WNBA is definitely on the rise. The WNBA league pass is such great value at $35. Big thanks to Caitlin Clark for bringing a lot of attention to the game.
Looks like Sellers was just cut by Atlanta. Strange... either she's not 100% after her injury, or she just doesn't have the motor. Her game at Maryland was very smooth -lots of skill and finesse. But I noticed that she does not play with pace or physicality.
Chicago just cut former UC Davis player Morgan Bertsch. I wish the Valks can pick her up. She's a 6 ft 4, 3pt shooting big with experience. Similar to Trey Lyles. She can volume-shoot 3s as a pick and pop big for spacing.
I'm still hoping Valks can somehow land Lucy Olsen if the Mystics waive her. Lucy can create her own shot. She's got that Chris Paul mid-range jumper with a high-release point.
Sellers getting cut is bad for her career, but a good sign that GSV didn’t muff up training camp. (Yes, they by definition muffed up the #17 pick but some of that can be chalked up to the absurd lack of time between the WNBA Draft and end of college.)
In the W, a second round pick making the team nowadays is more the exception rather than the norm. There's so much talent and not enough teams / roster spots. I remember 2021 when there was a player from Texas - Charlie Collier - a 6 ft 5 C who scored 50 in a game. She was the overall #1 pick. But she didn't get much playing time in her rookie season, and I believe she was cut after 1 or 2 seasons. She's now playing in the WNBL in Australia. It's common for 2nd rounders to not find a roster, and common for first rounders to be cut after just one season.
Come to think of it, the Valks should look into Charlie Collier. Maybe she has improved in Australia.
I appreciate you giving NBA comps, too, for all these players, Arnold! It at least gives me visual for play style and skill if anything since I'm totally new to the the WNBA and its players. I'm sure there are fans who would prefer you stick with WNBA comps, but as someone who's like Run_TMC and needed a team to root for, the NBA was my only reference. Thanks!
So being totally new to WNBA games (I need a team to root for and now I have one) I don't really know any of the players so pretty much all my opinion is based on 2 pre season games. In other words my opinion is totally worthless :).
I have been much more thrilled with the bench than the starters outside of Fágbénlé and it's hard to see how they don't keep Amihere, Leite and Touré and if they don't keep Vanloo I might just stop watching.
However, I am wondering to myself how much they really want to win this year. Look, if they can really compete this year at a high level, great, but while they seem to have picked up a reasonable amount of talent for a brand new team, it doesn't appear to be top flight and it feels like making the playoffs would be a long shot. Worst case scenario would be barely miss the playoffs and don't get a good draft pick either. Fells like one possible play would be to use the park-em-in-europe strategy on whomever they can, keep whomever they can't park (this way Chen maybe makes it making a lot of fans happy), go 12 deep to get experience and also hopefully not win very much. That way they add a top 3 pick to their oodles of cap room (when the cap goes up and all the FAs are waiting for) try to insta transform into a real contender in year 2.
Being a basketball junkie, I've been following the WNBA for a decade and have an idea of the players' talent level around the league. From the roster construction, I don't believe they're trying to compete for a playoff spot this season.
The roster they put together is like the 2019-2020 Warriors when Steph and Klay were injured. By early December, Bob Myers was already in Australia scouting LaMelo Ball. The tank was in -- Kerr was trying to get players to play Kerr-ball. Play the right way, motion offense, split cuts, try to keep games competitive by playing scrappy - but lose in the end. That's how I see this season unfolding with the current roster.
The only problem with tanking this season is that there's also one team that is clearly tanking - Washington Mystics. There's also no clear-cut superstar coming out of the draft next spring (local talent not sure about international) The past 2 seasons - there's Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers. Olivia Miles is good, but she's not on Caitlin, nor Paige's level. I don't think Juju Watkins nor Sarah Strong is qualified for the draft yet next April. Lauren Betts is dominant in the college level because of her sheer size. But she'll be playing against bigger, stronger, faster bigs in the W. We already saw one yesterday in Kalani Brown. There are many other skilled bigs like Griner, Tina Charles, Malonga, Jonquel Jones, Teaira McCowan, Aaliyah Boston, Mercedes Russell, Li Yueru, Nyara Sabally. In other words, Lauren Betts' superpower of being the tallest big in most college matchups won't translate in the W.
