The Valkyries are in a tough spot after losing Thornton. She was truly the team leader at this point in the season, but now it will be up to the youth to keep the team moving forward. The Dream, on the other hand, is one of the most veteran teams around. With a solid record, they will be a challenge for the Valkyries in Golden State tonight.
Kayla Thornton Out
Monique Billings Questionable
Rhyne Howard Out
We’ve seen a lot from the Valkyries, more than I think most expected from a franchise in their first season. However, I believe we’re going to see things take a turn for the worse. With Thornton out for the rest of the year, they lost their team leader in points, rebounds, steals, and blocks. This leaves a significant void on both sides of the court that needs to be filled. There are a few candidates who could step up, though. Janelle Salaun and Iliana Rupert might be the two best suited to fill the gap. Rupert is still very inexperienced, but in her first two games this season, her results have been promising. She was hitting threes, grabbing rebounds, and playing solid defense. Obviously, a young player like Rupert isn’t going to fix everything, but the combination of her and Salaun could do more than people expect. Salaun was already emerging as a breakout player on the team, and now the pair might be the ones to watch moving forward. Either way, for now these are just feel-good stories, and beating the Dream will still be incredibly challenging.
The Dream have been heating up this year. Sitting at 15-10 on the season, they’re in a prime position to make another push to the playoffs. With one of the most electrifying teams in the league, Allisha Gray still managed to stand out on this team. She’s been incredible leading the offense. Especially with Howard missing some time, she’s increased her scoring to make up for the missing minutes. They should have the size and shooting to easily outpace the Valkyrie. Even though the Dream aren’t an extremely efficient offensive group, the Valkyrie have no one close to Gray offensively. I think we’ll see this crew come in and dominate from tipoff. That’s why I have to go with the Atlanta moneyline, the under on the 156 points total, and the -8 Dream spread.
Money line: GSV (+285) / ATL (-360)
Total Points: 156
Spread: +8 GSV (-115) / -8 ATL (-105)
Salaun remains one of my favorite players on this Valkyrie squad. She’s experienced some ups and downs, but with Thornton out for the rest of the season, this is her chance to step up. After a great game against the Wings and a mediocre game against the Sun recently, she’s been inconsistent. Averaging 10 points per game, it really depends on whether her three-point shot is falling. But with a 37% three-point percentage so far this year, I believe the over on 12.5 is a solid bet.
Even though Griner is further along in her career, she can still be effective in the post. She’s averaging 11 points a game, with a 22-point performance in her last outing. Especially now that Thornton is out, I think we’ll see a significant drop in the Valkyries' defense. If that happens, expect the Dream to feed the post all night, allowing Griner to dominate down low.
This looks like an easy line to take tonight. Canada absolutely destroys teams like the Valkyries. She’s averaging 5.3 assists per game and had 9 the last time she faced the Valk. In July, she only had two games with fewer than 6 assists. My only concern about this line is if it’s a blowout, but with Canada averaging 28 minutes per game, I believe she’ll get solid playing time tonight either way.