The Golden State Valkyries didn’t play their best game against the Minnesota Lynx. They held the Lynx well below their season average of 92.2 points, but they also only scored 66 points themselves. It was just the third time the Valkyries scored fewer than 70 points this season and their first loss in August.
Despite the loss, Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve acknowledged the Valkyries’ potential.
“They’re the second-best team in the league,” Reeve said in the postgame media availability, per a video on the Lynx’s YouTube channel. “No pressure, Natalie [Nakase], but the expectation is really high for that team in the playoffs, for sure. They’re the second-best team, best defense. Absolutely. Expectations should be very high.”
Just a year ago, few people outside of the organization had any expectations for the Valkyries. That has changed rapidly, and the longer the Valkyries stay locked into second place, the more pressure they will face to go on an actual playoff run after last year’s short-lived two-game appearance.
The Valkyries have two major playoff red flags
The Valkyries can defend anyone. There’s no doubt about that. They held the Fever, who have the best offense in the W, to 75 points. They also held the Liberty and Dream—two top-five offenses—below 70 points.
The problem is that even when the Valkyries slow down opposing offenses, they don’t always have enough firepower to actually capitalize on their stifling defense. Holding the Lynx to 77 points is great, but it wasn’t enough for the win because the Valkyries shot 32% from the floor and 19% from deep.
Those offensive struggles are no isolated occurrence either. The Valkyries have the seventh-best offensive rating in the WNBA—better than last year but still not great—and are overreliant on their ability to knock down 3-pointers.
So, the biggest question is whether they will have enough offense for the playoffs.
Moreover, the Valkyries have a 0-6 record against the Lynx and Aces. Indiana has been on a roll lately, usurping Las Vegas in the top three, but the Lynx and Aces are still the most proven and battle-tested championship contenders in the league. After finding no regular-season success against them, it’s unlikely that the Valkyries will beat either in a series.
With the Lynx in first place and the Aces in fourth, the Valkyries are currently on the other side of the bracket and wouldn’t meet either until the finals, but that can change quickly, considering how small the margin between the Fever, Aces, and Dream is.
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