2013 Atlanta Dream and WNBA Preview

[lethalweapon3]

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!

My bad... when I was on the run yesterday I neglected to mention because of local rules the game would be aired locally on FoxSports South or SportSouth, instead of NBA-TV.

Somebody told me FoxSportsSouth had the game on their on-TV listings for just an hour, after which the listings claimed the World Poker Tour was on while they were still showing the game. Also, I was told poor Bob Rathbun didn't have his usual partner in LaChina Robinson (she was doing the NBA-TV postgame desk), and the WNBA commentator they replaced her with was annoying as heck, trying to argue and disagree with Bob the whole game. I'm kinda glad I missed that!

Conference Finals are also best-of-3 and the WNBA Finals are best-of-5. I'm 90% certain all conference final games will air on ESPN2.

~lw3

[macdaddy]

My bad... when I was on the run yesterday I neglected to mention because of local rules the game would be aired locally on FoxSports South or SportSouth, instead of NBA-TV.

Somebody told me FoxSportsSouth had the game on their on-TV listings for just an hour, after which the listings claimed the World Poker Tour was on while they were still showing the game. Also, I was told poor Bob Rathbun didn't have his usual partner in LaChina Robinson (she was doing the NBA-TV postgame desk), and the WNBA commentator they replaced her with was annoying as heck, trying to argue and disagree with Bob the whole game. I'm kinda glad I missed that!

Conference Finals are also best-of-3 and the WNBA Finals are best-of-5. I'm 90% certain all conference final games will air on ESPN2.

~lw3

Maybe I tuned in too late but it did say WNBA game on sportssouth but they were showing poker when i got there. It wasn't that late though. It was before 9. I'm not sure what happened there but i was totally up for seeing the game. Lucky for me they continue on.

[lethalweapon3]

After turning on the 4^th-quarter jets and blowing past the feisty Washington Mystics, the defending champion Indiana Fever is all that stands in the way of the Atlanta Dream reaching their third WNBA Finals in four years. The Dream gets to kick off the Eastern Conference Finals at the Highlight Factory tonight (7 PM Eastern, ESPN2).

Back in May, if you told a Dream fan that their favorite team would be among the WNBA’s Final Four and has the fortune of the home court advantage against the reigning champs, that fan would probably do cartwheels. Yet the Dream got to this point in a less-than-conventional way, blazing to an 11-1 start before sputtering to a 17-17 finish. Indiana’s season was the reverse, bouncing back from an injury-riddled 1-7 start to finish at 16-18.

The Fever would be the first #4 seed to come out of the East since the Dream’s maiden voyage to the Finals in 2010. The winner of this series will be the first team not-above-.500 to reach the WNBA Finals.

Despite the home advantage for Atlanta, you’ll be hard-pressed to find an analyst or pundit who isn’t picking the Fever. Finally breaking through to win it all last year, Indy persevered through injuries all season long and built up their momentum, culminating in a two-game semifinals trouncing of the talented but playoff-green top-seed Chicago Sky.

Meanwhile, Atlanta simply crawled along ever since losing Sancho Lyttle in July, then had their backs against the wall in the first round against a Mystics team that was just one season removed from going 5-29. Familiarity with Angel McCoughtry’s histrionics when things don’t go well, and with Atlanta’s pro-sports-teams postseason history, factors into the general mindset going in.

Both teams have just 9 players dressing for this series. But Atlanta can boast more balance, particularly since Indiana is thin in the frontcourt. Longtime veteran starter Tammy Sutton-Brown was not re-signed in the offseason. In June, star sharpshooting wing Katie Douglas suffered a back injury and would miss the entire regular season, then center Jessica Davenport went out for the season after suffering a stress-fractured leg.

In August, the Fever released ex-Tech star Sasha Goodlett to bring back ex-UGA star Jasmine Hassell, who bounced back and forth with the team all season. Douglas returned in time for the playoffs, and per WNBA “replacement player” rules, they had to cut forward Jessica Breland. Douglas injures another part of her back before Game 2 and now she’s done for the rest of the playoffs. Got all that?

Now, there remains no one on Indiana’s roster who matches the height of Atlanta’s 6-foot-5 Erika DeSouza, or even 6-foot-4 Aneika Henry. Against an aggressive Indiana defense, neither player should waste time putting the ball on the floor. They’ll need to demand the ball when they get deep post position and go right up with a shot.

