Today on WNBA Tuesday, we’re going to play the prediction game to see where the Golden State Valkyries end up in the league standings—and the playoff chase. As of today, the league’s newest expansion team is 19-18 with seven games left in the season, including five straight upcoming at home before ending with two contests on the road. The Valkyries are in seventh place, overall, with a 10-7 home mark. It’s getting close.

Technically, Golden State is tied for seventh with the Indiana Fever, but the Valkyries are 2-0 against Indiana and have clinched the tiebreak already over the Fever. Both teams have a one-game edge over the Los Angeles Sparks, who sit in ninth place. The Washington Mystics have fallen off the pace and reside a few games behind L.A. in the standings. Meanwhile, the Seattle Storm are just one half game ahead in sixth.

So, how do we see the final seven games going for Golden State? And what will be the Valkyries’ final mark?

  • Washington: The Mystics are falling out of it and may be less motivated to win this one in San Francisco. Sabermetrically, the Valkyries are about a three-point favorite here on a neutral court, so at home, we’re giving this victory to Golden State (projected record after this game: 20-18).
  • Indiana: This game has the potential to be huge for the Fever, in the sense they already have lost the tiebreak to the expansion franchise. On a neutral court, Indiana would be about 1.6-point favorite over the Valkyries, but at home, we still like Golden State’s chances, especially since the Fever have suffered so many injuries to their roster this year. That’s the bad luck of sport for you there (21-18).
  • New York: With Breanna Stewart back on the court, the Liberty should roll the Valkyries, really. They would be 4.4-point favorites on a neutral floor, but home cookin’ ain’t enough to save Golden State here. Plus, it will be the third game in four nights for the team, and we expect them to be tired after the back-to-back efforts against Washington and Indiana over the weekend (21-19).
  • Dallas: With a day of rest, the Valkyries should be refocused here against one of the worst teams in the league. Golden State knows it has to win this one in front of its own fans in San Francisco. With a 6.6-point neutral court edge, the Valkyries definitely pull this one out, unless they’re too tired (22-19).
  • Minnesota: The home final for the expansion darlings should be a blowout loss on paper. Yet the Lynx have clinched the top seed for the postseason already, and the team might consider resting some of its stars to prepare for that charge to the WNBA Finals we all expect to happen. We’re going to pull a bit of admitted homerism here and say that Golden State wins this game in an “upset” (23-19).
  • @ Seattle: The Storm have dropped off in the second half of the season, slipping down to sixth place. Adrenaline and motivation are going to help the Valkyries here, although Seattle still has a 1.9-point edge on a neutral court. So, at home, the Storm will be tougher to beat. We suspect it will be a close game with Seattle escaping with a narrow victory as it fights for its own playoff livelihood (23-20).
  • @ Minnesota: It seems cruel to have Golden State close with two games against the Lynx in the final three matchups, but who knew it would have postseason implications? In our analysis, Minnesota will want to do right by its hometown fans in the season finale, but the postseason is still more important. We do fully expect the Lynx to roll over here and play dead, giving the Valkyries another upset (24-20).

There it is: we think Golden State will end up 24-20—much better than the prediction we had for them at the start of the year. But Head Coach Natalie Nakase deserves the Coach of the Year nod, for sure. Last year, the Fever grabbed the last playoff spot with a .500 record, with that above mark, we suspect the Valkyries will make the postseason, which will be an incredible accomplishment for an expansion team.