In his WNBA trade deadline tiers, Edwin Garcia suggested the Golden State Valkyries should sit tight. A top three team in the standings in just their second season of existence, he saw no need for the organization to aggressively make an addition.
The Valkyries themselves appeared to agree.
Reported as a team that did give the Los Angeles Sparks a call about Kelsey Plum, Golden State chose not to expend the assets required to pluck her from LA, nor make another move to increase their upside.
However, I’m more inclined to argue that Golden State should have gambled on Plum or another star-level offensive creator.
What’s the line between being confident in your team and your culture and just being complacent? The Valkyries have a good thing going, but couldn’t it be even better?
As Josh Felton articulated, Golden State, like every WNBA contender, is not without weaknesses.
And Golden State’s is particularly glaring, as they not only struggle to sustain 40 minutes of good offense, but, as Josh notes, their drive-and-kick offensive system could be solved by strategic adjustments in a playoff series. Then, the Valkyries’ offensive production would become even more dependent on the variance of difficult 3-point shots.
That Golden State is 0-5 against the Minnesota Lynx and Las Vegas Aces seems to substantiate that they have a hard ceiling. The Valkyries have lost three games to the Aces, outscored by 34 points across the three contests and scoring no more than 81 points against the defending champs. They’ve been closer to taking down the Lynx, losing the two games by a combined nine points.
So, maybe Golden State should just pray that the playoff bracket falls right and they’re spared a series against Minnesota or Vegas?
In that case, the Valkyries would, in fact, be golden. Outside of those Lynx and Aces games, they’ve lost just four times by a combined 24 points.
And as Josh recognized and as Beckett Harrison also has highlighted, the defense is legit.
Currently, their defensive rating of 101.5 in No. 1 in the WNBA. They’re also, unsurprisingly, the league leaders in “kills,” according to Sports Illustrated’s Dan Falkenheim. This means the Valkyries have been more successful than any other team at preventing opponents from scoring on three-consecutive possessions.
Beckett also gave some deserved shine to Gabby Williams, praising how she has fully blossomed into superstar in her first season with Golden State by activating the aggressive, first-option offensive mentality that has defined her recent stints with the French national team.
It’s also possible that Gabby has more to give.
While a depth of options makes Golden State dangerous, head coach Natalie Nakase could increase Williams’ minutes to more than her 25.4 per night average in the postseason. It’s also encouraging that, despite it coming in a loss, Williams had her best offensive game of the season against the Aces, keeping Golden State in striking distance as she scored a career-best 27 points.
Gabby’s a gamer who’s proven she’s unafraid to have to ball in her hands when her team needs a bucket. Combine her exploits with enough timely shot making from the likes of Veronica Burton, Janelle Salaün, Tiffany Hayes, Cecilia Zandalasini and Kaitlyn Chen, on of their top-notch defense, and it becomes easy to believe that—regardless of what team is on the other side—the Valkyries can get it done it the postseason.
Unfortunately, I don’t think Tuesday night’s game against the Toronto Tempo will be much a barometer (10 p.m. ET, WNBA League Pass).
The season-long injury bug that has bitten Toronto seems to have sapped most of their spunk, as, after losing to Golden State on Sunday night, they’ve now lost six games in a row. And while the Valkyries looked more than postseason ready as they hung 96 points on the Tempo, that number actually was an improvement for Toronto—they had given up more than 100 points in their prior four losses.
The Tempo, unlike last season’s Valkyries, are experiencing a more typical expansion season, where reasons for hope are offset and eventually overwhelmed by the challenges of building a winning team from scratch. The expected debut of new addition Aneesah Morrow, at least, can give Tempo fans something to look forward to.
What do you think about the Valkyries?
Should they have sold out for Plum or another piece? Or were they smart to see what this group can do? And, do you believe that Williams can be the 1A playoff option that powers a Golden State playoff run?