Don’t cry for the Fever, though. This team just dispatched the WNBA Rookie of the Year (Elena Delle Donne) and the All-WNBA Defensive Player of the Year (Sylvia Fowles). Stifling defense by Karima Christmas to neutralize Swin Cash allowed Tamika Catchings and Erlana Larkins to beat out Chicago’s star duo for rebounds and fluster Fowles into plenty of turnovers.

Larkins showed out in last year’s playoffs with record rebounding efforts, but she had much more help than she does this year. She had a career-high 17 boards in an overtime loss in Atlanta three weeks ago, but couldn’t slow DeSouza, who had 17 points to go with her 15 rebounds. Indiana finished last in the league in defensive rebounds per game, something Atlanta's diminutive Armintie Herrington can exploit with her crafty ability to crash the offensive boards.

In a pinch, the Fever will deploy the rookie Hassell, the only active Fever player standing at 6-foot-2 or above. Earlier this year, she and ex-Dream guard Anne Marie Armstrong led the Lady Dawgs into the NCAA Elite Eight with a stunning upset of top-seeded Stanford, then nearly knocked off Cal before their team faltered in overtime.

Perennial Dream-killer Shavonte Zellous is going to force the folks at Webster’s to reconsider the way ‘zealous’ is spelled. She’s not a secret anymore after earning the league’s Most Improved Player award and an All-Star selection. Zellous nearly doubled her scoring average to about 15 PPG, and boosted her shooting percentage as she moved to shooting guard in Douglas’ absence. Her matchups with Tiffany Hayes and Herrington should be fun to watch.

Indiana holds opponents to a WNBA-low 70.5 PPG (Chicago could only muster 57 points with their season on the line), but it’s not as if their shooting defense is all that great (43.7 opponent FG%, highest in the East and highest among playoff teams). Lin Dunn’s team keeps the pace slow. On offense, they’ll wear the clock down then rely on heroics from Catchings (39.6 FG%, her lowest in five seasons), or dribble-penetration from Briann January, Christmas, and/or Zellous to open up perimeter shooters. On defense, they’ll pressure ballhandlers coming up the floor, force tough shots, and rely on Catch and Larkins to snare the tough rebounds.

When they reach for the bench, Indiana will definitely rely on a perimeter-oriented offense. Australian national team star Erin Phillips and her fellow guard Jeanette Pohlen returned from early-season injuries to contribute from long-range. Phillips shot 48% on threes this season, but just 26% on two-pointers. Pohlen led the entire league in 3FG% as a rookie in 2011. As a team, the Fever shot 47% beyond the arc in the two playoff games against the Sky. Dream backcourt defenders have to stay close to these guards, Zellous, and/or January and rely on Atlanta’s bigs to hold their own in the paint.

It will be hard for Atlanta to match Indiana’s efficiency at the three-point line. Hayes hit some big threes in the closeout win against Washington, while 13-year veteran center Ruth Riley showed in the Mystics series that she still has, if nothing else, a respectable pick-and-pop jumpshot. For WNBA All-Rookie Alex Bentley, hopefully the Sophomore Slump just arrived early. She shot just 2-for-13 overall against Washington, and after breaking the WNBA record with 10 consecutive threes in June, Alex has gone 15-for-64 on treys. If her shot’s still not falling, she can continue to help by scouting from the bench, as she interned for the Fever during her senior season at Penn State.

The Dream spoiled Indiana’s championship banner night and took 3 of 4 games from Indiana this year, largely because all season long, the Fever has had no answer for McCoughtry. The team’s 47.2 FG% versus Indiana was the highest against any team, buoyed by McCoughtry’s 23 PPG on 49% shooting. She also tied her career high with seven steals in the win over the Fever in June.

In last year’s semifinals rubber-match, Catchings used her defensive mastery to shut down McCoughtry (1-for-9 FG) in the second half. The pressure caused Angel to unravel, swatting the ball from January’s hands after a whistle stoppage and later tossing her mouthpiece into the media booth, forcing Fred Williams to bench Angel to keep her from getting kicked out in the final quarter with the season on the line.

