The Atlanta Dream have dominated the WNBA Finals by turning it into their kind of battle. The team leads the series against the Golden State Valkyries 2-1, and they’re working on making sure that the Valkyries feel every bit of their intensity. After losing the series opener, Atlanta has won back-to-back games, and Reese is now embracing a psychological contest that goes beyond the scoreboard.
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“I think it’s a mental game,” Reese said during a team practice ahead of Game 4.
“They’re playing into my mental game where I can take their confidence and just try to do whatever to mess them up. I think you can see it in their emotions, in their facial expressions. A lot of us are looking at that, too. Making sure we can find any little thing to get our edge and have leverage over them. I think all of us are looking at that… Looking at those small things that can give us a bit more of an edge.”
Reese’s approach fits into a series where Atlanta’s defensive pressure has created clear problems for Golden State. The Dream forced 19 turnovers in Game 2, converting them into 24 points, and did something similar in Game 3, forcing another 17 turnovers. They won both games, first by 79-65 and then by 97-71, with Reese contributing 30 points and 16 rebounds in Game 2 and 21 points and 12 rebounds in Game 3.
However, that advantage isn’t limited to the court. Reese and the Dream read their opponents’ moves and emotions to find gaps in their play, and according to the opponents themselves, that has taken the Valkyries out of their comfort zone by forcing them to play in an unfamiliar style.
“I think we were a bit undisciplined on the defense, but we’ll have to go back and watch what we need to adjust,” Valkyries star Gabby Williams said after the team’s Game 3 loss.
“Sometimes shots don’t fall. We don’t like to make it about offense. They scored 97. We have no chance. We have to go back to our defense and that will get our offense going.”
The Valkyries’ defense has been their superpower most of the season. Over the regular season, that defense, which ranked first in the league, led them to the second seed and to wins over established stars like Paige Bueckers and A’ja Wilson in the playoffs.
That defense hasn’t been able to contain the Dream, who have averaged 80 points per game against them. That’s five more points allowed per game for the Valkyries compared to the regular season, when they logged a league-best 75.1 points allowed per game.
The other factor contributing to the Valkyries’ struggles lies in Atlanta’s defense. Led by Reese, who won the Defensive Player of the Year award, Atlanta has logged the best defensive rating in the postseason at 96.4 and forced Williams into a horrible shooting stretch.
Williams, who shot 44.9% from the field and 40.5% from three over the first two rounds, has been contained to 29.1% from the field on 55 shots, completely blocking the generation of any offense for the team.
As the Atlanta prepares for Game 4 at home, Reese isn’t worried. During the same practice, she noted that the site of the game had made her confident in their ability.
“Ballhalla doesn’t intimidate me'” Reese said.
“I feel like if I was on the other side and I was coming to Atlanta, it would be a little intimidating to see all these people.”
With Atlanta chasing their first championship in franchise history, Reese has established that she has enjoyed the mental back-and-forth with the Valkyries. All that’s left for the team is to convert that confidence into a win, and that confidence will be a clear X-factor as Reese looks to define the next era of Hawks basketball.