To bring title home, Dream must conquer Valkyries at ‘Ballhalla’
SAN FRANCISCO — The Atlanta Dream must win at “Ballhalla” on Saturday to become WNBA champions.
That’s a very cool nickname for the home of the Golden State Valkyries — certainly much better than Chase Center — but there are a couple of things to consider about the moniker.
First, there’s the source material it borrows from.
According to Norse mythology, Valhalla is a place where slain warriors fight each other every day while the god Odin presides. I get the connection with the NBA’s Warriors, who play in the same building, but they’ve been conquered in the myth.
More importantly, unlike the myth of Valhalla, Ballhalla is not legendary. The Valkyries and their venue aren’t old enough to develop much mystique.
Golden State is a second-year expansion team. The team adopted Ballhalla as a “rallying cry” for fans this year. So, it’s not as if the Dream must beat an unconquerable foe at a storied venue.
The Valkyries were 17-5 at home during the regular season, including two victories over the Dream. They won Game 1 of the Finals there, but Atlanta won Game 2 on Golden State’s court.
The Valkyries left State Farm Arena with some momentum after they were much better in the second half of Game 6. Now, they get to play the deciding game of the Finals at Ballhalla. It’s obviously an advantage.
But Golden State guard Veronica Burton cautioned it would take more than that to beat the Dream.
“We feel good,” Burton said. “We feel great … but at the same time, it’s not just going to be handed to us just because we are at Ballhalla. We love Ballhalla. We have the best fans but, at the end of the day, it’s going to be a dogfight.
“We understand that. Both teams want it, and so the mindset is a sense of urgency. It is do-or-die, officially.”
The Valkyries earned home-court advantage in the Finals by finishing two games better than the Dream (they swept the three-game season series). Golden State won five consecutive playoff games at home before losing to the Dream in Game 2 of the Finals.
After the Dream’s loss in Game 1, the AJC’s Lauren Williams reported:
“‘Ballhalla’” lived up to the hype. It was loud. It was raucous, and there was rarely a moment of peace. The Valkyries and their fans never gave the Dream any room to get comfortable.”
The Dream won Game 2 at Golden State by finishing strong. They played their worst game of the series there in Game 5. The Dream tied the series by burying the Valkyries early in Game 6, but that was at State Farm Arena.
The Dream will play for the WNBA championship in front of a crowd that is sure to be rowdier than it’s ever been.
“Luckily, we’ve been able to play there, what, three times now (in the Finals)?” Dream forward Angel Reese said. “So, (the key is) just containing ourselves and containing our emotions and valuing possessions, something we’ve kind of been doing all year.
“I think that the crowd doesn’t really get to us much, but I think, obviously, Game 7 is going to be a lot louder. The energy is going to be electric in there. So, just honestly staying poised, staying together, and I think we’ll be fine.”
The pace of play figures to play a big part in the outcome of Game 7.
The number of possessions in the Finals games won by the Dream were 97, 97 and 94. In the losses, there were 91, 88 and 83 possessions. The Dream scored a series-high 24% of their points on fast breaks during the Game 2 victory at Golden State.
In Game 6, the Dream frequently attacked the paint before Golden State could get set. They created close-range shots or, when the defense collapsed, passed for open 3-pointers. Valkyries coach Nataile Nakase said she sat shot-blocking center Kiah Stokes for Laeticia Amihere because Stokes couldn’t keep up with the pace.
The Dream didn’t push the pace in Game 5. They fixed that issue in Game 6.
“I think the biggest problem is when we’re not playing at our pace, and if the game is at their pace, they have an advantage,” Dream coach Karl Smesko said. “If the game is at our pace, we have an advantage. We have to be just locked into the way we play, and we can’t let them take us out of that.”
Valkyries fans will try to help their team do that, same as in Game 5. “Ballhalla” is a tough place for opponents to play, but it’s not Valhalla. The Valkyries are a great team, but they aren’t gods.
The Dream can conquer them in their home and bring the championship trophy back to Atlanta.
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