Coach Donovan explains why she hates the new handchecking interpretation.

The new standard has been widely credited as a success in the NBA, but Donovan thinks the W is different for two reasons.

First, because the W's season is too short, so players don't have enough time to adjust. Second, because the style of play is different: "The NBA is about defense, but it's not get up on our man defense, so it's been a much easier rule to adjust to than it will be for us."

The first reason makes some sense. Of course, it didn't take NBA players all 82 games to adjust. By midseason or earlier, the whole thing had pretty well settled in.

I'm not so sure about the second — sounds like she's reaching there. Don't WNBA teams play more zone, which typically means less "up on our man defense"? Has Anne seen Bruce Bowen guarding Ray Allen this series?