Janelle Salaün can shine brightly among the Golden State Valkyries because she has the ability to overcome the circumstances of their offense right now. She has the “it” factor.
It’s the same thing star forward Gabby Williams has and it’s the same thing franchise point guard Veronica Burton has. And the way Salaün expresses that “it” factor is in her unparalleled tough shotmaking, which was on full display in the Valkyries 76-72 win over the struggling Seattle Storm.
After Golden State fell behind by 11 points early in the second quarter, with the offense rolling into the same tepid stagnation that’s plagued them throughout the season, it was Salaün coming off the bench and hitting deadeye shot after deadeye shot to drag the Valkyries’ offense back to life.
It didn’t matter if there was a hand in her face or a defender in her airspace. Salaün nailed tough jumper after tough jumper, an incredible visual representation of both her undeniable elite shotmaking talent and the Valkyries’ frustratingly difficult life living with the second-worst shot quality in the WNBA.
Because for every “no, no, yes” shot Salaün drained on her way to 22 points on 6-of-16 FGs, there were countless possessions from the other Valkyries, excluding Williams, who added in 19 points, in which they couldn’t overcome the Storm players up in their grill.
Possessions that ended in hand grenade misses at the blaring of the shot clock. Possessions in which three players stood idly by as the other two navigated a pick-and-roll that Seattle was loading up on. And stretches in which the Valkyries could generate nothing of value on offense, hence why they went 1-of-16 in the fourth quarter and almost allowed the Storm to complete a 15-point comeback.
To put it simply, the Valkyries have a shot quality problem. Which in turn means they have an offensive scheme problem because that is one of the best ways to generate open looks. And while Salaün is great enough to overcome it at times, a game like this is proof enough that sooner or later, it’s going to haunt them.
What the Valkyries think about their clunky offense right now
However, if you ask Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase if she believes they have shot quality issues with their offense right now, she’ll tell you they don’t. At least publicly. Post-game, Nakase said that she was content with the looks Golden State generated in their 1-for-16 fourth quarter.
“I was fine with it,” Nakase answered. “I think the way we closed, we were getting layups. We accidentally just smoked them, you know? And that’s okay.”
Later in her press conference, Nakase doubled down on her feelings about the offense when asked if their habit of falling into offensive droughts like the one in the fourth quarter is cause for concern.
“No,” Nakase said, rejecting any notion that it’s concerning that the team’s offense is prone to dry spells. “At the end of the day, the score was 76-72. So when we walk away with the dub, there’s so many things that we can take from this and learn from this.”
And even when pressed to describe some of the problems in the fourth that almost led to the Storm stealing this game for the Valkyries, Nakase remained defiant in her belief about the offense, choosing to focus on the positives.
“No problem. I just thought again, we closed really well,” Nakase said once again. “We ended with our defense again. When it doesn’t fall, it doesn’t fall again. I would love to shoot 100%, and we’re still working on that. But it’s more, for me, the way we finish. We closed, we relied on our defense, and that’s where I feel like we’re very confident in.”
What to make of Golden State right now
To Nakase’s credit, the Valkyries did find ways to win this game, even if they almost blew their big lead. Tiffany Hayes nailed some big free throws. Kiah Stokes came up with some huge blocks, including one on Natisha Hiedeman’s 3-point attempt that could have tied the game.
But it’s impossible to ignore the offensive woes the Valkyries demonstrated versus this 3-12 Seattle team. Even if their head coach is saying she is not concerned by the issues that led to, again, a 1-of-16 fourth quarter.
So in the end, Salaün’s unbelievable shotmaking is the perfect metaphor for where the Valkyries are at right now. Like Salaün, they are more than capable of overcoming the hand in their face to get a positive result. They’ve shown that with their defense, their composure, and their ability to find ways to win.
But that hand in their face is self-inflicted. Salaün doesn’t have to be shooting these deadeye, high-degree-of-difficulty threes if their offense could find a way to smooth itself out in the halfcourt. The Valkyries don’t have to find these intensely clutch plays, like a rabbit out of a hat, if they don’t put themselves in a position where their offensive woes are fueling these furious comeback attempts.
The problem with Golden State’s offense right now is that they’re making it hard on themselves. Whether that be the lack of off-ball movement in the half court or the tendency to devolve into end-of-shot-clock isolations, everything is far too difficult right now.
And like watching Salaün rising up over a defender draped all over her, it’s undeniably impressive to watch the Valkyries eke out these clutch-time wins. For some people, it’s fun to watch this kind of basketball.
But ultimately, this tightrope act between tough shot making and even tougher shot quality is unsustainable. Because other than Salaün, Williams, and sometimes Burton, the rest of the Valkyries are not the kind of deadeyes who can nail shot after shot with a hand in their face.
And that’s fine. They have other great skills and offensive abilities. But at some point, Golden State has to change something about its offense before it truly burns them.
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