2013 Atlanta Dream and WNBA Preview

[Bahamut]

I'm glad we finally got back on the winning track last night. We really squandered our lead!

[lethalweapon3]

Very nice job by the Dream!

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/23330889/atlanta-dream-players-visit-mcnair-elementary

ATLANTA -

Brave students at the center of a gun scare two weeks ago received a special visit from players of the Atlanta Dream today.The players invited all students and staff at McNair Discovery Learning Academy to a basketball game on Sunday.The team says the staff, teachers and students should be recognized for their courageous actions when a gunman walked into the school.

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

LONGEST ACTIVE PLAYOFF STREAKS

1. Seattle Storm, 10 Seasons (2004 to 2013) – Team began WNBA Play in 2000

2. Indiana Fever, 8 Seasons (2005 to 2012)* – Team began WNBA Play in 2000

3. San Antonio Silver Stars, 6 Seasons (2007 to 2012)** – Team began WNBA Play in 1997

4. ATLANTA DREAM, 5 Seasons (2009 to 2013) – Team began WNBA Play in 2008

5. New York Liberty, 3 Seasons (2010 to 2012)* – Team began WNBA Play in 1997

6. Minnesota Lynx, 3 Seasons (2011 to 2013) – Team began WNBA Play in 1999

* Fever can clinch with next win/Liberty loss, ending New York’s streak.

* Phoenix Mercury can clinch with next win/Silver Stars loss, ending San Antonio’s streak

~lw3

[Bahamut]

It's still amazing that after a terrible first season, the Dream went to back-to-back WNBA Finals and haven't missed the playoffs since.

[lethalweapon3]

One last regular season contest at The Highlight Factory, somewhat poorly timed (3 PM, SportSouth) because the Falcons and Aints will be rolling in the second half by then.

But if anyone's going to interrupt their Football Sundays to check out a WNBA game, the Phoenix Mercury's imposing Brittney Griner could be a good reason to do it. It's hard to argue she's taken the league by storm, but the rookie does lead the league in blocks and occasionally will get above the rim for a jam. She doesn't yet rebound, for her 6-foot-8 size, well enough to qualify for an All-WNBA team (6.5 RPG has her out-rebounded on her own team by 6-foot-2 Candice Dupree). But she remains the best rookie not named Elena Delle Donne and will be worth more than the price of admission once she establishes better post moves and her team gets her more touches. New coach Russ Pennell (fresh out of the controversial Grand Canyon University, a for-profit D-1 school in Phoenix) is pushing Brittney to be more of a beast on the interior and not just a help defender.

Another reason to watch, of course, are the league's two highest-scoring players. Angel McCoughtry (21.7 PPG) has been stellar inside the arc and a defensive terror (2.8 SPG) for opponents whenever she's locked in. Diana Taurasi (20.8 PPG) has absolutely blown away her career assists mark (6.1 APG), on a Phoenix team that needs playmakers in the worst way,

Phoenix has been underwhelming (16-13) overall given the turnaround expected of them before the season. But even without Penny Taylor and the drubbings against Western foes that hastened Corey Gaines' exit last month, the Merc remain 8-1 against the WNBA East. They've got three Eastern road games left, including this one and one against the first-place Chicago Sky.

I'm advocating for the Dream's Erika DeSouza to make it on the All-WNBA Second Team. The eight-year vet is in the midst of a career season at age 30. Her rebounding and shooting are second only to should-be-MVP Sylvia Fowles. Her 16 double-doubles rank second only to reigning MVP Tina Charles... at least momentarily, as Tina announced she's shutting down her WNBA season early to rest up for other international obligations (and, probably, help her team tank for the lottery). Maya Moore, Candace Parker, Tamika Catchings and DeSouza are the only healthy WNBA players averaging at least one steal and one block per game. DeSouza has carried Atlanta's frontcourt with the mid-season loss of Sancho Lyttle. Whether she gets the honor or not will depend heavily on how voters classify Parker and whether more than two centers can get selected. But Erika is peaking right when much younger players like Charles and Tulsa's Liz Cambage are checking out early due to fatigue.

Home court advantage in the first round is something the Dream has never experienced in their 5-year playoff run. With tiebreakers against Washington and Indiana, I believe they wrap that up with their next win, and they'd love to do so in the regular-season home finale before a small but adoring Philips Arena crowd, where they're 13-3, rather than having to win any of their next three games on the road.

