Becky Hammon, Chelsea Gray and Tiffany Hayes on Aces FINDING their 'groove' after WIN vs. Sky

find a grp chse got a grp back yeah I didn't hear I didn't hear the question you walked in said you ask I didn't hear the question you know do I feel like you're starting to become more Chelsea I said yes every again she just looks more and more like yeah for sure I think um um the third quarter obviously I don't like to come out and you know have six turnovers that's a good way to lose a lead and we did um so we can take a little bit better care of the ball but I think we're trending in the right direction um but I don't I don't know maybe it's just my utter stubborn belief in these women that I just think we're getting there but I still know we got another GE and then um KP we didn't know she was going to be out then we saw an ankle injury is there anything you can tell us about her status going forward we're just taking some precautions um you know she probably would if if if I let her play she probably would have played sometimes you know just like Jackie sometimes you got to hold these players out and and try to accumulate some energy and rest when we can um hers obviously would she had she Twisted it the other day so you know just wanted to air on the side of caution and then just last one for me on Tiffany hases her in her flexibility to go from coming from the bench or starting and just how impactful she's been what are you seeing from her and just her ability to contribute to this team I mean I'm in love with Tiffany Hayes I don't know where this team would be without Tiffany Hayes uh you know she is just the ciment team player I love her aggression I love her competitiveness and her aggression she gives us another gear um and especially a gear at The Rim you know KP gets downhill tip gets downhill it it puts a different kind of pressure on the defense um but I mean I could go down the line I mean throwing her in this starting lineup throw mag throw AC it's actually a skill set in itself because we've been having so kind of many moving parts and I I mean I told them in our meeting you know it might be Meg might be AC it might be we're we're going more by matchups and night in and Night Out matchups trying to win games than just this steady dose of whatever um you know could be key again you know we don't know we're g we're going to throw out the best team we can that that gives us the best start but um tip has been just a stud I mean I don't know I don't know how to put it I'm I'm crazy about her game right over here Becky uh tonight's attendance was just over 18,000 your team is about to go on the road and play in some bigger Arenas how does this help to get ready for the final push of the season to get out of maybe home court and get your team ready to play in these bigger Arenas around the country I mean I don't think we pay any close attention what I you know we care that the the floor is 94 feet the basket's 10 feet high um Connecticut's actually a little smaller venue and then you jump to Barclays um which is a huge Arena so um more importantly than the venue I love that 18,000 people are showing up to Sher on the aces um I think these are you know organizationally these are good problems you know when when we can fill out these kind of venues um that's great for the W that's great for women's basketball and um I'm all for filling up big Arenas Becky uh Chicago held the 13 points there first quarter uh just barely over 30 for the half just some of your takeaways from your team from a defensive standpoint toight uh in the W for you guys um just trying to say solid you know I think we're trying to build off of our base and when I talk about our base our players know there's some base principles that we don't stray from in the last two or three games I would say up until this Bo Point we've been Shady on our base sometimes we do it sometimes we don't the base has to be so rock solid and then once that's solid you know we can throw in junk but if we can't be trusted in the basics we can't be trusted with these other things so I think the fact that I would say we are being more disciplined and being more intentional about not breaking our own rules um and just being where you're supposed to be at the right time it we're starting to build up some trust I don't think you can build up trust unless you have a track record and now we're building up a track record of being there for each other being there for each other and that's really what I want to build on the basketball stuff will happen the being where you're supposed to be on time for each other is huge and it starts to build this trust that trust that's you know contagious and so uh as long as we're playing defense and rebounding I always think we have a chance Becky going back to those moving pieces that you were talking about these lineup changes have kind of created opportunities for different players have you sensed that the group kind of being in the stale made a couple of weeks ago have you sensed that the lineup changes have kind of revitalize this group I mean we came out of the bridge we went two for two and four um I told them I feel like a lot of a lot of our frustration comes from being average and um we had a point where I just told it to him how it is and kind of since that point it's been um it's been just a different year been a different Fe de than it was previously um so I give them credit I coach them hard I tell them the truth I tough love them I tell them when they're great I tell them when they're not um and now it's just about consistency it's about consistency showing up every day for each other and obeying the basketball Gods um doing defensive base communicating the Scout um I think