Last Fever practice before games: Christie Sides, Kelsey Mitchell, Kristy Wallace, NaLyssa Smith

Christie Sides what's your reaction to to Indie getting an All-Star Weekend you were part of the Phoenix and I'm sure SE several before that yeah no it you know it's going to be a great atmosphere um you know Mel Reigns is on a mission to make it a great event um you know we had the NBA Allstar here so they did an unbelievable job and you know that's that's that's what she's talking she wants it to be like that and and these players deserve that I guess now with today being the end of end of the break what have you worked on the most collectively over the last three weeks did you ask my players that oh they would have been defense of of course all defense uh I would start cheering when it was time to to play some offense cuz uh they put in the work and they knew we needed to work on that and and they were real positive about it and and worked really hard and we did um do some things that got better over the break on the Deens side the floor excellent what are some things that you uh are looking forward to come Allstar Weekend next year you know was this year was here with the guys we have halberton every ind's moving now so to be right here in the Pinnacle of it yeah you know it's just um to be able to bring some of the the best players in our league to Indianapolis and to have them in our facility and see what we have you know see the resources that we have for our players um it's a it's a great place to be I mean you you're living right across the street pretty much so you're not in any traffic you're practicing you're playing in the same venue um great restaurants all around the city and walking distance so there's just a lot to offer here that I don't think people know so it'll be exciting to get those you know those Allstars here and let them see what we have is there any any further update on Timmy and how she's coming along no she's I'm going to say it again she's closer you know she's closer than um we were before the break um but she's itching to get back and I mean as soon as we get the green light I mean we're ready and we're all ready for her to get back has Kenny been practicing at all these couple weeks she's been conditioning she's been doing some things um you know as much as she can with uh her her good hand um and just trying to get that basketball feeli back but mostly her conditioning Kelsey Mitchell I I guess I was excited um obviously I've been IND the last years of my life but you know I'm excited that Indy get a chance to host it uh shouts out to Indie for that so I'm excited for them in the city uh you had a chance to be a part of the festivities in Phoenix what was your takeaway from just kind of the event as an event and how this thing has really turned into a Showcase of the League's players but kind of a celebration of the game it seems uh I think that Phoenix had a really good you know theme going um I think that Phoenix was hot so I mean I don't think that weather will be like that in Indianapolis uh so I think it would be a very experience there but I think you know it'll vary from place to place west coast East Coast or Midwest and so I think India would do a good job of obviously having a culture that you know shows what Indie brings and so I look forward to them you know C the culture being able to like obviously bring people back obviously with it being here next season your your contract is up after this season have you had any kind of talks with returning or any IDE no I don't know anything I haven't even you know let the thr cross my mind I'm just kind of standing it right now but I mean I mean those conversations going to have to be had and you know I'm going to do what's best for me um it's always going to be a business so I'm excited to you know explore that idea I've never been in free agency in my professional career so I'm excited to see where it goes you were here for NBA Allstar Weekend is that right were you kind of around yeah what did you think of what this city did for that one and how Andy you know how they do big events here what did you kind of feel about the vibe that week and how it might apply to the all-star next year oh I think uh the weather through were damping things I don't know if you were here for 2024 the weather was kind of you know you know whack but I think that you know to make up for that the experience for the challenges and on Friday from night to night I think you know Indy still pushed through and you know made it a good a good event you know over the course of the weekend so what's the feeling going into tomorrow to kind of just get back after after all these countless practices over the last few weeks I'm excited um any good competitor wants to compete want to see where you at want to see what the work you put in over the course of the break see you know if it paid off um but uh obviously playoffs is important so you got to play to win and my ideas to go play a win I hope I think my team is on the same page in that perspective so I think for us it's about utilizing the fans and everything they bring but it's going to be about us tomorrow being a vet in this league did you spend this Olympic break any different than the last no um I think breaks are about figuring out what you need individually I think that varies from person to person I don't think everybody did the same thing um some people just take breaks some people you know lift and get back into their their workouts you know as if they were in offseason I just think it varies from person to person but for me um I get the best of both worlds you know kind of sprl both is there part of this break where it's like okay this enough break we got to get back to game time now kind of kind of you know after a while you know you practice practice practi you want to see you know you want to see where you at and so we get that chance tomorrow so hopefully we don't suck it up what has gone so well against Phoenix those first two games pretty good success against this team so far uh I think that uh from a youed Point we've been able to run a lot more um you know put BG in you know unique