Despite their mid-season road woes (4-10), they had a crucial victory in Newark against the playoff-desperate Liberty on Friday night. DeSouza added 4 blocks to go along with her 16th double-double. Tiffany Hayes and Alex Bentley (combined 23 points and 4-for-4 on three-pointers, 3 by Hayes) provided the offensive spark off the bench the team has been missing in road games. Atlanta will look to build on its 3-game winning streak and keep the momentum going today.

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

"Second Place, and it feels so GOOD!"

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Congrats to Fred and the ladies!

Indy gift-wrapped a nice present for...

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~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Not much left to play for as far as the Atlanta Dream are concerned. They had a chance to tie their best record (20-11 in 2012) by winning the final 3 games, but that goal went into the dustbin once Mistie Bass tipped in an inbound pass in the closing seconds for a one-point win for Connecticut over the Dream on Wednesday. A skeptic would suggest the Dream were simply trying to screw with the Sun's lottery chances.

Fred Williams' squad can tie their record from last year by winning the last two road games, on Friday at Chicago and on Sunday in San Antonio. They need just one victory to finish with an above-.500 winning record for the 5th straight season.

I've errantly mentioned that they reached second place in the East for the first time ever. They did that in 2009, clinching their first postseason visit. But that was the last season the WNBA took just two teams from each conference into the postseason, so this is the first time they'll get to open the playoffs at home.

As a team, they'll lead the league in steals for the third consecutive year, and will lead the WNBA in turnovers created for the first time in their history. There are some individual player milestones to wrap up as well.

Angel McCoughtry is the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week. Hard to believe it's just her fourth. If McCoughtry can fend off Diana Taurasi and Tamika Catchings she'll lead the league in scoring and steals, respectively, for the second-straight year, the first player to do so. Already the league leader in field goals made, she'll surpass Connecticut's Tina Charles in two-pointers made with three more buckets.

Erika DeSouza can end the season as the sole league-leader in double-doubles, surpassing Charles with one more.

Armintie Herrington will lead all WNBA guards in steals. At just 133 pounds, she will also finish second among WNBA guards in offensive rebounds per game.

Among rookies, Alex Bentley is currently third in assists per game, and will likely end the year as the rookie leader in assist-turnover ratio (third overall in the league, with veterans thrown in). The second-round pick will top all rookies not among the headlining "Three to See" (Brittney Griner, Elena Delle Donne, Skylar Diggins) in scoring and will be looking to wrap-up an All-Rookie nod. It would be the second-straight season that the Dream drafted in the second round and came away with an All-Rookie selection (Tiffany Hayes, 2012). Freddy Williams did a real nice job in the GM role at draft time.

On the WNBA front, I've mentioned in the past two years how I'd like the Dream to consider trade possibilities with under-the-radar players that could boost this team's woeful three-point shooting, which remains dead-last (on the good side, their three-point defense is the WNBA's best, but they shoot even worse than their opponents). The lottery-bound Tulsa Shock have multiple players who have fit this category, but most particularly Riquna "Bay Bay" Williams, like Hayes a second-round pick who made the All-Rookie team in 2012.

Well, Williams is no longer under anybody's radar. That's her posing like Wilt with the '51' number.

Bay Bay nailed 8 of 14 three pointers on her way to shattering the all-time WNBA single-game scoring mark last Sunday, with a whopping 51 points, all in regulation, in an otherwise meaningless game against the San Antonio Silver Stars. This was just her fourth start this season. No one had ever dropped 50 or more in a game, and 6 of the previous 7 highest scoring efforts came in overtime games. The prior record for points in a regulation-ending game was set by Cynthia Cooper way back in 1997.

Assuming she's not a free agent, let's just say Williams' trade value went up.

The most points previously scored in a WNBA game by an unlikely future Hall of Famer? Atlanta's Betty "B-Money" Lennox, who rang up 44 points while starring for the new WNBA franchise in an overtime game against Connecticut in August 2008 (the Dream LOST that game to fall to 0-14, lol). The Dream have come a long way.

