surprise at the end.

Like, it doesn't get any better than that.

That's the biggest stage to win rookie of the year.

I love that.

The creativity of that.

And again, transcending outside the game, hit and pop culture.

That's something that you're going to see, you know, pop up on the shade room or whatever.

And honestly, I love seeing the celebrities come down Jennifer Hudson's, you know, hallway.

I love seeing the way they get creative about how to sing the song and present the

stars.

And I know it's a huge moment of judgment, too.

Like, who really got pizzazz?

Who got Riz?

Who got rhythm?

You know, who had, who's smooth?

And one thing I got to say, one thing about Paige, she's so effortlessly smooth man she looked she's so cool like like she came down there with rhythm she looked great like and then received her award it could she could it couldn't be cooler it couldn't be cooler and the jacket I mean can I get one of those jackets please add that to the tab with the mask

Absolutely, absolutely.

Well, congratulations to Paige Beckers, the favorite for rookie of the year.

She came through with the award, the number one draft pick.

And actually, good follow or unfollow, I'm going to go good follow on our show.

If you haven't yet followed or subscribed, please do it.

We come on every Tuesday and Thursday.

Good follow is presented by DraftKings.

Guys, we're out of time.

This show just flies.

Angel, thanks for pulling up.

Thank you.

All right, y'all.

We're out.

Julian Edlow here from DK DK Network.

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