circumstances um she's 69 so you got to make her move and do different things um they they have really good additions in DT and depending on who they play you know in those games you just got to be for forever um Fenix is one of those teams you don't have a scout you just got to be ready to play because they're so gritty and so trenchy um but I think for us we have success when we able to run and defend down the stretch of the game so we defend we got a chance that was Kristy Wallace Paris yeah like first one it was fun um it was awesome it was such a cool experience opportunity uh and did it with really good people and got a good result it was cool what was the highlight of the whole experience beyond the meadow was there the chocolate muffins were really good there seriously oh yeah they were really good so that's a highlight but um just being there and seeing all the great athletes who are the best at what they do was just phenomenal and everywhere you look there's someone that you see and that they familiar and there yeah that just it was really cool did you make a point to go to any other events while you're out there were you able to we didn't get time unfortunately but we did watch uh the Boomers game one of the men's games um we didn't get much time unfortunately what does it mean to have the uh the Allstar Weekend here next year yeah pretty special um mate it's it's blowing up in Indie basketball and and just to have it here is is really exciting and I'm excited for our fans to have it on Home soil so what are some things you expect looking forward um what do you mean for me yeah like for the city yourself you know we had NBA Allstar Weekend this year here so next year we're going to do it again with the l so it's a big time it's exciting times for for Indie fans and just for Indiana in general and I think um yeah I'm just excited for for what basketball is doing and impacting on on the on this great place what's the significance of something like that for for how do you feel that back home home and with your family and all of that like what does that feel like really special um we've been through a lot particularly the last few years um our family so to just have this result was really special and it brought everyone together and um and I just I'm so proud to be Australian and just to get this for Australia too um and to inspire maybe some young Australian girls that are playing basketball it's just yeah it's what I play yeah even though you didn't get as long of a break does this Bron's accomplishment and kind of give you that energy to drive these last 14 games oh yeah I'm good like I I feel fresh I'm ready to go so um I'm excited to be back with the team and and ready for you know a shot at the playoffs where we're going to go at it they they get you up to speed on everything you missed out on these competitions the state fair and all these different things yeah they told me they did a lot of stuff which was cool um yeah and just C catch me up to speed on court as well so I'm glad to be back with the group you feel like you got the hardware now to level up with Tully never be on her level but um yeah pretty pretty stok to have one for myself not to ask a downer question but a tough situation for Rebecca Allen and you guys will face her here coming up I mean just as a a teammate of hers internationally how how challenging was that for you and for her and for the whole team to kind of experience it was so devastating just to have her injured before um before we even got to Paris so it was yeah really really hard and you know an athletes worth nightmare to get injured before such a big um you know life goal and dream so I'm just gutted for her and um yeah we're all supporting and reaching her out to her and and just hoping that she's okay and um yeah got it got it oh guess final question circling back uh to the Olympics being a medalist what was like some of the emotions that you had initially when you were awarded oh I was crying I was such a s um I was just so happy and so many emotions just built up from over the past you know few years through injury and and all the setbacks I've been through and um just to finally even just get to be an Olympian and then to be an Olympic medalist was just overwhelming um so I'm really I'm still it's still sinking in I'm still processing it but it's special is there a good celebration oh yeah we went hard we went hard it was good it was good you have to you have to um yeah we we went to a bar straight after as a team and we caught up with the family and the crew and we just celebrated it was cool I think it was for us you know we have NaLyssa Smith that culture that's being built here like it's a super good environment for us and you know just to bring more people to Indie give us more exposure it's going to be a fun experience what do you hope to see from you and your team to set the tone for the rest of the season tomorrow um just coming out hard you know doing the first punch uh and just executing down the stretch uh playing defense not letting people come back into games and just finishing all 40 minutes is the feeling something of Rejuvenation and a little bit of rest after this time period you've had oh yeah I think everybody feels good you know we're all excited to get out there tomorrow so we'll see how helpful was the 3 weeks and being able to do some team building exercises over the past couple weeks I think it was big for us you know we got to build you know team chemistry outside of basketball you know we did little experiments to get to know each other and just fun things so mean we also focused on the basketball aspect so it was a good three weeks for us well I guess I'll ask again how do you feel the Allstar Weekend being here next year uh for the ladies it's going to be great for us uh can't wait to see all our fans and all the people that come to Indie to support you know the allstar game and you know our plan is just level up every single year and you know go down as one of the best Allstar games is there something you guys are looking forward to with that nickb next year oh it's in Indie you don't got to go nowhere so probably the best thing