~lw3

Edited September 13, 2013 by lethalweapon3

[lethalweapon3]

Now, I love Angel, but ummm, no...

http://www.wnba.com/features/race_to_13mvp_week15.html

With all due respect to the other players on the Atlanta Dream, who are a tough and talented bunch, McCoughtry has led her squad to new heights with significantly less star power that the other candidates on this list enjoy.

If all of these candidates were sidelined this season for any reason, each of their teams could still make the playoffs. Except Atlanta. Chicago almost did last season even with Epiphanny Prince and Sylvia Fowles missing several games with injuries.

Statistically, McCoughtry is leading the league on both ends of the floor. And through the wear and tear of the season that has slowed down other players on this list in terms of scoring, McCoughtry has been the most consistent force all season long.

In this crowded list of candidates where no clear player leads the pack, WNBA.com selects Angel McCoughtry as the league's Most Valuable Player.

It's not the official league pick, just one guy's opinion who's been responsible for "tracking" the players all season for WNBA.com. I don't think voters will look at 17.8 3FG% and a league-high 4.3 TOs per game and not seek out other MVP options. Many will also see Atlanta's 6-14 second half of the season from a half-empty view at voting time. Voters enthralled with Elena Delle Donne and Maya Moore might not even credit Angel as All-WNBA First Team, especially those still holding Angelgate 2012 against her.

My picks for season-ending awards coming later.

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

WNBA First Team

G – Diana Taurasi (Phoenix)… second-leading scorer blew away her career assists mark for a team that needed it badly.

G – Lindsay Whalen (Minnesota)… steadiest hands in the league, also carried this team offensively until Maya was ready to take over.

F – Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta)… league’s top scorer and stealer does everything for the Dream, or at least she tries to. Keyed Atlanta’s crazy run out of the gate and best finish ever in the East. Best stat? Just ONE technical foul!

F – Maya Moore (Minnesota)… came on strong with shooting and defense after the All-Star Break, keeping the Lynx on top in the wilder West.

C – Sylvia Fowles (Chicago)… league’s top rebounder and shooter, and second-leading shot-blocker. Her MVP-caliber season gets obscured with all the (rightful) attention on EDD.

WNBA Second Team

G – Ivory Latta (Washington)… former Dream star, just the offensive spark the Mystics needed to climb out of the WNBA cellar. Career highs in assists and free throws.

G – Danielle Robinson (San Antonio)… led the league in assists for a team bereft of healthy talent.

F – Tamika Catchings (Indiana)… carried a championship team decimated by injuries through inflated expectations.

F – Elena Delle Donne (Chicago)… a rookie topping the league in shooting threes and free throws AND top ten in blocks? Boost those assist totals, and the surefire Rookie of the Year becomes an MVP.

C – Candace Parker (Los Angeles)… top-ten scorer, rebounder, and shot blocker can turn it on and dominate whenever she wants to. But does she want to?

“WNBA Third Team” (if there was one)

G – Kristi Toliver (Los Angeles)… freed up offensively with the addition of Lindsey Harding. third in the league in 2-point FG% while top-ten in total threes.

G – Courtney Vandersloot (Chicago)… two seasons removed from rookie hype, finally turning the corner as a top-flight passer. Finding her niche as a shooter and defender as well.

F – Nneka Ogwumike (Los Angeles)… last year’s rookie of the year among the league’s most efficient two-way players. Gritty style of play is just what the Sparks need.

F – Tina Thompson (Seattle)… way to go out for the retiring All-Star, queen of lip gloss, and all-time leading points-maker, carrying the shorthanded Storm surprisingly into the postseason. Team’s top scorer, rebounder, and three-point threat.

C – Erika DeSouza (Atlanta)… topping the league in double-doubles, helped save Atlanta from total collapse in the second-half of the season.

MVP : Sylvia Fowles (Chicago)

Rookie of the Year: Elena Delle Donne (Chicago)

Coach of the Year: Brian Agler (Seattle)

Sixth Woman of the Year: Monica Wright (Minnesota)

Defensive Player of the Year: Sylvia Fowles (Chicago)

Most Improved Player: Shavonte Zellous (Indiana)

All-Rookie Team: G Alex Bentley (Atlanta), G Skylar Diggins (Tulsa), F Elena Delle Donne (Chicago), F Kelsey Bone (New York), C Britney Griner (Phoenix)

All-Defensive Team: G Alana Beard (Los Angeles), G Courtney Vandersloot (Chicago), F Tamika Catchings (Indiana), F Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta), C Sylvia Fowles (Chicago)

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Yay, we get the Mystics! I guess…

The Sunday finale against San Antonio was a washout, more so because Fred Williams elected to let go of the rope early and sat key players to keep them as healthy as possible. The Silver Stars surely needed a silver lining to finish off their season.

