Last week on Tuesday Teasings we broke down the Golden State Valkyries roster, sabermetrically, noting the absence of a real, go-to scoring option. Last night, the team dropped a close game at home to the Phoenix Mercury, the second-best team in the league right now, mostly because it shot a horrendous 33.8 percent from the floor. It was a minor miracle that the Valkyries lost the game by a mere point in the end.

Golden State has now lost four of its last five games, with the one victory being a blowout on the road over the Indiana Fever. The last two losses since that win have come by a combined three points, meaning the Valkyries are right there—but cannot close the deal. This is where that lack of an offensive superstar hurts them. To wit, the team had just one player picked for Saturday’s upcoming All-Star Game: Kayla Thornton.

She’s not a scorer, either. At 14.5 points per game, Thornton may lead this team in scoring, but her 37.1-percentage shot percentage is atrocious, and she only scores as much as she does due to leading the team in shots taken (12.7 per game). Clearly, she’s not going to be a prime option with the game on the line. So, who is? Tiffany Hayes may have the best combination of quality and quantity of shot making on the roster.

We really do not know this team well yet, as the roster flux has been so significant through the first 20-plus games of the season. With a 10-11 record now, the team is losing momentum it built earlier in the year, and it needs to figure out its identity soon so the Valkyries can charge out of the gate in the second half of the season next week. Golden State has one more game before the break, in Seattle against the Storm (13-9).

It will be a tough game to win, but the Valkyries don’t want to go into the break on a 1-5 slump. The team also has a rough, five-game road trip coming up between July 27 and August 3. That could be a make-or-break stretch for Golden State’s playoff chances, too, as so many teams are bunched up in the standings right now, hovering around .500 and hoping to get on a hot streak that carries them into the postseason.

The 10-11 record is tied for eighth in the 13-team league right now, and that’s the last playoff berth. The Valkyries hold the tiebreak over the Las Vegas Aces, based on point differential in head-to-head matchups. Yet again, the close losses have hurt Golden State a lot: overall, the team has lost four games by 11 combined points already. Those games that are so winnable at the end hurt when the victories keep escaping grasp.

The toughness is there; the shooting skill is not, however. We’re not sure that can change midseason, either.