The Valkyries are not in playoff form yet, nor do they need to be just under halfway through the season. But after hosting the Atlanta Dream twice in three days, the Valkyries offered a glimpse of how they’d handle a playoff series.
A pair of wins over a Dream team that entered the week averaging 90.4 points per game and owned a top-three defensive rating proved that Golden State’s ceiling is higher in Year 2.
Same tough opponent, same game plan, 48 hours between matchups, and every adjustment met with a counter adjustment.
As the No. 8 seed in last season’s playoff bracket, Golden State was bounced after a quick, but hard-fought two-game set with the No. 1 seed, Minnesota. With a 12-7 record and a 9-3 mark inside Chase Center this year, Natalie Nakase’s team is climbing the standings while again proving that “Ballhalla” is one of the toughest road environments in the WNBA.
In a way-too-early peek at the standings, the Valkyries are half a game behind Atlanta for the No. 3 seed and are tied with the Liberty, whom they’ll play on Sunday. Golden State has already beaten New York once this season, and five of the team’s seven losses have come against the league’s top two teams, Minnesota (14-4) and Las Vegas (13-5).
Securing a top-four seed would enable Golden State to host the first game of a best-of-three playoff series, which challenges teams because one slow start or bad adjustment can spell the end of a season.
This week against Atlanta, the Valkyries showed that they can win in different ways.
In Wednesday night’s 77-66 victory, the Valkyries held the Dream to their lowest point total of the season. Atlanta has three players in the top five for steals per game in Jordin Canada, Rhyne Howard, and Allisha Gray, plus Angel Reese underneath the rim, yet it was Golden State that put on the defensive clinic through three quarters.
Led by Gabby Williams and Kayla Thornton, the Valkyries survived the Dream’s 42 points in the paint, 12 offensive rebounds, and Madina Okot-led fourth-quarter push. The Valkyries shot a red-hot 46.9% from the perimeter (15-32), which made the difference.
One of the most encouraging elements of the Valkyries’ 78-75 victory in Friday’s rematch is that it looked almost nothing like Wednesday’s game.
The Dream — Canada and Reese in particular — responded exactly how a postseason opponent would. Karl Smesko’s team brought more energy, upped the physicality, and put on a defensive master class early, forcing 12 first-half turnovers while pushing the pace in transition. Atlanta never allowed Golden State to build the kind of comfortable cushion it enjoyed Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Valkyries didn’t have another 3-point barrage to lean on (they shot 5-for-22 from 3-point on Friday). But they did have Williams, who ripped off 13 consecutive fourth-quarter points to secure the win.
Nakase’s second unit keyed the victory on night two.
After accounting for 14 points on Wednesday, the five reserves combined for 35 points Friday, led by Kaitlyn Chen — who handled extended backup point guard duties — while Tiffany Hayes relentlessly attacked downhill. Golden State also limited Atlanta’s interior production, which Nakase identified as a point of emphasis between games.
“It was literally just locking down into our same game plan as before, and then we outrebounded them,” Nakase said.
The coach acknowledged she didn’t change much schematically, though the minute distribution was noticeably different from Wednesday to Friday.
“The dangerous thing with our roster, our depth, is that we could sub in players and battle against teams that don’t play as deep,” Nakase said.
That’s perhaps the most important takeaway from the two-game set. The Valkyries proved they could beat one of the league’s best teams, but they also showed they could handle a tough opponent even when their perimeter shots weren’t falling. Against the ever-creative Smesko, who has plenty of All-WNBA talent, that’s a testament to Nakase’s ability to have players embrace their roles.
Golden State’s adaptability becomes invaluable in a best-of-three format. And with Williams serving as an increasingly reliable, clutch closer, Golden State’s depth could become its greatest postseason advantage. Though rotations typically become tighter later in the season, Nakase is still trusting a 10-player group, which is a rarity in the WNBA.
Fresh legs from Williams and Veronica Burton in the final quarter — a product of Golden State’s depth — helped swing the momentum on Friday.
“It shows how fiery we are,” said Kiah Stokes, who finished with 13 points and seven blocks. “Playing a team every other day is basically a playoff series, so I think it shows what we’re capable of.”
It’s a long season, and the real tests are still coming. But for two nights this week, Golden State got a taste of the playoffs — and handled it.
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