Mystics play for coach
Thibault worked for 10 years in Connecticut; Game 4 there
Washing ton, of cou rse, would t a ke it s f i rst W NBA cha mpionship no matter where it happens. But t he Mystics wa nt to w i n it i n Connecticut on Tuesday i n pa r t for t hei r coach.
Mike Thibau lt spent 10 yea rs i n Uncasv i l le a nd led t he Connecticut Sun to eig ht playof f appea r a nces, i nclud i ng Fi na l s i n 2004 a nd 2005. But he never won a t it le w it h t he Sun.
He was f i red i n 2012 a nd took over t he Mystics i n 2013.
The w i nningest coach i n W NBA histor y i s now on t he verge of w i nning bot h his a nd t he f ra nch i se’s f i rst cha mpionsh ip a f ter t a k i ng Washing ton to it s second st ra ig ht Fi na l s. The Mystics’ 94 - 81 w i n Sunday g ives t hem a 2- 1 lead i n t he best- of- f ive ser ies.
“I would love to do it a nd I wou ld love to do it on t his f loor for hi m,” leag ue
M V P Elena Del le Donne sa id Monday. “I k now how big t his i s for hi m. He’s such a g reat coach a nd to be able to be t he tea m t hat g ives t his to hi m mea ns so much. He deser ves it .”
The Mystics had won a tot a l of 11 ga mes i n t he t wo yea rs before Thibau lt a r r ived . He ha s g uided Washing ton to t he post sea son i n si x of his seven sea sons at t he hel m.
“He c a me here when t his tea m was l iter a l ly t ra sh, l iter a l ly t ra sh,” g ua rd Nat a sha Cloud sa id . “The Mystics were ter r ible a nd no one wa nted to watch t hem. For hi m to t ur n t his orga ni zat ion a rou nd a nd to be i n t he Fi na l s t he l a st t wo sea sons — be i n w it h a cha nce to br i ng t hei r f i rst ever f ra nchise cha mpionsh ip — i s huge. A nd to do it here, where he had a t remendous coach i ng c a reer, would be even bet ter.”
Thibau lt sa id he a l so wa nt s to w i n Ga me 4 on Tuesday, but not bec ause t he ga me i s i n Connecticut . None of t he players or st a f f he worked w it h i s st i l l t here, ma k i ng t his i n many ways just a not her road a rena , he sa id .
“If we were play i ng i n some neutra l cou r t somewhere, I wou ld n’t c a re,” he sa id . “It ’s obv iously a place I spent a long t i me. But it doesn’t matter to me where we w i n it . I just wa nt to w i n it .”
The Sun a re a l so look i ng for t he f ra nch i se’s f i rst t it le. If Connecticut w i ns Tuesday, a decisive Ga me 5 wou ld be i n Washing ton on Thursday nig ht .
The Mystics a re hopi ng to recreate t he for mula t hat led to Sunday ’s success — a quick st a r t a nd g reat outside shooti ng. Washing ton ju mped to a 15- poi nt lead a f ter t he f i rst qua r ter a nd t ied a W NBA Fi na l s record w it h 16 3- poi nters, shooti ng bet ter t ha n 59 percent f rom behi nd t he a rc .
Del le Donne ha s a her niated disk i n her back a nd says she def i nitely w i l l play. But t he leag ue’s MV P ex pect s to be l i mited, ju st a s she was Sunday when she scored 13 poi nt s i n 26 minutes, spend i ng most of her t i me on t he per i meter.
Connecticut i s hoping to send t he bestof- f ive ser ies back to Washing ton by r unni ng Del le Donne a nd t he rest of Mystics of f t he 3- poi nt l i ne.
“We have to ma ke t hem feel uncomfor t able,” Sun g ua rd Cour t ney Wil l i a ms sa id . “We have to ma ke su re t hey a re t a ki ng contested shot s. If t hey ma ke ever y contested shot , t here’s not hi ng you c a n rea l ly do about t hat .”