That week-long break between the WNBA semifinals and the start of the WNBA Finals?
That now seems ages ago for the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries.
After two games in San Francisco, the series shifts across the country to Atlanta, with Game 3 (8 p.m. ET, USA Network/CNBC) occurring a day earlier than originally scheduled to allow State Farm Arena, with a capacity of around 17,000, to serve as the site instead of Gateway Center Arena, which has a capacity of around 3,500.
The Dream will be expecting
an extra jolt of energy from the Atlanta faithful. As Angel Reese declared after her Game 2 masterclass, “Atlanta y’all better pull up and pop out.”
Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase emphasized the importance of rest and recovery, noting that the cross-country plane ride would serve as an opportunity for her players to attend to their physical and mental needs.
The quick turnaround, in combination with both teams’ defense-first identities, suggests Game 3, like both Games 1 and 2, probably won’t be pretty.
After both teams struggled to find the bottom of the next in Game 1, they were not much more successful in Game 2. The Dream and Valkyries put up matching 34-percent shooting performances from the field, with Golden State shooting just a notch better, 29 percent to 28 percent, from downtown. Atlanta also attempted just 62 shots to Golden State’s 61, another indication of the degree to which defenses are dictating this series.
Following Game 2, Nakase expressed her utter lack of surprise by these trends, basically suggesting, “Duh! These a great defenses.”
The determinative factor, then, is whether the disciplined defense or the disruptive defense wins the day.
Discipline took Game 1. Disruption grabbed Game 2.
In Game 3, which team will establish the edge? Will things again swing back in Golden State’s favor, with the Valkyries, now the more desperate team, restoring their defensive principles and reclaiming control of the series? Or, did the Dream unlock their disruption machine, ready to again unleash it in Atlanta?
Can a disciplined Valkyrie defense disrupt Angel Reese?
For Golden State, their recommitment to discipline will likely begin with an even more detailed game plan for Reese.
Prior to Game 2, Nakase, when asked about how the Valkyries aimed to replicate the success they had containing Reese in Game 1, replied:
Don’t let her touch it … She’s a tough coverage … it’s gonna be (a) team-based (defense) …. Looking forward to our best four quarters of defense today … it better be.
Needless to say, Angel didn’t just get her touches. She authored an epic WNBA Finals performance, demanding the ball and delivering dominance with a 30-point and 16-rebound double.
Even as she proscribed rest and recovery for her players, you can bet Nakase, a proud “basketball sicko,” will spend every moment devising strategies and schemes to slow down Reese.
To do so, will she have to abandon one of the Valkyries’ defining ethos, “Strength in Numbers”?
Nakase seems to have real trust in six players in her rotation. Among the starting group, there’s Gabby Williams, Veronica Burton and Kiah Stokes. From the bench, she has shown consistent belief in Tiffany Hayes, Kaila Charles and Kaitlyn Chen. (Still, as Beckett Harrison noted, this trust hasn’t translated to the kind of minute totals usually expected of key players, especially as Williams and Burton remained under the 30-minute threshold in Game 2.)
Her faith in starters Kayla Thornton and Cecilia Zandalasini has wavered, while Sixth Player of the Year Janelle Salaün has been consigned to a few courtesy minutes. After some solid contributions in Game 1, Nakase also went away from Laeticia Amihere in Game 2.
Those decisions are justified, demanded by the challenges posed by the Dream.
With the exception of small-but-sprightly Chen, Nakase is prioritizing her best athletes. The Dream rotation is stocked with plus athletes, forcing Nakase to rely on only those who possess the requisite combination of strength, length, speed, quickness and size. Otherwise, Atlanta, and especially Reese, is equipped to expose any vulnerabilities.
It will be interesting to monitor if Nakase elects to lean further into the group that seems best suited for this series. Or, will she once again conjure a magic touch, tapping an unexpected contributor who comes through for Golden State?
It’s the magic of Nakase vs. the motivation of Reese, with the Golden State head coach preaching discipline as the Dream superstar aims to disrupt her best-laid plans.
In the comments, let us know how you think this battle, as well as other matchups, will play out in Game 3.