my frustration and their frustration really before was is we would lose and then we wouldn't have any carry over to the next game we wouldn't learn from it you can't just keep making the same mistakes over and over in the last three games we are not making the same mistakes over and over whether that's me calling a timeout and correcting it or they're doing self-correction which is even better the self-correction on the Fly is the best kind of anecdote uh when things start to snowball coach uh going back to your answer to Callie's question in regards to having really high expectations for your team and just saying that you believe that this team can kick kick into another gear how do you help them or Inspire them to tap into that next gear how do you reach that I I mean it seems I mean in ways it's it's very simple like the last two games we've had something like 57 assists on 69 field goals um there the marriage of individual success to the team success is real and so you're never going to get that like everybody win mentality um unless you don't unless you get some self-sacrifice in there and I think the accountability piece the self-sacrifice being intentional about how we play defense and then being intentional about how we move the ball I know somebody got some kind of stat on how many what we shoot from the floor when we get two or more pass come on NAS do your little analytics thing two plus passes and we shoot a way back better percentage than when it's just one pass or no pass and and it's it's a fine balance for a coach because one of the greatest assets we have is our individual play right individual Talent one of our greatest weaknesses our individual Talent it's getting everybody to play together and sharpen each other's talents and bring out the Great in each other's talents um when you have so many kind of self like anybody can take over a game at any time it's hard to fight that it's a push and pull and it's a fine line to walk as a coach of when to let them go and when to reel them back in um but one thing we do know is when that Ball's pop in the aces are at their best jump to zoom Michael and then Matthew yeah thanks um Caroline it's okay if I sneak into is that okay Michael you're on okay um yeah go ahead okay if I sneak into um I I wanted to ask one about this game and then I have another more general question um in terms of resting players how do you sort of balance that with obviously you guys are are battling for that you know that host spot and and how you kind of make those decisions honestly it's it's I think I'm beyond a little bit of the host spot this year um I think we can beat anyone anywhere and we can lose to anyone anywhere um Vegas or somewhere else it it hasn't been the home cooking that it was last year um which is good and bad you know um but i' I've liked us on the road this year um so it it's not so much about jockeying for me it's been my experience that when you try to play with the basketball gods and manipulate the situation and you want to land here so that this doesn't happen or you want to land here it's whatever um I think you just want to be playing your best bet basketball at the right time of the year and that's more of my focus than where we may may end up in the standings and I just wanted to ask about I know you've talked a lot about your relationship with um with spoon I haven't me talking to Su Wick a couple days ago and she said the the effect of the Liberty after all these years there was so many of you former Liberty players still having this impact on the WNBA is something she's really proud of um obviously both coaches and assistant coaches and I I just wonder if you could put that into context how many of you are still having a big effect and what that means to I guess you'd say the the Liberty alumni from back in the day I mean I've always been very clear about my feelings for New York um it's important for the league that New York do well it just is it's a huge Market they need to put a great product on the floor which they are and they have been um um it's good for our league I mean it's the it's the media capital of the world U there's a lot of eyes on them I think uh Joe and clari are uh up there just with owners that are willing to invest um in their team and in their product and believe in it I mean they they really believe in the W and they're willing to put their their money where their mouth is and I think we need more leaders like that um more leaders like Mark Davis who are willing to invest the Phoenix owner um you know they're just stepping up the game but uh you know I remember at time I was when I was watching um I was on the NBA side but uh New York was playing up in White Plains in some I don't even know what kind of gym but I was like what a travesty you know um and then Josiah picks it up and puts it where it belongs and I think that kind of forward thinking and that forward investment um doesn't hurt to have some superstars in in h Sabrina and Stewie and J I mean they've really loaded up their roster and like I said it's um it's important it's important as much as um I want to beat them when we play them uh I I New York needs to do well it's just good for the league thank you Matthew and then Nas will close us out Michael there was a time where we were selling out that Garden hey I remember I was there a few times I mean the fact that we're kind of back to that uh that sellout capacity with that team they have there I think is phenomenal I think is great hey Becky um you were talking about the assists earlier and I wanted to ask because you said 57 I think in the last two games and it looked like tonight the ball was popping and it was popping quickly how do you balance trying to play