Date, Time, and Location: Friday, June 19th, 7:00pm, Chase Center
Broadcast Information: ION (full national) and WNBA League Pass (streaming)
The Golden State Valkyries finishes their current homestand on Friday when they host the Minnesota Lynx. Their opponents have continued their strong start to the season after hosting the Valkyries in Minneapolis and prevailing as Golden State looks for their first win against them again. The game will be on ION like other Friday games and it is the only game in that timeslot, so it will be carried nationally.
The Valkyries
Golden State has another clean initial injury report as there continues to be one day of rest between games. In the last meeting between the teams, the Valkyries were still using a ten-player rotation with their smallball lineup. Minnesota is happier playing smallball groupings themselves so they are likely to be matched on that regard. The question will be whether the tighter nine-player rotation will be used again and whether any minutes are adjusted based on recent games. Cecilia Zandalasini was the leading score in the last matchup against her former team, but has seen her minutes dwindle in recent games, so deciding whether to continue to give her the starts to try to find her shot again will affect minutes for others.
The Opposition
The Lynx ran their winning streak to eight games with two more victories after defeating the Valkyries, but had it ended with a close loss in Las Vegas. That result ended up eliminating them from Commissioner’s Cup contention. They did win their next two games, including rolling in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Olivia Miles was even more unstoppable in that game than she was in the game against Golden State, but did more damage by getting to the basket than from distance. The defensive gameplan against her will be critical to getting a different result this time. Minnesota has not made any moves since that game and there is no new injury news for them as Napheesa Collier and Dorka Juhasz are not ready to return.
Leave a Reply