In college, when the ball is force-fed to Lauren Betts in the post, she will probably score using her sheer size advantage unless she's double-teamed because she's just bigger and stronger. But in the W, that power is negated. She'll be defended by bigs who are as tall or strong as her, so there's no need to double.
The pick is definitely an incentive. But I would guess that the wide-open FA market makes it more possible to have a great Year 2 team than in any other year, and they can attract someone better by being an exciting team that does well for an expansion team.
So my guess is that they try their best to win and wherever they land, they land.
OT I don’t suppose I’m the only one who doesn’t realize that sound engineers, when working with basketball games, put microphones right on the floor. This is to pick up the sound of the shoes squeaking on the court. Research suggests that the squeaking sound energizes the crowd.
Sometimes, although you see a group of players running up the court, you will only hear one sound of squeaky sneakers. Your brain automatically assumes that you are hearing sounds from all the players’ sneakers.
Very good write-up, Eric. Good observation on the starters struggling to score against opposing starter players. Breaking down the projected starting 5 -- Tip Hayes was a former all-star back in the day. She's the best shot creator if it's 2018. But Tip is 35 yrs old now. The level of competition has gone up the past 5 years. Teams are bigger, faster, stronger. Tip is still crafty and will knock down open 3s, but she's at her best when there's another star player that's attracting the defensive attention.
Veronica Burton is an excellent defender. But she's not a play-creator off the dribble. Her game is more similar to Pat Beverley. She's a pesky POA defender. Can shoot the 3 if wide open. But she's not a scoring guard at the WNBA level.
Kayla Thornton is an elite-level 3 and D. She defends 1 to 4 with physicality and can make 3s from kick-outs. A good comparison would be prime PJ Tucker.
Fagbenle is a versatile big - but she's not a true center / rim protector. Her game is more similar to Dario Saric last season. A bit of jack-of-all-trades, but not elite at anything.
Monique Billings might be the best scorer in the starting 5. Her game is similar to David West. More mid-range / post up.
As currently constructed, the Valks' best strategy is to make games into a rock-fight. Constant scrappy, tenacious defense. Try to get stops and score in transition. But the team will struggle to get good-quality shots against a set, half-court defense.
It seems the only shooter out there last night was Touré who is not expected to make the team. Linskens shot well (inter Alia);in the first game, but she is also not expected to make the team.
One possibility is to swap Vanloo into the starting lineup and possibly Leite in the future (and Jocyte in the farther future). That *might* mess up the defense of the starters ... for all their misses, they were right in the game. I don't know if this swap would be politically possible either.
Not a great fan of the starting five yet, but they played surprisingly well together.. And it’s great to see Thornton playing fast and hard. She had a more set, slower role for the Liberty. And on any given day, she can go off on threes from the sides. Sorry I don’t know all the terms from basketball.
I think putting Vanloo in the starting lineup in place of Burton might be possible if they're not competitive (they get blown out a lot) after 5 games. Vanloo reminds me of Kings rookie Jason Williams but without the audacity to score / volume-shoot. Vanloo's vision is elite. She'll knock down 3s if open. But she needs finishers.
I'd start her. She's very fun to watch, and will energize the crowd.
She could run pick and rolls with Tami Fagbenle or Monique Billings, kick out to Tip Hayes or Kayla Thornton for corner 3s. But experienced teams will play Vanloo for the pass and dare her to score --- which is not Vanloo's strength.
Starting Vanloo will still be entertaining. She'll wow the crowd with some no-look passes and play with pace.
Marine Johannes plays in a similar way, but unlike Vanloo - Marine will volume-shoot and score. Marine is a more accurate Jason Williams comparison. Vanloo might be more Kendall Marshall or Jamaal Tinsley. Elite passer, but prefers not to shoot unless last resort.
Since at least one of you was asking about the GSV medical staff:
GOLDEN STATE VALKYRIES ANNOUNCE KAISER PERMANENTE TEAM PHYSICIANS
Kaiser Permanente Physicians Will Provide Comprehensive Medical Care And Support
OAKLAND, Calif. - The Golden State Valkyries and Kaiser Permanente announced today the appointment of two Kaiser Permanente San Francisco physicians, Mary Apiafi Moore, MD, and David Ding, MD, as official team physicians for the inaugural season.
