June 7, 2024
Locked On Women’s Basketball: East Coast battle
By The Next
Jackie Powell and Emily Adams break down the 2024 Commissioner's Cup through the first few Cup games with an eye to a major upcoming matchup.
It’s time for another episode of the Locked on Women’s Basketball podcast! In this episode, host Jackie Powell of The Next is joined by the Hartford Courant’s Emily Adams to discuss the 2024 Commissioner’s Cup and the upcoming meeting between the Eastern Conference’s top two teams, New York and Connecticut, on Saturday afternoon.
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They discussed the schedule of Commissioner’s Cup games this season, the important charities that teams are advocating for as part of these games and where things stand so far. Then, they discuss Saturday afternoon’s Liberty-Sun battle, which very well may decide the Eastern Conference’s representative in the title game.
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Adams spoke about how she feels about the Commissioner’s Cup and the effect it has on the excitement and discussion around the league:
You look at last year’s cup … we got a championship preview, essentially. Which was really cool, it fed into a lot of discussion during the postseason. I think the [NBA] In-Season Tournament is something that’s worked really well … which they implemented after the W did.
I think it’s just sort of an interesting way to keep things engaged, to honestly make the conferences matter a little more. I think that’s always valuable to kind of foster some of those rivalries a little bit more … we’re talking about one right now with the Sun and the Liberty. I think it’s cool from a basketball side in that aspect, but obviously also the charity aspect.
Adams on the new scheduling format, which has condensed the Commissioner’s Cup games into a much more defined window than prior seasons:
It’s great for me, frankly. I never knew when games were Cup games last year. Obviously, I wasn’t covering the W the same way last year. So as a fan, it’s extremely confusing, and kind of random. You know, I think a lot of fans, especially newer fans, probably don’t know who’s in what conference … just because it’s so spread out.
I think it’s definitely much more streamlined this way. I think it’s nice also for the teams to kind of get it out of the way in some ways. You’re not in that July to August period worrying about the Commissioner’s Cup at the time when you want to be really gearing towards postseason mode. So, yeah, I think it’s a good sort of early litmus test for everybody to get a feel for where the conferences are at.
To stay up to date with every episode of the podcast, subscribe on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. To read Jackie’s coverage of the Liberty, click here! For the rest of our WNBA coverage here at The Next, click here!
