ATLANTA - If you, the long-time - well, since their inception, two years ago - fan of the Golden State Valkyries are feeling confused and dismayed, you have good reason.
In the WNBA Finals, the Valkyries have played arguably the two worst consecutive games they've ever played. Following their disappointing performance on their home court in Game 2, the Valkyries were dismantled by the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday night, giving up a shocking amount of points in the 97-71 loss.
And now they are in serious trouble, down 2-1 and with a long, long time to sit in enemy territory in Atlanta and try to figure out what's gone wrong before a critical Game 4 on Saturday morning.
"It was about us being undisciplined," guard Tiffany Hayes said. "Being really loose with the ball. It was very uncharacteristic of us.
"We've got to get back to who we are."
In two games, the Valkyries have not looked like the group we've come to know: the tough, defensive-minded team that swarms the opponent, drains 3-pointers at will and plays seamlessly together. The Dream have flipped the script, both on the court and in their building.
The game was held at State Farm Arena, where the Finals were moved from a 3,500-seat gym, thanks to some last-minute schedule juggling that pushed Game 3 up a day and created a day/night double-header on Saturday with the Atlanta Hawks. Given all the late adjustments, one couldn't be sure how ticket sales and the transition would go.
It went exceptionally well. The building was sold out, all 17,099 seats. If there were a significant number of Valkyries fans in State Farm, they weren't visible. Or audible. One key Valkyries fan was there: Joe Lacob, the owner who said he lobbied the league to move the games to State Farm, was courtside, rather than at his Warriors season opener in Los Angeles. But he didn't have much to cheer about in either game.
The Dream fans created a very loud, uniquely Atlanta vibe, full of local music stars and a joyous crowd "swag surf" late in the game. The Dream will play all their games in State Farm next season and no worries about if they'll fill the building: The fans are there and they're ready.
"Man, our fans showed up," center Angel Reese said. "I thought Ballhalla was loud. Y'all came out on a school night and you got work tomorrow. We really appreciate it. On Saturday y'all better run it back."
Reese, wearing her pink Barbie shoes, showed up, too, in a huge way. Before this series began, she was garnering most of the headlines, as the biggest star in the series. Now, she is proving that she's earned all the hype. She's the youngest player to record three straight double-doubles in the Finals. Her fire and energy uplifts the entire team.
"I'm hype all the time," she said.
And she knows how to win a championship. Her college coach Kim Mulkey was in the building, as a reminder of that LSU title they won together, three years ago.
"She kept telling me, ‘Go get it. Don't Stop. Two more.'" Reese said. "I won a championship with her and I remember how I felt. Being able to do it again with this group is going to feel even more special."
The Valkyries have two days to figure out some answers. Head coach Natalie Nakase will dig into film, both with players individually and with the team. She'll monitor rest and recovery. And she'll try to find some answers.
Before the game, Nakase promised that her team was going to bring a better fight than they had in Game 2. Instead, it felt so much the same. The huge number of points off turnovers (22 Dream points off 17 giveaways). The lopsided fast-break points, 13 for the Dream to five for the Valkyries.
"Sometimes promises aren't kept," Nakase said after the loss. "That's on me. The will is there, the want-to is there. But the fight together, I'm missing the piece of putting it together."
After the game, Nakase reminded her team that it's a long series: for only the second time in WNBA history the Finals is a best of seven. But now it feels like the Valkyries are running out of games. Saturday's game, on the road, isn't a must win, but it's damn close.
"We've been down before," she said. "We fought back from 16 down in Dallas.
"We're resilient. We've done it before."
But have they? You, the long-time Valkyries fan, know that this team has not fought back from a playoff series deficit. They were tied against Dallas, and fought back from being down by double digits at home to take the series. Then they swept the Aces. This is the first playoff hole the team has ever been in.
"We can adjust," Hayes said. "But we have to do it now.
"And we have to stay together to do it."
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There’s more to San Francisco with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at Dream are becoming Valkyries' worst nightmare. Game 3 was their wakeup call.