Yet despite finishing technically tied with Washington at 17-17, I imagine Atlanta got what it needed when the Mystics won on Sunday to secure the 3^rd place spot. Now, they won’t have the Indiana Fever to tussle with in the Conference Semifinals. Beating the defending champs in a 2-of-3 is an even tougher task, now that Katie Douglas is finally healthy enough to play for the Fever. I’m sure the Styx are quite pleased with not having to deal with top-seeded Chicago in the first round, either. Let those two teams (Indiana and Chicago) have at it.

The Mystics have somewhat taken over the role the Dream had in the 2010 Playoffs. Then, the top-seeded Mystics were rolling full-steam-ahead. They rattled off six straight to cap off their best regular season ever and, with the new playoff format, were rewarded by opening the playoffs at home against a #4 seed instead of a #2 seed.

The 2010 Dream had what looked to be another Thanks-for-Playing roster that hadn’t yet proven itself capable of winning in the postseason, particularly on the road. Assuredly, the 2010 Mystics were thrilled with not having to deal with the Liberty or the Fever in the first round. Plus they had beaten Atlanta three straight times, twice at Philips Arena.

But in these conference rounds, the “underdog” simply has to pull off one win on the road and hang on when they’re on their own home court. In 2010, Atlanta was underestimated, then Washington’s path to its first Eastern title got derailed in Game 1 on the strength of 28 points from an until-then-under-heralded Angel McCoughtry. Angel and Izi Castro-Marques sealed the upset in Game 2 back home to pave the way toward their first WNBA Finals.

It’s a good foreboding lesson for the Dream as they play for the first time with a home advantage, against the Mystics team that pretty much fell off the Earth as an organization after that deflating 2010 playoff series defeat. The Styx promptly fired head coach Julie Plank, who now sits conveniently on Atlanta’s bench as an assistant. The next two seasons, Plank’s former team amassed an ugly 11-57 record.

Washington’s had an up-and-down year that’s on the upswing (three straight victories), by most measures a season originally projected to be down-and-down, with all the roster changes and a “new” head coach. That head coach, former Atlanta Hawks scout and assistant coach Mike Thibault, became the WNBA’s all-time winningest coach in July.

Thibault knows a thing or two about amassing talent. He was the director of scouting for the Chicago Bulls when they drafted Michael Jordan. After last season, he got ridiculously canned by Connecticut after guiding the Sun to within 0.5 seconds of their third WNBA Finals appearance. Now, as the Sun are reeling with an NBA-worst 10-24 record, Thibault would love to twist the dagger a bit more by taking last year’s worst team to another trip to the Conference Finals, and remind the folks back in Uncasville exactly what they’ve been missing.

His Mystics started out 4-1, then dropped five in a row, then won another four-of-five, then lost six of seven, followed by three straight wins, two straight defeats, a home-and-home sweep of Atlanta, two more losses, and finally the current three-game streak. But it all adds up to a supreme coaching effort by Thibault, and a testament to solid personnel moves coming off of a 5-29 season.

In 2012, Washington extended contracts for forwards Crystal Langhorne and Monique Currie, and they also matched Atlanta’s restricted free agent offer for Matee Ajavon. This year, new GM/coach Thibault signed former Dream star guard Ivory Latta and used their seventh pick of the 2013 Draft (acquired from the Dream for Jasmine Thomas) to swing a deal with New York to obtain center Kia Vaughn. Finally, drafting guard Tayler Hill with the first pick after the “Three to See” rookies were taken formed the core for the Mystics’ 2013 rebound.

It does suck to have NO routine coverage of the Dream on AJC or local sports radio, unless there’s a crisis of some kind going on. Without that, there is no possibility for fans to get updates on the status of two key frontcourt players.

