Identity beat experience in both Game 1s of the WNBA semifinals.
First, the No. 4-seed Atlanta Dream, in the semifinals for the first time since 2018, defeated the No. 8-seed New York Liberty, a team with a championship and two Commissioner’s Cups to their name, 92-82. Then, the No. 2-seed Golden State Valkyries, fresh off the first playoff series win in franchise history, prevailed 71-60 over the No. 3-seed Las Vegas Aces, the three-time champs who also own a Commissioner’s Cup.
Here’s how Atlanta
and Golden State hewed to who they are in order to overcome opponents much more accustomed to the playoff stage.
Atlanta’s aggressive defense overwhelmed
In their the first round, the Dream flexed their ravenous defense, repeatedly turning over the young Washington Mystics as they ran away with the two-game series sweep.
Surely, Atlanta could not force such ball security havoc against a playoff-tested team from New York?
The Dream’s aggression not only was dialed in, but approaching another level. Their 14 steals contributed to 21 Liberty turnovers, which turned into 32 points off turnovers.
During the third quarter, in particular, the Dream had their defense-to-offense engine fully revving, scoring 16 points off of Liberty giveaways. (And the Engine herself, Alyssa Thomas, was appropriately sitting courtside.)
The ignition for the Atlanta attack was Jordin Canada, illustrating why her teammates, including Defensive Player of the Year Angel Reese, have been insistent that she also receive recognition for her defensive exploits.
Canada connivingly patrolled the perimeter, preventing New York from making even simple passes as she deployed her speed to secure interceptions and race down the floor for fastbreak buckets.
Three of Canada’s five steals came in the third, with Reese matching her with three of her own in the period. Those efforts allowed Atlanta to flip a three-point halftime deficit into a 16-point lead.
New York would steady, trimming the Atlanta lead down to five points in the fourth.
However, Canada delivered the crushing blow, draining a shot-clock beating corner 3 over a contest from Breanna Stewart to solidify the Dream’s standing.
That was one of four 3-pointers Canada converted, a skill considered beyond her identity. Those triples, combined with all her fastbreak buckets and halfcourt drives, totaled a team-high 25 points, 20 of which came in the second half.
The scoring outburst was essential considering the Dream were without leading-scorer Allisha Gray, who twice injured her left hand and was limited to 11 minutes. Gray, cruelly but appropriately, suffered her severe injury blow when forcing a New York turnover. After the game, head coach Karl Smesko had no update on Gray’s status.
In Gray’s absence, DeWanna Bonner also was a boon for Atlanta. Her ability to rise the occasion, scoring 23 points, grabbing nine rebounds and nabbing three steals, was a product of her now 101-career playoff games. At the same time, DB, in her 30 off-the-bench minutes, appeared to access a reserve of energy that suggests the 39-year-old could have another 100 playoff games in her.
Reese, as already hinted, was her all-out impactful self, finishing with 17 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three blocks. While inefficient, Rhyne Howard did everything else to help Atlanta earn the win, playing all 40 minutes as she tallied 16 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
An aggressive defensive identity, combined with a “next man up” mentality, gave the Dream their third-straight playoff win—a first for the franchise since 2013.
The Liberty, in contrast, resembled the team that spent much of the regular season searching for an identity, not the one that had discovered the best version of themselves in their first-round sweep of the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx.
The crisp offensive churn that New York displayed against Minnesota was undone by Atlanta’s defense, resulting in head coach Chris DeMarco turning to Marine Fauthoux, who played just two minutes in the first round, over Pauline Astier or Marine Johannès.
Sabrina Ionescu led the Liberty with 27 points, although she served up a team-high five turnovers. Stewart finished with 19 points, with Jonquel Jones adding a 12-point and 11-rebound double-double. However, it took until the desperation kicked for the Liberty’s experienced Big 3 began to produce at their expected levels.
Defense and depth were the drivers for Golden State
Could the Valkyries’ defense and depth overcome the Aces’ star power?
Golden State gave an affirmative answer in Game 1, delivering a complete display of Ballhalla basketball against the defending champions.
The defense locked down an Aces offense that had historically been unbothered by Golden State’s best designs. A’ja Wilson finished with 24 points, albeit on 8-for-21 shooting, while Chelsea Gray was 5-for-14 with 16 points and Jackie Young shot 4-for-15 and scored just 11 points.
Former Ace Kiah Stokes was declared the MVP of the game by head coach Natalie Nakase, praised not only for her persistent work against Wilson but also her effort on the glass. Stokes’ 14 rebounds led the Valkyries overall ownership of the boards, as they outrebounded the Aces 52-25, which included 17 offensive rebounds.
If Stokes was the avatar for the Valkyrie defense, the embodiment of their depth was Aminata Gueye, a late-season addition who only played in the final regular-season game for Golden State. In the first round, she played 10 minutes in the Valkyries’ blowout Game 1 win.
On Sunday, Nakase called her name for 13 minutes, in which she scored nine points, grabbed two rebounds, swiped a pair of steals and swatted a shot.
Gueye garnered well-earned praise for her “fearless” play from Gabby Williams, her teammate with the French national team. Nakase highlighted Gueye’s “energy” and “want to” mentality.
Gueye was one of nine Valkyries who played at least 10 minutes on Sunday, a further testament to the team’s trust in their depth.
That group also included Kaitlyn Chen, whose 22 minutes were the most by any Valkyrie reserve—and more than staring point guard Veronica Burton. Chen offered 11 points, including a late floater over a contest from Wilson, as Golden State outscored Vegas by a game-best 11 points in her minutes.
In contrast to the Valkyries’ 27 total bench points, the Aces received just seven points from their reserves.
On top of that absence of oomph, non-Big 3 starters Brianna Turner and Jewell Loyd offered just two points, with Loyd, who was scoreless, ruled out in the third quarter with a leg injury. She joined an injured list that already included NaLyssa Smith, Dana Evans and Stephanie Talbot, leaving head coach Becky Hammon to resort to Kierstan Bell for 21 minutes.
In addition to providing an exemplary display of their defense and depth, Golden State also won the starpower battle on Sunday.
As the Aces’ experienced trio struggled to meet their high standards, Williams again raised her star bar, scoring 25 points on 18 shots, hitting four 3s, securing 11 rebounds and dishing five assists.
It was a complete performance that inspired Golden State owner Joe Lacob to declare, “Print this: Gabby Williams is the best player in the world.”
That’s an admirable, yet probably unwise, proclamation from Lacob, as he seems unaware of how such perceived slights motivate Wilson. Remember the fourth-place MVP vote?
With Hammon and her stars already disgusted by how Game 1 unfolded, adding further fuel for the response that the defending champs will cook up for their Game 2 response seems ill-advised, if not idiotic.