Dr. Moore received her medical degree from St. George’s University and completed a Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health, and earned an MBA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. A graduate of San Diego State University, with a degree in Kinesiology, Dr. Moore played basketball for the Aztecs before embarking on a professional career in Europe and suited up for the Nigerian National Team. Dr. Moore is a member of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM), as well as the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPM&R).
Dr. Ding is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine and is currently a team physician for the Golden State Warriors. He obtained degrees in Biomedical Engineering and Biology from Washington University in St. Louis before earning his medical degree from the Washington University School of Medicine. He completed Orthopedic Surgery residency at the New York University Langone Medical Center and his Sports Medicine and Shoulder Fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco. He is currently the Chief of Orthopedic Surgery at Kaiser Permanente San Francisco, Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM), as well as a proud dad of three girls.
The Valkyries and Kaiser Permanente partnership reflects a shared vision of providing high-quality specialized care for athletes at every level. Beyond providing care to the team, Kaiser Permanente is the presenting partner of the Valkyries' inaugural season and continues its longstanding commitment to keeping our communities healthy through engagement in Bay Area sports. Drs. Moore and Ding, and Kaiser Permanente sports medicine specialists, will work closely with the Valkyries performance staff to provide comprehensive medical care and support to the team's health initiatives both on and off the court.
“Though the Valkyries shot just 34.7% from the field overall and were outrebounded 46–33, their bench delivered a much-needed lift again. French guards Migna Touré (19 points on 7-for-13 shooting) and Carla Leite (11 points, 4-for-7) led the scoring charge. Veteran point guard Julie Vanloo, who did not start either preseason game despite being the most experienced starter on the roster from last season, was a +11 in 18 minutes with 6 points and 6 assists.”
Ingemi, SFC
So far the high scorers have been Touré, Linskens, and Amihere, none of which is currently considered a shoe in for the final roster.
Valks don't have players who can create their own shot off the bounce. Big difference in talent level if you watch Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas. Mercury also have Kaleah Copper- another elite player.
Amihere will probably get the 12th spot.
From what I remember, Stephanie Talbot is also a 3 and D type of wing. Similar to Kate Martin.
What is your definition of create her own shot? Does it mean that if Thornton dribbles up towards the basket, sees no one to pass to, then takes the jumpshot…… Is that creating her own shot?
What I mean by create her own shot = In single coverage (one on one) - a player will get a good-quality shot unless double-teamed. Or, if a pick and roll is run, that player will be able to generate a good-quality shot.
Here are some examples... If the Lynx's Napheesa Collier gets the ball in isolation against a single defender, she will get a good quality shot. If given any space, her face-up shot is high-percentage. If you close her out, she'll drive. Against a smaller defender, she'll back the defender down and get a high-percentage shot. To stop Phee, you need to send help. That's when role players are able to cut or pop to get open.
Caitlin Clark = if she runs a high pick and roll, a good quality shot will get generated unless you send help. Either she'll knock down a 3, or get to the rim, or find the rolling big. Either way, it causes the defense to scramble. This generates open looks for your role players.
Same thing with Phoenix - if Satou Sabally runs a high pick and roll, a good quality shot will get generated unless you send help.
With NY Liberty - if Jonquel Jones or Stewie (Breanna Stewart) gets the ball in isolation, they're going to get a good shot up. And if they have shooters like Sabrina, Fiebich to space the floor, you can't send a double-team.
The Valks don't have a player on offense that commands a double-team. If I were coaching against the Valks, I'll just ask all defenders to "stay home" and make them shoot over you. They also don't have players who can make the defense scramble by running pick and rolls. There's no player to "fear".
Final roster announced in new thread. See you over there!
Is there a specific time that teams have to finalize their rosters before season officially starts?
I don’t see a specific time in the WNBA CBA. It just says 12 players max on the roster “for the season”.
ARTICLE XXXIII.4
https://www.wnbpa.com/_files/ugd/575289_1904d7b630624d93a59a904e0d5abffb.pdf
Thanks for digging. Guess we’ll find out by tip-off Friday!
Leite is skipping EuroBasket! One of Ohemaa's bets paying off
https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/article/valkyries-rookie-carla-leite-skip-eurobasket-20325428.php
I take this as a positive step towards players buying in and embracing the culture of our new team. Exciting!
Wahoooooo!
MT2 portrait of Coach Nakase: https://bsky.app/profile/theathletic.bsky.social/post/3lp32dagctk2x
OT: The LA Sparks are refunding season tickets...so they can resell them at a higher rate. That's quite ballsy
How is that even legal?
