WNBA Finals Game 7 predictions: Will the Dream or Valkyries win their first title on Saturday? — SkimNews
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- Atlanta Dream forced the first Game 7 in WNBA Finals history by winning Game 6 over the Golden State Valkyries 80-69 after taking a 25-point first-half lead and holding on for an 11-point victory.
- Golden State Valkyries won the second half by nine points and cut a 25-point deficit to nine with just over a minute remaining before their Game 6 loss.
- Rhyne Howard averaged 19 points over the final four games of the Finals, while Allisha Gray scored 23 points in Game 6 despite playing with only eight healthy fingers following a semifinal injury.
- Gibbs picked Atlanta in seven, citing his confidence in Angel Reese, Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray to generate offense in decisive moments.
- Maloney picked Golden State in Game 7, arguing that its elite defense favors a slow, physical winner-take-all game; only the 2019 Washington Mystics reached 80 points in the previous five such Finals games.
- Golden State Valkyries shot 34.5% from the field and 26.4% from three in the Finals, compared with Atlanta’s 37.2% and 28.5%.
- Natalie Nakase, the Valkyries coach, called for an “empty-the-tank mentality” after Golden State failed to match Atlanta’s urgency in Game 6, when the Dream scored 32 first-quarter points on six 3-pointers.
Why it matters: Saturday’s winner will earn its first title in the WNBA’s first Finals Game 7. Atlanta’s 19-point recent average and better shooting contrast with Golden State’s defense, which held Atlanta to 48 points on 16-of-47 shooting in Game 6 on the road.
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