fast and and sharing the ball but also looked like couple times tonight you guys were trying to kick ahead and transition and you throwing it out of bounds and just balancing trying to you know be a good passing team finding each other when also not playing too hurried at the same time well I mean traditionally we take good care of the ball um obviously having six turnovers in a quarter is never acceptable and I just remind them I want singles and doubles singles and doubles when you swing for the fence on these home runs if you have to thread the needle that much probably not that open um you know if you if you just play solid basketball the ball and don't throw it to the other team like the home runs will will happen you don't have to make them happen they will naturally happen anybody who goes up to the play if you've ever played softball back or baseball you go up the plate and swing for a home run you end up whiffing most of the time you just take your solid stroke and when you connect you connect and you hit it out of the park um so I'm just encouraging them to just singles and doubles passing wise and you know sometimes we do it sometimes we don't um but um taking care of the ball is obviously um a top priority for us um and like I said tonight in that in that it got away from us a little bit but I trust them the one Chelsea threw it was a garbage pass she snatched her right back I was like okay you don't have to really tell them when they make a mistake on some of these so um again the self-correction and trying to get to the next play mentally um is helpful Ma's final question comes from you got you hi coach um a comment and a question um on the two plus passes front I think it's an affect the field goal percentage of around 52 heading into tonight I'm imagine going to be a little bit higher than that after tonight's game um and then from your point of view it felt like this was Chelsea's best game on both ends of the floor since she's been back um well since you're talking about Chelsea come on Chelsea she just walked in right timely but it felt like it was her best game on both ends of the floor did you feel like it was your best game on both floor ask her K she's sitting right here offensively defensively is oh there we go I think starting to see her become more and more more comfortable find her groove how Chelsea Got Her Groove Back yeah I didn't hear I didn't hear the question I you walked in and said you asked Chelsea gra I didn't hear the question like it just was you know do you I feel like you're starting to become Shel gr and I say yes every game she just looks more and more like yeah for sure I think um offensively like my timing and being in shape and all those things are coming back like I was saying like I want to be the best form of myself in September and October not in May and June so I think that's what you're kind of seeing um on on both ends of the Court as well all right thank you am I done all right y y'all got it camera two if possible Chelsea do first is for you uh to your left Becky was just in here and Becky said that she felt that the team's frustrations came from being mediocre first question is is that energy and kind of excitement and that fun kind of starting to creep back into that locker room yeah I mean we've been like we love being around each other but it's not not that fun when you're not winning basketball games and enjoying doing it on and off the court so yeah we're starting to feel and have that intensity um on the court so we can enjoy those moments and then tip in that second quarter you guys made that big run with Asia on the bench how big is that for this group and obviously his cohesiveness heading into the postseason uh it's definitely huge when she can get those minutes to just rest and we can go out there and do our thing especially on the defensive end and we know she's one of our biggest offers down there biggest helpers so uh it just shows the growth in us just growing together and like you said our cohesiveness getting better with uh defending our basket over here Tiffany Becky had high praise for you and your game and how you've been developing for this team over the course of this season at what point did it start to click for you here in Las Vegas Your Role with this team I mean I don't really know have a specific time I it's just G to take over time and that's that's just how how it was the team has always uh welcome me here wanted me here and uh knew what I could do all along it just took me some time to get to where I needed to be and it just click I don't really don't win questions no okay we've got Zoom to Matthew just trying to go shower I'll make it quick Tiff I wanted to ask about hear me yeah yeah sorry I'll make it quick in that second quarter you hit the three at the buzzer beater and you had that big smile on your face and you sort of made that pose and I'm just wondering how much fun you're having right now because you've been playing some of your best basketball here over the last five or eight games since we came back him Matthew you breaking going we can't hear you Matthew Matthew you want to text me your question yes I'll do that picking it up go ahead I mean just if the sh the shot clock running down and I get the ball just got one option and great op great option yeah great great actually I have a questions can you tell us a little bit about that that that girl's a that woman is a legend and I just love seeing her um here and cheering us on and just have just have I'm happy to look on the sideline and see her enjoying it um we always say we want to leave the game better than we found and she's one of those Pioneers that did that for us all right thank you come back come back please