Private entities I guess. Bad for business but I'm not sure there's anything that could be considered illegal about it.
That's wild and really sucky.
WNBA is definitely on the rise. The WNBA league pass is such great value at $35. Big thanks to Caitlin Clark for bringing a lot of attention to the game.
Looks like Sellers was just cut by Atlanta. Strange... either she's not 100% after her injury, or she just doesn't have the motor. Her game at Maryland was very smooth -lots of skill and finesse. But I noticed that she does not play with pace or physicality.
Chicago just cut former UC Davis player Morgan Bertsch. I wish the Valks can pick her up. She's a 6 ft 4, 3pt shooting big with experience. Similar to Trey Lyles. She can volume-shoot 3s as a pick and pop big for spacing.
I'm still hoping Valks can somehow land Lucy Olsen if the Mystics waive her. Lucy can create her own shot. She's got that Chris Paul mid-range jumper with a high-release point.
Sellers getting cut is bad for her career, but a good sign that GSV didn’t muff up training camp. (Yes, they by definition muffed up the #17 pick but some of that can be chalked up to the absurd lack of time between the WNBA Draft and end of college.)
In the W, a second round pick making the team nowadays is more the exception rather than the norm. There's so much talent and not enough teams / roster spots. I remember 2021 when there was a player from Texas - Charlie Collier - a 6 ft 5 C who scored 50 in a game. She was the overall #1 pick. But she didn't get much playing time in her rookie season, and I believe she was cut after 1 or 2 seasons. She's now playing in the WNBL in Australia. It's common for 2nd rounders to not find a roster, and common for first rounders to be cut after just one season.
Come to think of it, the Valks should look into Charlie Collier. Maybe she has improved in Australia.
Man, that's really rough for her.
I appreciate you giving NBA comps, too, for all these players, Arnold! It at least gives me visual for play style and skill if anything since I'm totally new to the the WNBA and its players. I'm sure there are fans who would prefer you stick with WNBA comps, but as someone who's like Run_TMC and needed a team to root for, the NBA was my only reference. Thanks!
So being totally new to WNBA games (I need a team to root for and now I have one) I don't really know any of the players so pretty much all my opinion is based on 2 pre season games. In other words my opinion is totally worthless :).
I have been much more thrilled with the bench than the starters outside of Fágbénlé and it's hard to see how they don't keep Amihere, Leite and Touré and if they don't keep Vanloo I might just stop watching.
However, I am wondering to myself how much they really want to win this year. Look, if they can really compete this year at a high level, great, but while they seem to have picked up a reasonable amount of talent for a brand new team, it doesn't appear to be top flight and it feels like making the playoffs would be a long shot. Worst case scenario would be barely miss the playoffs and don't get a good draft pick either. Fells like one possible play would be to use the park-em-in-europe strategy on whomever they can, keep whomever they can't park (this way Chen maybe makes it making a lot of fans happy), go 12 deep to get experience and also hopefully not win very much. That way they add a top 3 pick to their oodles of cap room (when the cap goes up and all the FAs are waiting for) try to insta transform into a real contender in year 2.
Being a basketball junkie, I've been following the WNBA for a decade and have an idea of the players' talent level around the league. From the roster construction, I don't believe they're trying to compete for a playoff spot this season.
The roster they put together is like the 2019-2020 Warriors when Steph and Klay were injured. By early December, Bob Myers was already in Australia scouting LaMelo Ball. The tank was in -- Kerr was trying to get players to play Kerr-ball. Play the right way, motion offense, split cuts, try to keep games competitive by playing scrappy - but lose in the end. That's how I see this season unfolding with the current roster.
The only problem with tanking this season is that there's also one team that is clearly tanking - Washington Mystics. There's also no clear-cut superstar coming out of the draft next spring (local talent not sure about international) The past 2 seasons - there's Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers. Olivia Miles is good, but she's not on Caitlin, nor Paige's level. I don't think Juju Watkins nor Sarah Strong is qualified for the draft yet next April. Lauren Betts is dominant in the college level because of her sheer size. But she'll be playing against bigger, stronger, faster bigs in the W. We already saw one yesterday in Kalani Brown. There are many other skilled bigs like Griner, Tina Charles, Malonga, Jonquel Jones, Teaira McCowan, Aaliyah Boston, Mercedes Russell, Li Yueru, Nyara Sabally. In other words, Lauren Betts' superpower of being the tallest big in most college matchups won't translate in the W.
