"Angel had a great first half. We didn't get her the ball enough." Dream coach Karl Smesko on Angel Reese after the Game 1 loss to Golden State. He said Atlanta drifted into too much one-on-one play in the second half instead of going back to her.
Laeticia Amihere took the second-half defensive assignment on Angel Reese in Golden State's Finals game against the Dream. Natalie Nakase said Amihere was key to the game plan: "LA had great energy." A matchup to watch for Reese's numbers next game.
Golden State's Natalie Nakase didn't commit on Tiffany Hayes after she went down hard late: "Tip's okay... I'll know when medical tells me." Nakase is adding film study "because I want to win this for Tip." Gabby Williams limped; Nakase gave no status: it's the player's call.
Atlanta's Allisha Gray (hand) is a game-time decision. Karl Smesko: "Everything's trending in the right direction, but when the starters are announced at 30 minutes, we'll know for sure." No word on a minutes limit. He called it go or no-go, the doctors' call.
DeWanna Bonner's versatility lets Atlanta use different lineups, Dream coach Karl Smesko said pregame, and her range is meant to pull the Valkyries' defense out from the basket: "She not only shoots the 3, but shoots it from very deep."
Jordin Canada's speed is step two of the Dream's plan against the Valkyries, coach Karl Smesko said pregame. Step one is keeping them from rebounding their own misses. Then the edge is "having somebody like Jordin who can really push the pace."
"She's come to the dark side a little bit." Natalie Nakase says Veronica Burton is cussing like her now, more direct as a Golden State Valkyries leader. Nakase's father cussed her out after games: "his love language was basketball, it was discipline, and it was time."
Tiffany Hayes took rest days to get her mind and body right before the Golden State Valkyries' Finals against the Dream, the team where she made her name: "Much-needed rest days, trying to get ready for this next series."
Keeping Angel Reese off the boards may take more than one Golden State Valkyrie. Tiffany Hayes said the answer to the Dream forward in the Finals is boxing out: "She's definitely going to be harder to box out. You might need a few people to do that."
Gabby Williams, Veronica Burton and Tiffany Hayes are among those who close games for the Golden State Valkyries. Natalie Nakase said her staff builds late-game plays around "what they like at the end" so the closers "feel confident."
"2 baskets, you know, 2 rims, 1 court, the same size. The basketball is the same size." Asked about possibly playing road Finals games in a smaller arena, Natalie Nakase said it does not change the Golden State Valkyries' approach.
"Now this team pays me more, so I go here." Gabby Williams said at Golden State Valkyries media day on Oct. 16 that she was just being truthful. Her "bandwagoners" remark targeted the media, not fans: "If media's praising me now, I don't care."
Natalie Nakase is still getting stops in Golden State Valkyries practice during the Finals. The coach said she held a guard on Oct. 15 and let her hear it: "I said not here, not this time... Like I'm 46 years old, why am I getting that?"
Natalie Nakase takes "full responsibility" for the Golden State Valkyries' injuries last season, practice intensity included. Her fix: "14 players that could produce," mostly two-way. Finals minutes and reps were mapped right after the Vegas series, rest "calculated."