Less than 24 hours after Washington’s Game 1 win, the Mystics and Sun were back on the court to begin making their adjustments for Tuesday’s Game 2. In addition to the work on the court and in the film room, both teams also spoke with the media. Here is what they had to say.

Sun Head Coach Curt Miller

Q: On if this is one of the most complete offenses he has coached against.

A: Yeah, without question. We go from a series where we sweep and we basically have a rover the entire time. Stricklen is so good of a help defender, so good off the ball and smart. Now everyone gets spread out and this is what’s maddening about Washington and it’s why you see they tear at the fabric of less strong teams. They just make you panicked on how to guard and you all of a sudden see players bickering on the court when you watch them play against opponents, you watch people changing all the time and trying different things and that’s what’s maddening about them. There’s a point where you have to stay strong in what you believe in and not panic and realize they’re going to make some shots. And then be convicted, be true to your convictions when you change and adjust from Plan A to Plan B that everyone stays on the same page and goes for it. Their offense is maddening and it’s why they rewrote almost all the records offensively. They just – one, they space you as well as any team ever has, and two, they’re so smart and you have to give them credit for that. That they know what you’re doing. It’s a fun chess match. Since I got in the league, no one has made me a better coach than Mike [Thibault]. Mike challenges you to go become a better coach and that’s what I enjoy about the chess match going against him.

Q: On Ariel Atkins.

A: Ariel has had a really good series against us this year. She has been a handful to guard for us and some of it is what we call out of system. It’s not even necessarily the plays they’re running, it’s her one-on-one capability to score out of system, where they just let her go play. We have to give her some different looks. But there’s a mantra in our locker room right now that we just have to be better one-on-one. And if we can’t be, we’re in trouble. If we can be, again, just can’t overreact. We had a shot to get it to two, under five minutes in this building when they shot over 60% for half. There’s ebbs and flows and in this whole series, I’m talking about the Ferris wheel. And my analogy to this team as we all have a view of a Ferris wheel outside our hotel window, you’re going to feel on top at times during this series, and you’re going to feel at bottom at times during this series. But it’s going to keep changing and you’re going to go from top to bottom a lot in this series and we just have to stay confident and not let it shake us.

Jonquel Jones

Q: You were down big but you were able to make a comeback late in the game. After viewing film, was that something that you all considered as a silver lining and you can build upon that for the next game?

A: I guess so. If the game was closer, it would have been a run but because it wasn’t, we just need to start the game better, honestly.

Q: Would you attribute the slow start of the Finals to inexperience in the Finals or a little bit of nervousness?

A: No, I think we just have to be able to guard people on-on-one. That’s what it came down to. They spaced the floor well and if you can’t guard one-on-one, we won’t be able to win the series.

Q: After the game a couple of your teammates said that they need to get you the ball more and be involved in the offense. Is that something you embrace and actively will go after or you just let the game dictate itself?

A: I embrace it, for sure.

Shekinna Stricklen

Q: On how important it is to come out strong.

A: I think it starts with me. She [Ariel Atkins] definitely got off to a good start. She’s quicker than me, but I need to be a lot more aggressive. Do more work before she gets the ball. Overall, just need to be more aggressive on defense from the start.

Q: On defensive intensity and how to improve.

A: It has a lot to do with communicating. Making sure we’re on the same page on defense. It all starts with being aggressive, doing our work before they catch the ball. Can we push them out more? Can we battle more, front more with the bigs? Just like I said, being more aggressive.

Q: On how she feels going into Game 2.

A: I still feel good. Even though they beat us, we got it down to four. Six minutes and four. We battled back. We put them on their heels. I think they know for sure we’re not going to back down. We just have to stay together. We missed a lot of open shots too. I think we would’ve hit some open shots also at the end. If we closed down at the end, we still would’ve been neck and neck with them.

Alyssa Thomas

Q: It had been a long time since you played them and I know you obviously saw a lot of film, but it’s not the quite the same as actually going against them. Was yesterday a good learning experience from that standpoint?

A: Yeah, I mean we hadn’t played them at full roster all season, so that was our first time. Just watching them play, you see how they tear defenses apart. They’re able to space you out and shoot the three. For us, being able to finally play against it, we saw in the first quarter how they were able to do that. So, like I said, we got the first game under our belt and now we can make adjustments and go from there.

Q: Did you feel like offensively you guys did what you wanted to do? I mean you had 86 points, which is going to be enough to win a lot of the time. Was the offense about what you wanted, or what improves did you want there?

A: Absolutely. I think we got whatever we wanted. I think there were times where we didn’t get the shot that we wanted to or we just missed some open shots. If we’re able to knock down some more shots and lock down on defense, they cannot keep up with us in transition.

Courtney Williams

Q: What’s the biggest thing that has to change for the team to have a better result in Game 2?

A: I think being more aggressive on offense and defense. We have to be a lot more aggressive. We have to make them feel a lot more uncomfortable. Look at the first quarter. It was a shooting clinic, but it shouldn’t have been. There should have been some discomfort. They came out and had 30 in the first quarter. That’s a problem. If we’re going win the series, that can’t happen. Yeah, we eventually settled in, but we can’t let a team like that start off with that type of momentum, and now we’ve got to play catch-up the whole game.

Q: What do you think led to Washington’s quick start in Game 1?

A: I couldn’t even tell you. I think just our intensity, really. It’s got to be on another level. We have to be super locked in. I feel like we had brain farts. That can’t happen. Maybe it was nerves. We’ll find out tomorrow.

Q: How do you get Jonquel Jones going and was Washington doing anything that disrupted her?

A: We’ve got to her more touches and figure out how to get her more touches in areas that she wants the ball. Ultimately we’re going to need JJ. We need her to do more and she can’t do more if she’s not touching the ball.

Q: Was Washington doing anything that made it harder for you to get the ball to her Jonquel Jones?

A: Nah, I feel like we just got to get her the ball. The times that she did touch the ball, she did what she wanted to. She was 5-for-8 (FG). It’s not like she was getting stopped. Nobody was stopping her. The shots the she missed, SHE missed. It’s not like she had a bad night. She shot the ball well. We’ve got to get her more touches.