In college, when the ball is force-fed to Lauren Betts in the post, she will probably score using her sheer size advantage unless she's double-teamed because she's just bigger and stronger. But in the W, that power is negated. She'll be defended by bigs who are as tall or strong as her, so there's no need to double.
We so much appreciate that you are sharing your knowledge with us, dedicated GSV neophytes. Please keep it up.
The pick is definitely an incentive. But I would guess that the wide-open FA market makes it more possible to have a great Year 2 team than in any other year, and they can attract someone better by being an exciting team that does well for an expansion team.
So my guess is that they try their best to win and wherever they land, they land.
Ditto
OT I don’t suppose I’m the only one who doesn’t realize that sound engineers, when working with basketball games, put microphones right on the floor. This is to pick up the sound of the shoes squeaking on the court. Research suggests that the squeaking sound energizes the crowd.
Sometimes, although you see a group of players running up the court, you will only hear one sound of squeaky sneakers. Your brain automatically assumes that you are hearing sounds from all the players’ sneakers.
On Looking, A. Horowitz
Very good write-up, Eric. Good observation on the starters struggling to score against opposing starter players. Breaking down the projected starting 5 -- Tip Hayes was a former all-star back in the day. She's the best shot creator if it's 2018. But Tip is 35 yrs old now. The level of competition has gone up the past 5 years. Teams are bigger, faster, stronger. Tip is still crafty and will knock down open 3s, but she's at her best when there's another star player that's attracting the defensive attention.
Veronica Burton is an excellent defender. But she's not a play-creator off the dribble. Her game is more similar to Pat Beverley. She's a pesky POA defender. Can shoot the 3 if wide open. But she's not a scoring guard at the WNBA level.
Kayla Thornton is an elite-level 3 and D. She defends 1 to 4 with physicality and can make 3s from kick-outs. A good comparison would be prime PJ Tucker.
Fagbenle is a versatile big - but she's not a true center / rim protector. Her game is more similar to Dario Saric last season. A bit of jack-of-all-trades, but not elite at anything.
Monique Billings might be the best scorer in the starting 5. Her game is similar to David West. More mid-range / post up.
As currently constructed, the Valks' best strategy is to make games into a rock-fight. Constant scrappy, tenacious defense. Try to get stops and score in transition. But the team will struggle to get good-quality shots against a set, half-court defense.
❤️❤️❤️, no maybe ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Thanks for educating us!
It seems the only shooter out there last night was Touré who is not expected to make the team. Linskens shot well (inter Alia);in the first game, but she is also not expected to make the team.
One possibility is to swap Vanloo into the starting lineup and possibly Leite in the future (and Jocyte in the farther future). That *might* mess up the defense of the starters ... for all their misses, they were right in the game. I don't know if this swap would be politically possible either.
Right now VanLoo and Leite are a dynamic duo!
Not a great fan of the starting five yet, but they played surprisingly well together.. And it’s great to see Thornton playing fast and hard. She had a more set, slower role for the Liberty. And on any given day, she can go off on threes from the sides. Sorry I don’t know all the terms from basketball.
I think putting Vanloo in the starting lineup in place of Burton might be possible if they're not competitive (they get blown out a lot) after 5 games. Vanloo reminds me of Kings rookie Jason Williams but without the audacity to score / volume-shoot. Vanloo's vision is elite. She'll knock down 3s if open. But she needs finishers.
I'd start her. She's very fun to watch, and will energize the crowd.
The starting unit seems to be mostly about defense. If you put Vanloo in, who is the ‘finisher’ she’s going to activate with her pinpoint passing?
She could run pick and rolls with Tami Fagbenle or Monique Billings, kick out to Tip Hayes or Kayla Thornton for corner 3s. But experienced teams will play Vanloo for the pass and dare her to score --- which is not Vanloo's strength.
Starting Vanloo will still be entertaining. She'll wow the crowd with some no-look passes and play with pace.
ooooh, Jason Williams is an interesting comp. I was thinking Marine Johannès for hotdog passes.
Marine Johannes plays in a similar way, but unlike Vanloo - Marine will volume-shoot and score. Marine is a more accurate Jason Williams comparison. Vanloo might be more Kendall Marshall or Jamaal Tinsley. Elite passer, but prefers not to shoot unless last resort.