There has been no confirmation from either the team or the local media that Erika DeSouza has turned down an invite from the Brazilian women’s national team (competing in the FIBA Americas tourney in Mexico from September 21-28) to remain with the Dream for the postseason. Thankfully, half a world away, Brazil’s team broke the announcement just yesterday that she’ll stay here.

Meanwhile, we’re into Week 10 of the 6-8 week prognosis for Sancho Lyttle’s return, and no one has asked whether she’s been training and prepared to play in Game 1. It would at least have helped Game 1 attendance if ticket-buyers could have seen their statuses confirmed by the team.

It’s important on the floor, too, because with DeSouza, the Dream will have an advantage in the post against Vaughn. That advantage becomes considerably greater if DeSouza is flanked by a healthy Lyttle. Even without Sancho, Atlanta finished at the top of the league in offensive rebounds, thanks especially to heady work from Armintie Herrington.

Washington is thin behind Currie at the small forward spot, so getting Angel to match up there alongside Lyttle, rather than having to help at power forward, will be immensely beneficial. The Mystics will need productive defensive minutes from first-year Belgian center Emma Meesseman to provide some balance in the paint. They’ll also lean on savvy veteran Michelle Snow, a reserve from Atlanta’s maiden postseason voyage in 2009, to help with rebounding and forcing Atlanta’s bigs into foul trouble.

Before the start of the 2009 season, Dream GM/coach Marynell Meadors released Ivory Latta, one of the inaugural team’s top draws and leading passer, in favor of Shalee Lehning, who never turned the corner and is now out of the league due to injuries. Latta got re-signed in the 2009 midseason, only to stay benched behind Lehning, then got waived once again before the 2010 season began. Meadors is now a distant memory, but Latta, a former Tar Heel and South Carolina high school star, still has plenty of supporters in the ATL and will be willing to exact a measure of revenge on her old team. After pretty much being left for dead with the Tulsa Shock, Latta made her first All-Star appearance this year with the Mystics.

Also seeking some payback is Dream point guard Jasmine Thomas. After an underwhelming year as a starter with the Mystics, Thibault jettisoned Thomas in the deal with Atlanta and replaced her with Latta and Hill. In turn, despite a late charge, Hill will likely lose out on the First-Team All-Rookie selection in favor of her former B1G collegiate rival, Atlanta’s Alex Bentley. Each will be looking to provide an edge for their teams when they go head-to-head.

Perennial Dream killer Matee Ajavon will be an X-factor at guard, as will Tierra Ruffin-Pratt, who is playing inspired ball after the controversial shooting death of her cousin outside of D.C. in May. Perimeter D will be crucial for the Dream against the East’s most deadeye three-point shooters (35 percent 3FG%), particularly Latta (40%, 4^th in WNBA).

Without defensive adjustments by the Mystics, Atlanta’s passing lanes ought to be pretty wide open. Washington leads the league in opponent assists (17.9 opponent APG). The Dream led the East in team assists (16.6 APG), so there should be very little need to rely on iso’s in the halfcourt. Mystics opponents also shot just 31.5 FG% on three-pointers, lowest in the East, so Dream guards need to find openings on drives and not hang out on the perimeter for threes, which of course Atlanta is terrible at shooting (league-low 27.5%).

Only the Mystics (18.6 PF/game) hack more than the Dream (18.2 PG/game) among Eastern teams. The difference is the Dream only shoot 74 percent (2^nd worst in the league) while D.C. shoots 79 percent. Missed opportunities from the line will keep the Mystics’ hopes for an upset open.

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2013 WNBA Playoffs TV Schedule (all times Eastern):

Thursday, Sept. 19 Game 1: Washington at Atlanta 8 p.m.
ESPN2

Thursday, Sept. 19 Game 1: Phoenix at Los Angeles 10 p.m.
ESPN2

Friday, Sept. 20 Game 1: Indiana at Chicago 7 p.m.
NBA TV

Friday, Sept. 20 Game 1: Seattle at Minnesota 9 p.m.
NBA TV

Saturday, Sept. 21 Game 2: Atlanta at Washington 7 p.m.
NBA TV

Saturday, Sept. 21 Game 2: Los Angeles at Phoenix 10 p.m.
NBA TV

Sunday, Sept. 22 Game 2: Chicago at Indiana 3 p.m.
ESPN2

Sunday, Sept. 22 Game 2: Minnesota at Seattle 5 p.m.
ESPN2

Monday, Sept. 23 Game 3*: Washington at Atlanta TBD
NBA TV

Monday, Sept. 23 Game 3*: Phoenix at Los Angeles 10 p.m.
ESPN2

Tuesday, Sept. 24 Game 3*: Indiana at Chicago 7 p.m.
TBD

Tuesday, Sept. 24 Game 3*: Seattle at Minnesota 9 p.m.
NBA TV

~lw3

Edited September 18, 2013 by lethalweapon3

[lethalweapon3]

It's the Playoffs. It's Atlanta. You know what happened! LOL More later.

