Sandy Brondello talks improvement, rotations, Team Australia, and more

With the New York Liberty off until this Friday, the team is getting a chance to catch up on practice at Barclays Center. NetsDaily was on hand Monday afternoon and got a chance to talk with head coach, Sandy Brondello. Here’s our conversation:

• On the feel of the team following their win against the Chicago Sky:

“Knowing that we can still get better. And so it was good to come into work today, work on the one percenters, getting open. We had too many unforced turnovers and just playing with a little more poise and urgency on defense as well. We control our own destiny, I think that’s where we’re at, but very focused. I thought it was a really good session even though we had limited players in.”

• On maintaining toughness and discipline

“We have to. I think you have to play with a physical presence. You have to play with a disruptive mindset, but playing smart, executing the scout, knowing when we’re going under and staying in place, where’s the stunt? It’s a five player defense, and I think when we get that in and not giving them easy baskets, I think that certainly helps too. It’s a great challenge. This is a fun part of the year now, getting locked in, and trying to push our way in to a playoff spot.”

• On managing the rotations

“I think the nine [players] I went with were the ones that have been on the court, so you feel you know what you’re gonna expect from that. But it’ll be nice to get [Jocelyn Willoughby] and [Didi Richards] opportunities where I can, but it’s hard when you’re trying to win games to put everyone in so I’m just trying to go with a feel and hopefully I get it right.”

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• On Betnijah Laney’s continued recovery and potential return

“She’s still just doing the individual on court work with the trainer, running up and down the court. She looks good, but now we have to build her up with playing defense and putting people around her. We’re still on schedule, she’s making good progress. She looks good, and now the thing of integrating her back into the team.”

• On if the strategy will be to attack the basket more as compared to taking a lot of threes

“It depends on game flow. [Sabrina Ionescu] and [Natasha Howard] have really good chemistry. [Stefanie Dolson], she’s a big physical body that sets really good screens, and she had a really good game [on Saturday] finishing close to the basket, so that’s pretty exciting.”

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On what she’s watching for as Team Australia plays scrimmages against Canada in preparation for the FIBA World Cup in September:

“I have to choose a team from here. That’s my task. What do we need, what works well, and it’s more on what we need to do at the moment as we build up [to FIBA]. Any time we can play another country, it helps us grow [to where they want to go], what are we working on to keep growing in the right direction so we can get back on the podium. We know it’s hard work, but you need to be playing great ball when it matters, so we’re heading in the right direction.”