Since at least one of you was asking about the GSV medical staff:
GOLDEN STATE VALKYRIES ANNOUNCE KAISER PERMANENTE TEAM PHYSICIANS
Kaiser Permanente Physicians Will Provide Comprehensive Medical Care And Support
OAKLAND, Calif. - The Golden State Valkyries and Kaiser Permanente announced today the appointment of two Kaiser Permanente San Francisco physicians, Mary Apiafi Moore, MD, and David Ding, MD, as official team physicians for the inaugural season.
Dr. Moore received her medical degree from St. George’s University and completed a Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health, and earned an MBA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. A graduate of San Diego State University, with a degree in Kinesiology, Dr. Moore played basketball for the Aztecs before embarking on a professional career in Europe and suited up for the Nigerian National Team. Dr. Moore is a member of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM), as well as the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPM&R).
Dr. Ding is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine and is currently a team physician for the Golden State Warriors. He obtained degrees in Biomedical Engineering and Biology from Washington University in St. Louis before earning his medical degree from the Washington University School of Medicine. He completed Orthopedic Surgery residency at the New York University Langone Medical Center and his Sports Medicine and Shoulder Fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco. He is currently the Chief of Orthopedic Surgery at Kaiser Permanente San Francisco, Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM), as well as a proud dad of three girls.
The Valkyries and Kaiser Permanente partnership reflects a shared vision of providing high-quality specialized care for athletes at every level. Beyond providing care to the team, Kaiser Permanente is the presenting partner of the Valkyries' inaugural season and continues its longstanding commitment to keeping our communities healthy through engagement in Bay Area sports. Drs. Moore and Ding, and Kaiser Permanente sports medicine specialists, will work closely with the Valkyries performance staff to provide comprehensive medical care and support to the team's health initiatives both on and off the court.
Yikes
Thnx
“Though the Valkyries shot just 34.7% from the field overall and were outrebounded 46–33, their bench delivered a much-needed lift again. French guards Migna Touré (19 points on 7-for-13 shooting) and Carla Leite (11 points, 4-for-7) led the scoring charge. Veteran point guard Julie Vanloo, who did not start either preseason game despite being the most experienced starter on the roster from last season, was a +11 in 18 minutes with 6 points and 6 assists.”
Ingemi, SFC
So far the high scorers have been Touré, Linskens, and Amihere, none of which is currently considered a shoe in for the final roster.
Amihere will have to update her last name if she stays on the roster. I suggest Iamhere.
😐
Valks don't have players who can create their own shot off the bounce. Big difference in talent level if you watch Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas. Mercury also have Kaleah Copper- another elite player.
Amihere will probably get the 12th spot.
From what I remember, Stephanie Talbot is also a 3 and D type of wing. Similar to Kate Martin.
What is your definition of create her own shot? Does it mean that if Thornton dribbles up towards the basket, sees no one to pass to, then takes the jumpshot…… Is that creating her own shot?
What I mean by create her own shot = In single coverage (one on one) - a player will get a good-quality shot unless double-teamed. Or, if a pick and roll is run, that player will be able to generate a good-quality shot.
Here are some examples... If the Lynx's Napheesa Collier gets the ball in isolation against a single defender, she will get a good quality shot. If given any space, her face-up shot is high-percentage. If you close her out, she'll drive. Against a smaller defender, she'll back the defender down and get a high-percentage shot. To stop Phee, you need to send help. That's when role players are able to cut or pop to get open.
Caitlin Clark = if she runs a high pick and roll, a good quality shot will get generated unless you send help. Either she'll knock down a 3, or get to the rim, or find the rolling big. Either way, it causes the defense to scramble. This generates open looks for your role players.
Same thing with Phoenix - if Satou Sabally runs a high pick and roll, a good quality shot will get generated unless you send help.
With NY Liberty - if Jonquel Jones or Stewie (Breanna Stewart) gets the ball in isolation, they're going to get a good shot up. And if they have shooters like Sabrina, Fiebich to space the floor, you can't send a double-team.
The Valks don't have a player on offense that commands a double-team. If I were coaching against the Valks, I'll just ask all defenders to "stay home" and make them shoot over you. They also don't have players who can make the defense scramble by running pick and rolls. There's no player to "fear".