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Ok I have to say it now, lw3 why aren't you a writer for some website? I love the insight and how you bring everything together. I'm now pissed that you aren't a writer for something like Peachtree whoops. From here on out I'm going to spam people until you get your own article each week for general basketball insight. It is long over due.

WHO IS WITH ME???

Thanks, you're too kind! Sorry I missed your comment last night, I was probably drowning my sorrows in a Frosted Varsity Orange after that abominable playoff effort.

And, this place here is "website" enough for me!

Full disclosure and all, I turned down a couple paying offers from SBNation-wannabes in the past year. Primarily because I'm not allowed to get paid to moonlight. Plus, even pro bono, it would take away from my time eyeballing the 'Squawk. So this is the best free gig i could ask for! No pushy content aggregators, virtually troll-free commenting on Atlanta sports from an array of bright contributors from around the globe, and one cool moderator. I couldn't ask for a better place to hang out in my free time.

Brace Yourself! A side gripe is coming!

[sidegripe]

On just the WNBA stuff, I can't be mad at the SB Nation gang, and their general women's hoops site Swish Appeal does a great job. I do wish we could get, like, the square root of content like I cobble together about the Dream from our local major media outlets.

http://www.ajc.com/s/sports/

Every WNBA team, except one as far as I can tell, is fortunate to have at least one part-time beat person from the major newspaper who writes up game stories and features. Even if it's just a few paragraphs. For this team's biggest game so far this year, the best these guys could do last night was (1) provide a cameraman to make a picture gallery and (2) post the standard Associated Press postgame article that's not even linked on the main Sports page.

Don't even bother them before the game. Aside from a drop-down that you have to know exists in advance, there's no direct link to the Dream's "page" at all on their online sports page. There IS a page link if you're into the Kennesaw State University Owls, though. What a hoot!

I whined to the sports editor yesterday about the lack of online coverage going into Game 1 (and that the editor hasn't even mentioned the Dream once since before Flag Day). The response was that ALL Dream coverage, including their playoff preview write-up, is "premium" (i.e., behind a paywall)... I suppose, kinda like the way McDonald's professes their chicken wings and salads to be "premium." "Wanna know why you might want to watch the Dream in the playoffs? We'll tell ya. Maybe. For a subscriber fee...."

As Hawks fans, we know what a challenge it is to drum up a ticket-paying fanbase, hindered all the more by a metropolitan paper-of-record who can barely articulate to its viewership why anyone should remotely care. The Dream have this problem ten-fold. For both franchises, I'm just happy to convey, mostly on my own terms, why I think folks might care. Without a fee.

[/sidegripe]

And I'm still too grouchy to get on the way those ladies played on home court yesterday! All that was missing from that debacle was a lousy infield-fly call. I'll save my fussing about that for tomorrow's pre-game scribble.

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Well I got one of these things right for once.

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Two straight years in a row that a second-round draft pick of the Dream made the All-Rookie roster.

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

“If we’re not upset right now and embarrassed on national television, then we might as well go home now and not show up in D.C.,” McCoughtry said. “Right now needs to be the turning point, this very moment.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/latta-scores-14-mystics-beat-dream-71-56-as-wnba-scoring-champ-mccoughtry-struggles/2013/09/19/49d642c4-219b-11e3-ad1a-1a919f2ed890_story.html

In the 404, no one's immune from postseason embarrassment in front of the home crowd on national TV. For a couple years, it seemed as if the Atlanta Dream had the antidote to what seems to ail their male "ATLete" contemporaries. But not anymore.

The Washington Mystics throttled the Dream to a franchise low 27% shooting from the field. Atlanta got most of their franchise-low 56 points in garbage time trying in desperation not to shatter WNBA records for futility.

