On Saturday, Veronica Burton willed the Golden State Valkyries to a Game 4 win to tie the WNBA Finals 2-2 with 13 points, five assists, three steals, two blocks, and no turnovers in 38 minutes. She took a shocking 17 field goals, and despite only making four, Golden State will need this level of aggression from the guard if they want to hoist the championship trophy this week.
It's been a fairly quiet playoff campaign from Burton so far. She's averaging 8.9 points, four rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2.2 stocks in just over 30 minutes per game. Beyond the numbers, the franchise point guard's looked like a different, more timid player since the postseason began. She went from 9.2 field goals attempted in the regular season to just 7.6 in the first three games of the Finals, only 4.3 per game being from inside the 3-point arc. During the season, Burton made a name for herself as one of the best drivers in the WNBA, opening the floor for shooters like Cecilia Zandalasini and Janelle Salaün; for some reason, though, it hadn't converted to the postseason.
That is, until Game 4. Burton played a season-high 38 minutes and attempted 10 2-point field goals. Even though the vast majority of them didn't fall, the one that mattered most did: a turnaround 11-foot fadeaway over Jordin Canada to extend the Valkyries lead with 34.6 seconds to go.
The Valkyries need more performances like that from Burton
"She's our heart and soul of the team," said Coach Natalie Nakase after Game 4. "She was getting knocked in the face...she just kept saying, 'I'm good, I'm good...' She's resilient."
For a lot of this Finals run, those clutch moments were reserved for Gabby Williams, who, to be fair, has handled them well herself. Williams led the Valkyries in scoring on Saturday with 17 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Even so, the interplay between Burton and Williams has been vital to Golden State's success this year, and the sheer difference between Games 3 and 4 of the Finals are proof. Forcing Atlanta to choose between guarding Williams, Burton, Tiffany Hayes, or someone else puts them in tough spots that Nakase knows how to exploit.
Given the run that Kiah Stokes is having on the boards, too, the Valkyries need to be driving to the basket more in general. On Saturday, the center not only broke the WNBA Finals record for most blocks in a series with 14 and counting, but pulled down a ridiculous 16 rebounds. Stokes is the sole reason why the Valkyries can get away with shooting 36% from the floor and 16% from three without completely collapsing. Her power alone gave the team 18 more field goal attempts than the Dream.
If Burton continues to play like she did in Game 4, and especially if more of those 17 field goals start to fall, we're looking at a whole different series than what we've seen. The Valkyries have played far from their best game of basketball yet, and an aggressive Burton is the first step to getting there again.
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