3 adjustments Valkyries must make to bounce back in WNBA Finals Game 4 vs. Dream appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
ATLANTA – The Golden State Valkyries are itching to get back onto the court and under the spotlight, down 2-1 heading into Game 4 of the WNBA Finals. The angst, the emotion, the frustration, the fight– the Valkyries are dying to unleash it all and exorcise their demons from their ugly 97-71 Game 3 loss to the Atlanta Dream.
“We’re hungry,” Valkyries forward Kaila Charles said at the team’s Friday afternoon practice. “This has been the longest two days ever. I’m ready to play again. But I think our spirits are really high. We understand what we need to do, and we’re excited to get another chance.”
Game 4 is a chance Golden State doesn’t take lightly, a window of opportunity that can and will close in an instant. Either they tie the series up heading back to their raucous home crowd in Ballhalla, or they find themselves in the quicksand of a 3-1 deficit and on the brink of their magic run to the Finals dissipating into dust.
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As such, the Valkyries require making some major adjustments to stifle the Dream, who’ve set the tone the entire series thus far. From Angel Reese steamrolling them to the cup and giving them the “petite” gesture, along the way to Atlanta as a whole squeezing the life out of the Golden State offense and forcing them into uncharacteristic turnovers, it’s adapt or go extinct for the Valkyries at this juncture of the series.
So here are three aspects of the series the Valkyries need to address and adjust to even things up at 2-2 and get back to their brand of unrelenting, strength-in-numbers basketball.
The Valkyries must uncork the halfcourt offense
It’s not surprising that Golden State’s been rendered completely ineffective in the halfcourt this series. After all, the Dream boast the Defensive Player of the Year and have the length and athleticism to blunt a lot of what the Valkyries like to do best, specifically their drive-and-kick, stampede actions – where a player catches the ball on the run as they cut after the initiator draws the defense.
Nor has it been a surprise when it seems like every single shot Golden State attempts has a hand in their face or a Dream defender all the way in their airspace– the Valkyries boasted one of the toughest shot difficulties all season long, with their best shotmakers having some of the lower expected field goal percentages in the league.
But it has been a decisive factor in the tenor of this series. Atlanta has completely taken away Golden State’s transition opportunities, the part of the game where their offense is cleanest and when the Valkyries can unload the avalanche on teams, making their halfcourt execution even more important. So far this series, they haven’t come close to cracking the Dream’s shell defense, designed to gap their drives and force them into 1-on-1 iso basketball.
So the Valkyries know what they need to do: score more points in the halfcourt. Obviously. But how they do that is the real conundrum.
Because while Gabby Williams has risen to a star-level talent these playoffs, her on-ball will just never draw two defenders to her in the way a truly A1 offensive talent demands, which is not a knock on her, just a statement of fact for how Atlanta has defended her this series. And while it’s easy to say “scrap the scheme” when the scheme isn’t working, you can’t just do that in the middle of a Finals series; you don’t have time.
So at this juncture, Golden State is going to have to lean on their strength-in-numbers philosophy to solve the Dream’s defense. That could mean leaning more into the depth that has done well offensively this series. Tiffany Hayes seems like the one Valkyrie who can consistently punch the paint. Janelle Salaun came alive in Game 3; at her best, she can overcome a hand in her face and bury any-and-all catch-and-shoot triples.
From Williams’ point of view, it comes down to being more decisive, which melds into coach Natalie Nakase’s point about cutting down on turnovers. Overall, the Valkyries have been controlling the tempo, reducing possessions, and getting extra possessions from steals and offensive rebounds. Those are key factors that can certainly help loosen up their offensive slog. But the fact of the matter is they’ll just need to make some tough buckets. A simple solution, but hard to make a reality with the way Atlanta’s defending.
The Valkyries must slow down Angel Reese
On the flip side, and a far more controllable variable than their high-variance offense, is the Valkyries’ defense, which still hasn’t solved Reese, despite that side of the court being the defining trait of their run to the Finals.
It’s not for a lack of effort. Golden State has used center Kiah Stokes with some success, but it comes at the cost of clogging their offense’s spacing. And when Stokes hasn’t been on the floor, Reese has literally burned everyone else. Aminata Gueye? Torched – and trash-talked along the way. Kayla Thornton? Not big enough and not quick enough. Salaun? Hasn’t been fast enough laterally for the quick Reese. Laeticia Amihere? Outmuscled whenever she doesn’t have a help defender behind her to deter Reese.
So what’s the adjustment? Well, it’s not as simple as showing two at Reese or loading up the help behind her like they did to A’ja Wilson in the Las Vegas Aces series.
For one, the Dream are doing a great job putting her in spots that make it terrible tactically to do either of those things, unless you are comfortable with any one of her four teammates getting a wide-open shot, something Wilson didn’t really have the luxury of. And for another, it may just be better to let Reese get hers and keep every other Dream player locked up and out of rhythm. The Valkyries’ defense got completely worked when Reese started getting everyone else involved. Whether it was her leading the break or finding the right pass when all eyes were on her, she’s deadliest when she’s bullying the Valkyries enough to send even more resources at her.
That doesn’t mean don’t guard her. Nakase should probably be matching Stokes minutes with her at this point – and find a way to make her more useful offensively – and Amihere has a case for getting more run against her. Maybe even throw Kaila Charles at her. She’s had the most fight and energy of any Valkyrie these Finals, as she didn’t back down when she and Rhyne Howard got into it. It also helps that she played with Reese in AAU on Team Takeover in Maryland; she might intuitively remember some age-old secrets to defending her.
But ultimately, Golden State needs to limit her on the offensive boards; she has 11 in the Finals and had five in Game 3. Again, easier said than done against the best rebounder in the league. But those kinds of plays become back-breaking over the course of a game, and if they want to win the possession battle, it behooves the Valkyries to consider boxing her out with even more attention.
The Valkyries must find the fire and get back to Golden State basketball
But X’s and O’s and tactics aside, the Valkyries believe their shortcomings in Games 2 and 3 all stem from not playing like themselves. And wrapped into that is the way Reese and the Dream have won the mind game battle in how she’s fired herself up with the trash talk. Those kinds of things give Atlanta their edge – their motivation. The Valkyries have motivation; it just hasn’t translated into their hoops. And they know it.
“We need to have some fire, too,” Charles said when asked about how Reese has gone at Gueye specifically and how the Valkyries as a whole deal with those kinds of interactions. “People (don’t) necessarily (have to be) trash talkers, but being more physical, imposing our will, and dictating the game that way.”
Charles’ answer underscores Golden State’s most needed adjustment– get back to playing Valkyries basketball and get back to setting the tone. The Dream have taken them away from their identity better than any team has this season. But what makes a team great– what makes a team worthy of a championship– is being unshakable. And being unshakable means finding a way, no matter the circumstances, something the Valkyries have done all season long.
“There’s been moments in games this season where it feels like there’s no way we’re gonna win this,” Veronica Burton said. “And you could say that there’s no way the Valkyries are gonna be here, whatever it may be. And you find a way, and you will it out, and you do it together, and you grind it out. That’s what has allowed us to get here. That’s what allowed us to beat LA, or what allowed us to beat Dallas in Game 3 when we’re down (16). Like, logistically, it doesn’t make much sense, but you come together, and you find a way to do it, and that’s what it comes down to.”
The heart of a champion rests inside the Valkyries. We’ve all heard it beat loudly whenever they’ve defied the odds and upended our expectations. So maybe the biggest adjustment they can make in Game 4 is to revive that pulse. Because if we’ve learned anything this season, if Burton and her squad have a pulse, they have a fighting chance.
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