Mike Thibault
Mike Thibault
Mike Francis Thibaultis an American basketball head coach, formerly of the Connecticut Sun of the WNBA, and now of that league's Washington Mystics...
coached coaching country exciting finals game gold great medal moments nba obviously playing side teams winning wnba
It is a great experience. The two teams I coached on the men's side were some of the most exciting moments in my coaching life. Obviously winning NBA Championships and CBA Championships and being in the WNBA Finals are all highlights. But playing and coaching for your country in a gold medal game is pretty intense.
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The fact that we were in the finals two years in a row is a great thing, ... We put ourselves in a tough position in this series losing Game 1 (69-65 at Mohegan Sun on Sept. 14). I think we're every bit as talented as Sacramento. But they made their breaks for themselves tonight. ... We have been here twice and now we have to figure out a way to get over the hump.
bit breaks fact finals game great losing ourselves position row series talented themselves tough
The fact that we're in the Finals two years in a row is a great thing, ... We put ourselves in a tough position in this series losing Game 1. I think we're every bit as talented as Sacramento. But they made their breaks for themselves tonight.
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I like the finals format but I don't like the first two rounds. It's never going to be perfect until we get a best-of-five of the first round and get to play our first game at home. Historically, other than a few upsets over the years, the better teams have still won. But it's not a great scenario to go on the road your first playoff game.
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We just had a toast to doing what we did, ... When we made the playoffs, we didn't make a big deal about it, but winning the Eastern Conference with a couple weeks to go is a great accomplishment.
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The second half we rebounded better, took care of the ball better. Taj and Nykesha came up with huge plays down the stretch.
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People forget that it took the NBA over 20 years to reach this (point),
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We had some advantages we refused to take advantage of. I just don't think we played very smart. The emotional difference was just being mad at how we were playing.
simple
So that's it, as simple as I can put it.
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Well, we go to the gym tomorrow, ... we get a little stretch and get a little shooting in and we'll try not to turn it over by ourselves. Then we're just getting ready for Tuesday's game.
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My biggest relief was when I found out it wasn't a torn ligament. Not that the other injury is better, but a ligament injury is a long injury. I was a little bit afraid that we were in that realm.
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It drives coaches crazy because there's no predicting that stuff, ... That's why I have no hair. ... This is a nice win, but it's one win.
early energy everybody fresh fun happy legs looked played tonight week
I subbed early to keep everybody fresh and we got our legs back and played with a little more bounce. About a week ago we looked tired, but tonight we had energy the whole time. I was very happy with how we played. It was fun to watch.
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Jim's NBA career was all about determination. No one studied the game more. He had notebooks on every single player he ever faced. I bet he still has them.