I cannot speak for Emily, but I can respond anyway. :-) The relationship between ENSO strength and east versus central/Modoki is stronger for El Nino than for La Nina. La Nina tends to be centered farther west than El Nino in general, so most La Ninas are "Modoki-like" to some extent (see this previous blog post). That said, it's still possible this event could be centered farther east or west than normal. I've been more focused on trying to nail down the intensity of this even that I haven't focused so much on the spatial "flavor." If I reach any new insights, I'll let you know.