There was dandruff left all over Philips Arena's lower bowl on Friday night, because some of what season-long fans witnessed was truly head-scratching.

The Dream went completely away from pressure defense and transition basketball just minutes into the first quarter. Pretty much the entire game, they relied on halfcourt isolation plays, the antithesis of what made them successful.

Erika DeSouza, perhaps for the first time all season, looked every bit of 31 years old as she got ganged up on by Kia Vaughn, Crystal Langhorne, and Michelle Snow. They were able to neutralize DeSouza's offense because no one was stepping up and hitting open jumpers, allowing D.C. to pack the paint and keeping Atlanta one-and-done.

Defensive lapses were exploited at every opportunity by the Styx, often scoring buckets on 5 or more straight possessions.

Thibault was running such a coaching clinic, by the first quarter he had 4 rookies on the floor together running our vets out of the Factory. By the second half, everyone was looking to Angel to spin straw into gold, and the Mystics knew they could go 5-on-1 defensively, with impunity.

Multiple things had to go wrong to play this bad. Now multiple things have to go willingly right, with the season on the line in Washington tonight (7 PM, NBA-TV).

It's probably too late now to hope for a healthy and starting Sancho Lyttle, so one of LeCoe Willingham and Aneika Henry must help secure rebounds and convert on the easy baskets when they're sought inside. With Armintie Herrington still bothered by a bum shoulder, it's up to Tiffany Hayes and Alex Bentley to generate steals plus get open for easier shots on the offensive end. The Dream must accomplish what's worked all season, creating offense with crisper ball movement and cutting off Washington's passing lanes.

With last season's conclusion at Indiana included, Friday was the second straight postseason implosion under Freddy Williams' watch. He's done enough to stay with this franchise for another season, but Game 2 is a referendum on his ability to get this team to adjust against the schemes of the WNBA's premier coaches. How they perform tonight (and, knock on wood, Monday night) may determine in what capacity (as GM, as coach, or both) that Williams returns with the Dream in 2014.

Tonight, it's bigger than Win or Go Home. As seems to be the case with so many Atlanta teams, it's Execute or Quit Wasting Everybody's Time.

Go Dream!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Final score: Falcons 63, Redskins 45! Oh, wait...

The Dream lives on. Bottle that team defensive work and rebounding dominance, and bring that back home Monday to close it out!

+1 if you saw Angel nearly tomahawk at the end.

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Congrats to Armintie and Angel, both making the All-Defensive 1st Team. Also to Erika for All-Defensive 2nd Team.

http://www.wnba.com/playoffs/2013/all_defensive_team_2013.html

~lw3

Edited September 22, 2013 by lethalweapon3

[lethalweapon3]

More tomorrow, but:

1) Last night the Dream responded with a WNBA-record 53 rebounds.

2) The Fever are at home and curb-stomping the Sky with just one quarter to go, meaning...

3) If that score holds, and the Dream eke out a win tomorrow night, Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals will be at The Highlight Factory!

4) The Fever's Katie Douglas fought all season to get back, but before Game 2 re-injured her back in practice and is out for the season.

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Headed to the game (8 PM, NBATV) and no time for a preview. Simply...

Go Dream!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Whoo-hoo!

Atlanta turned on the jets in the final quarter-and-a-half, and they've earned Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals in their house on Thursday night. It's their third WNBA conference finals appearance in 4 seasons... and their first time as the favorites-on-paper.

Not many teams can have their star shooting around 20-25% and still expect to win (okay, no teams really), but Angel McCoughtry does so many positive things on the floor with rebounds, defense 'n dishing.

Atlanta will get the team that dispatched them in last year's semis, the Indiana Fever. The Fever went all the way to the 2012 title, and you know what Ric Flair always says... "To Be the (Wo)man, You Gotta Beat the (Wo)man!" That really didn't come out right...

Anyway, Atlanta took out the top-seeded Fever in 2011 to get back to the Finals, and if they play their cards right, the Dream can do it again.

Two wins away from the Finals. Go Dream!

~lw3

[macdaddy]

I couldn't find the game on tv last night? Glad they won. Are the conference finals 2/3 also? Finals 3/5? I wish they got more support but there again I don't go to the games either. Go Dream!