Svet Checks In

SL: In the past six games (prior to Tuesday night’s loss), the starting five has scored 85% of the team’s points.

SA: Did Seimone score 70%?

SL: Almost, but not quite. Anyway, is that an indication that the chemistry is growing between that lineup and you’re starting to understand each other on the court?

SA: Definitely chemistry. When the coach lets you play and we do play a lot of minutes--maybe not all at once all five players, but definitely four players. We’re all playing about 30 minutes a game. When you play that much, each game is a new situation. You’re winning games, you’re losing games, but, of course, we’re getting that experience together. I feel like we’re passing the ball better and we’re helping people a lot better. We still need a lot of work on a lot of things, but in terms of the starting lineup, it’s established now. We have one and I feel like we’re ready for every game. Before, people didn’t really know what was going to happen. I feel like we still need to work on the rotation because we’re trying to get more people involved, but I feel like the coaches are doing a great job. You can see it in the winning. You know, we’re winning games, so obviously, it’s working. I’m pretty happy about that right now.

SL: With the improved play as of late, does it help the team’s confidence to know that a majority of the wins that you do have are at the expense of some of the best teams in the league?

SA: In past years what would happen was that we would be playing good and then people would figure out how to play against us. Then, the whole thing would just go down. Mentally, that was very hard because we thought we did ok in the beginning, but then we started thinking that we couldn’t really win. This year, it was the opposite. We didn’t know what we were doing at the beginning and we were trying to figure it out, but now, we just need a little more time and we’re going to be ok. We’ve slowly been getting there. You know, we’re winning more then we’re losing lately and our record is good against the Western Conference. We lost to Chicago, we lost to New York, but against the Western Conference, we’re good. We’re right there. Getting a win in San Antonio, getting a win against Phoenix at their home, that was great. We need to win games on the road and that’s our biggest thing right now.

SL: In what areas do you think the team has made the most progress this year and what areas still need work?

SA: I feel like defensively we can get much better. We’re trying to not let people beat us one-on-one and help each other on defense. I feel that individually we can get better at that, but offensively, I feel we’ve improved a lot. There’s so many plays in our system, but I feel like right now, we actually know what the coach is going to run and we’re ok with that. There was a time when we weren’t comfortable with what he was calling, but now, we know the stuff and it has become natural, you know? I think that’s the biggest improvement. We just needed two training camps to be ready.

SL: I was looking at your stats today and your field goal and three-point percentage are both at career high levels.

SA: Oh really? I won’t take one shot again!

SL: No, you’ve got to shoot! Anyway, is that something that you were consciously trying to improve or did it just happen, since you weren’t even aware of it?

SA: One thing you can always improve is your shooting percentage. You take more shots, you work on your form and in this system it’s easier for me because I don’t get that many chance to shoot. When I do shoot, I’m usually wide open. Seimone attracts a lot of attention, so when she kicks it out, I’m open and they’re pretty easy shots to make. As long as I keep making them, I’m happy with that because they’re not high-difficulty shots, but I’ve still been working on that.

SL: I asked you this in the preseason, but feel the need to revisit this topic. Have you seen enough improvement from the team this season that you would like to stay here in Minnesota past this season?

SA: Well, the season is not over yet. I’m happy with the chemistry right now. The chemistry and how the coaching staff is working with us. It is definitely better then previous years because we’re all on the same page, but I can’t think about next year right now. I’m only going to think about this year.

SL: I looked at the standings today…

SA: …and we are still right there…

SL: Right. Are you confident that this team will be able to continue to fight and make a push for that final playoff berth?

SA: I don’t want to be in a situation where we still have 10 games left and we’re out of the playoffs. That’s the worst for players to play in that. That’s what we’re here for…you want to play for a championship. I feel like, at this point, we need to get even better right now. We need to start winning games. If we don’t do it before the All-Star break, right after the break it might be too late. Now is the time to start getting really urgent about it. We need to win home games, all home games. We need to win on the road, at least 50%. Now is the time.