The Valkyries' 14-point loss to the Dream on Monday night was their worst defeat since the Aces dogged them 92-73 on June 21. Against Vegas, Becky Hammon's crew collectively gave Golden State belt, with five players going for 14 or more. This time, Angel Reese supplied the spanking mostly by herself.
Two different reasons for losing, but in both scenarios, the defense was unacceptable.
The loss also established a trend worth acknowledging, and that's the Valks' Game 2 issue. Dallas scored 80, then 108, then 73. Las Vegas scored 60, then 81, then 77. Atlanta has scored 64, then 79. In all three rounds, the most points Natalie Nakase's ball club has surrendered in a series came in Game 2.
Both of their playoff losses are in Game 2s, and in the one they won, they still allowed more points than their vaunted defense should. Seems like they exhale a bit after winning Game One, and it leads to giving up a series high. Three for three makes it more than a coincidence; it's a habit Coach Nakase hasn't been able to correct.
Angel Reese delivered exactly what the Valkyries couldn't have
The Valkyries had the answers in Game 1. Reese went 5-11 for 14 points—all in the first half—coughed it up four times, and picked up five fouls in the process. Golden State won by four. That was Coach Nakase's plan working to perfection. Control Reese, and you control the Dream's energy.
Game 2 was Angel's revenge. Give credit to a great player for shooting 62.5%, going 9-11 from the free-throw line, and grabbing 16 boards. But twelve of her 30 points came off Golden State's turnovers. Nine came on second-chance opportunities. That's sloppy basketball and a lack of discipline from the Valkyries, and Reese made them pay.
Look what it did for the rest of the Dream. They didn't even shoot the ball well as a unit, but because they played with more energy, everything went their way, including the whistle. ATL went 30-35 from the charity stripe. They also out-rebounded GS 49-40, forced 19 turnovers into 24 points, and scored 19 fast-break points to zero for Nakase's crew.
Gabby Williams is allowed to have a bad night
Gabby has been the best offensive player in this postseason, and she's earned every bit of the praise she's been receiving. Monday, she went 3-15 from the field and 1-6 from three for 14 points. It happens. Every star in this league has a night where the ball won't go in.
The problem is that when it happened, the Valkyries didn't have much of a backup plan. Veronica Burton gave them 11 and seven rebounds, and Tiffany Hayes contributed 14 off the bench; give them credit for playing better than they did in Game 1, but the team needs more.
Burton has done it before in this exact spot. Her 28-footer in the final two minutes is the only reason the Vegas Game 2 didn't become the second loss in this pattern. Nobody made shots like that on Monday.
To add a few culprits: 1-8 from Cecilia Zandalasini, 1-3 from Kayla Thornton, and 0-2 in four minutes from unanimous Sixth Player of the Year award winner Janelle Salaun won't get it done. The game will always come back to defense for Golden State's general, but you still need to put points on the board when your first approach isn't working.
Atlanta's defense is real. Karl Smesko's group will try to take something away every night, and on Monday, it was Gabby. That's a compliment and a problem in the same sentence because if taking Williams away is all it costs to beat Golden State, the Dream's game plan becomes very simple.
Good news is, this team's whole identity is the response. They won Game 3 in the first round, 77-73. They won Game 3 in Las Vegas on the road, 87-77, and swept the defending champs out of their own building. The Valkyries know how to take a punch and deliver one right back.
Chances are they do just that. Not to mention, you can only play one Game 2 per series. How lucky is that?
Add us as a preferred source on Google