Dream Show Out in "Day Game", Force First Ever Game 7;
Which Team will Win Their First WNBA Championship? Keys To Victory
by Deon Cash
When the 2027 WNBA Finals was presented, the Atlanta Dream was supposed to play the Golden State Valkryies in their normal comfortable arena they had played in all year.
However, once the realization hit that the Dream literally made the WNBA Finals, the whole vibe changed. In the locker room, in the front office, and especially, in the city.
Atlanta likes to do it big. So would the ATL play in their beautiful, cozy gym that they had hooped in all season? Or would they try to upgrade?
The feeling around the "A" and in the front office was that they needed a bigger venue. This is the Finals after all right? Most felt like they needed to play in State Farm Arena.
So, the NBA jumped in, the city spoke, and poof:
The Atlanta Dream would play in State Farm for the WNBA Finals.
T-Pain Performing at WNBA Finals in ATL
The one caviat that would be a small issue: the Atlanta Hawks start the NBA season the same week as the Finals. So the previously projected schedule made by the WNBA would be shaken up.
When it was all said and done, the Dream had to play a final home game, moving the entire schedule a day early. Then on top of that, they would have to play at 12:30 in the afternoon to survive the series, as they were down to the Valkyries 3-2 in the "best of 7" series.
While initially the time change was looked at as a negative, it became a huge positive for the ATL as the ladies came to play early, often, and gave the city something to hoot and holler about for 2 hours on a Thursday afternoon.
Rhine Howard was on fire early, which was a huge boost early for the team. Then Alicia Gray caught fire, and it seemed like everyone was hitting on all cylinders. Angel Reese, the MVP of the Dream so far in the Finals, found her groove as well, after being bottled up the last two games. Reese was in attack mode all day long.
Meanwhile, Golden State, fresh off losing a day of rest due to the schedule change, was off balance the entire first half. The only players who found a rhythm was the guard and Zandasaria, who then went cold the rest of the game.
At half, Atlanta was up nearly 20 points.
The game was almost over. The stars had came through on and off the court. The energy was turnt up, extreme and all for the ATL.
The Valkryies found the range in the 2nd half, but it was too little, too late. They did scrap and get the lead to under double digits, but the Dream had did exactly what they wanted. Atlanta started fast, pushed through the stifling defense of the Valkryies and kept Golden State on their heels all game.
"We want to thank the city for coming out to support us on a weekday. Reese stated after the game."
Now the Dream and Valkyries will ready themselves for one final game. Game 7.
The first ever in WNBA history.
Here are the keys for both teams to hoist their 1st WNBA Championship.
GOLDEN STATE
The Valkryies defense leads to their offense. There is no other team that can lock up a opponent better than Golden State. The better they play, the more it fuels them offensively. They also need their scorers to get off early. Set the tone. The crowd will be numbing, so it will be in their advantage. They will need their wing players to score, while they need their bigs to keep Reese and co. off the boards and scoring inside.
Burton, Williams, Hayes, and Zandalasini are huge factors offensively and they need at least 2 of these ladies to put up 15-20 each along with the role players to make buckets as well.
ATLANTA
The ATL need their BIG 3 to be strong offensively. They need Reese and Howard to provide the extra offense to go with Gray, especially early in the game. They also need some timely scoring off the bench. Usually someone off the bench will have a big game for a road team to win, in a game of this magnitude.
It's also important for them to not get boggled down early in the game. They have 3 of the best defenders in the league at their positions.
Reese said it in her interview.
"If we punch first, it seems like we win the game."
Regardless, it has been a great series, with both teams having to adjust to unusual circumstances involving such a huge stage. Tonight, a champion will be crowned. And with it, maybe the start of a new era in the WNBA.
Follow S.E.Live365 ATL for more info on the WNBA Finals. Special Thanks to L.A. Photos.
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