A few weeks back, Natalie Nakase made a bold claim. She is getting more sleep than she did in her first season as the Valkyries head coach.<\/p>\n
Kayla Thornton<\/a> smiled at that suggestion, \u201cI think we might need to check that.\u201d<\/p>\n Nakase\u2019s fundamentals have transitioned from season one. Last year, she was named the WNBA Coach of the Year after leading Golden State to the playoffs for the first time in league history as an expansion team. She was known for instilling a point guard mentality \u2014 get the ball and go \u2014 toughness, sky-high expectations, the commitment to defense, and of course, the cursing.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not going to change. Ever,\u201d said point guard Veronica Burton<\/a>. \u201cWhich is for the best.\u201d<\/p>\n But the evolution is also becoming clear. Her demeanor seems more relaxed this year. She rarely answers a question with a question anymore, like, \u201cWhat do you think?\u201d<\/p>\n Now, for Nakase, what she thinks is what matters most.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the kind of team I envisioned with defensive tenacity, having that energy, picking up 94 feet,\u201d Nakase said after Golden State\u2019s 78-58 win over Los Angeles on Monday night.<\/p>\n In addition to having more returners than any team in the WNBA, Nakase has a healthy roster to work with, if a little limited inside without Iliana Rupert<\/a>. She is also making use of her team\u2019s depth at some moments, while trusting her stalwarts in others, even if it annoys the fan base (i.e. Laeticia Amihere<\/a>).<\/p>\n In Nakase\u2019s world, the defense needs to lead to offense and many nights it does. But when it doesn\u2019t \u2014 as it didn\u2019t in the final quarter against Seattle on Friday night when the Valkyries were 1 of 16 from the floor \u2014 Nakase\u2019s team had just enough poise and experience to win 76-72 anyway.<\/p>\n Winning on a night when you are not your best is the sign of a good team. But it also rankles Nakase.<\/p>\n Nakase has owned her team\u2019s weak spots when they appear, such as the spotty 3-point defense and defensive rebounding or a lack of offensive flow. At various points, she has questioned whether she rolled out too much new terminology too quickly and whether her team was in good enough shape when they started the season. She takes personal responsibility for tough losses, even as she\u2019s challenged her players to give more.<\/p>\n She challenged them after Seattle.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had an open, honest conversation the last two days about what each player needs to get that max effort, so I pushed some of those buttons,\u201d Nakase said. \u201cThey told me what they needed and I did it. But it\u2019s all about them responding. At the end of the day they are out there fighting, you know. We\u2019re only saying the things that they wanted to hear.\u201d<\/p>\n The Valkryies are in early playoff position with a 9-5 record after Monday\u2019s 78-58 over Los Angeles, their third straight and the second in a run of four games over seven days. She is thinking hard about pacing her players. Because it\u2019s not always about how hard you push.<\/p>\n \u201cThis four-in-seven is a first for me,\u201d Nakase said. \u201cThis is about the mental focus. It\u2019s not really about the physical. I think they have shown me and proved to me that we\u2019re in really good shape. I\u2019m pretty confident in the way we\u2019ve planned our practices and the off-days in between.\u201d<\/p>\n Golden State has already notched high-caliber wins this season, and their historic inaugural run last season ended with a first-round playoff loss to Minnesota. What gets lost in the haze is the fact that Golden State had four injured starters by the time they got to that final game. Nakase was forced to piece her lineup together at the most important point of the season. And that fact has informed Nakase\u2019s biggest change in approach in year two.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything last year was fast, fast, fast,\u201d Nakase said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t take a breath. This year, we could actually look at the whole schedule and plan out the whole season. Last season, I don\u2019t think I was super intentional in execution on my part, so now I\u2019m aligned with the medical team in terms of usage and days on and days off.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I think that\u2019s key because the priority is that everyone is healthy come playoff time,\u201d she continued. <\/p>\n Burton said she sees Nakase \u201cgetting more and more comfortable\u201d in her leadership.<\/p>\n \u201cJust in terms of calling the shots, being direct, being super clear in what we want to be doing on both sides of the basketball,\u201d Burton said. \u201cI think our game plans are really clear and precise. And it\u2019s been pretty cool to see.\u201d<\/p>\n Burton also sees Nakase challenging her even more than she did a season ago when Burton went from an expansion draft pick to the league\u2019s Most Improved Player. <\/p>\n \u201cShe is holding us to a high standard,\u201d Burton said. \u201cI feel like what Nat does best is bring the energy and the intensity and that was there last year, and it remains there. Everyone is more comfortable in the huddle. I think there\u2019s more balance and communication, but the energy is still the same.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFrom the moment we came into training camp it was like, \u2018We don\u2019t have time to play around. We don\u2019t have time to settle in,\u201d Burton continued. \u201cShe\u2019s been pushing us from day one and I think that is probably different than last year. Last year she was getting a feel for us and how we liked to be coached. This year is more of, \u2018This is what I expect out of you and this is what\u2019s going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n As far as whether Nakase is actually getting more sleep?<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, I\u2019m not getting texts from her at two in the morning anymore,\u201d Burton said.<\/p>\n \u2018Rare Gems\u2019 is out now! If you enjoy Megdal\u2019s coverage of women\u2019s basketball every Wednesday at The IX Sports, you will love \u201cRare Gems: How Four Generations of Women Paved the Way for the WNBA.\u201d <\/p>\n \n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A few weeks back, Natalie Nakase made a bold claim. 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Howard Megdal, founder and editor of The IX Basketball and The IX Sports, wrote this deeply reported book. \u201cRare Gems\u201d follows four connected generations of women\u2019s basketball pioneers, from Elvera \u201cPeps\u201d Neuman to Cheryl Reeve and from Lindsay Whalen to Sylvia Fowles and Paige Bueckers.<\/p>\n