Williams now picks up the slack more often with the refs, so McCoughtry can keep her frustrations in check. With Indiana’s frontline so thin, if Williams keeps McCoughtry positioned on the opposite side of the offensive floor from DeSouza, Catchings will have to pick between shielding Angel or helping double-team Erika. Angel is also a far superior passer and rebounder relative to Delle Donne, making this assignment tougher for Catchings than the Chicago series.

This series boils down to rebounding battles and pace-of-play. The Fever can afford to play at the Dream’s breakneck pace and, with three-point shooting, still eke out a victory. The Dream cannot afford to play at the Fever’s grind-it-out pace and expect to win twice, especially if they revert to poor free-throw shooting in close games. Whichever team more consistently controls the tempo to suit their style of play will make it to the WNBA Finals.

Go Dream!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Leading the league in scoring AND earning All-Defensive Team honors... oughta be enough for the WNBA 1st Team, right?

Nope!

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They had to find a way to get Candace Parker in there alongside Fowles since they named her the league MVP. That pushed Angel down to 2nd-team. Had the Dream won more in the second half the snub would be much more outrageous.

Erika DeSouza also got snubbed, as she was more efficient and lasted longer than Tina Charles, whose team had the league's worst record.

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~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

One down, one to go!

Just as wild and crazy an ending as you would expect for a Dream game. Right when you think it's over... it's not! Great teamwork to weather the storms. Tiffany and Armintie were terrific on offense! Great crowd, too!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

After watching the buzzsaw that is the Minnesota Lynx, I imagine both the Fever and the Dream are pulling for the Phoenix Mercury right now!

Diana Taurasi shows how true ballers roll in the rough-and-tumble WNBA! Knuck if you buck! lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S68TXBpMXpA

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Dream Preview

I would suggest not getting your hopes up too high about the title aspirations of this year’s edition.

Congratulations to Freddy Williams, Angel, Erika and the crew. Eastern Conference Champs AGAIN!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Postgame Video Interviews:

http://www.wnba.com/video/wnba/2013/09/29/20130929mccoughtrypostdesktopmov-2605402

http://www.wnba.com/video/wnba/2013/09/29/dreamlockerroomgame2f4v-2605406

http://www.wnba.com/video/wnba/2013/09/29/angelwilliamspressergame2f4v-2605417

~lw3

Edited September 30, 2013 by lethalweapon3

[lethalweapon3]

Venue Change Advisory!

The Dream were foiled by Big Bird and Friends before their first-ever home playoff game.

Now, for the WNBA Finals against Maya Moore's Minnesota Lynx, it's Mickey Mouse's turn. Due to a scheduling conflict with Philips Arena having already booked "Disney on Ice," Games 3 and (hopefully necessary) 4 of The Finals will be played in suburban Duluth, at The Arena at Gwinnett Center. These games will probably still feel like road games because, guess where The Legend of Maya Moore started? Yep, Gwinnett County.

As an ITP guy, I would have much preferred Tech's McCamish Pavilion (the renovated Thrillerdome) and its MSG-style views. But even though the Dream won't sell 8,600 seats at either venue the WNBA probably preferred a place with a seating capacity above 10,000.

It's a mildly familiar locale for Dream fans who attended the home semifinal game against the Detroit Shock in 2009, after finding out Philips was already booked that weekend for "Sesame Street Live."

WNBA Finals Schedule

Game 1: Sunday, October 6, Target Center (Minneapolis), 8:30 PM Eastern (ESPN)

Game 2: Tuesday, October 8, Target Center (Minneapolis), 8:00 PM Eastern (ESPN2)

Game 3: Thursday, October 10, Gwinnett Center (Duluth, GA), 8:30 PM Eastern (ESPN2)

Game 4: Sunday, October 13, Gwinnett Center (Duluth, GA), 8:00 PM Eastern (ESPN2)*

Game 5: Wednesday, October 16, Target Center (Minneapolis), 8:00 PM Eastern (ESPN)*

(* if necessary)

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

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~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Atlanta's Playoff Parties continue tonight! The Bravos could take notes from the Dream on how to bounce back strongly after a horrible playoff home opener.

Game 1 of the WNBA Finals (8:30 PM Eastern, ESPN) returns the 3-time Eastern Conference champion Atlanta Dream to the final season series against the 3-time WNBA Western Conference champion Minnesota Lynx. The Dream secured their third East title in seven seasons of existence, while the Lynx, tonight's host, trudged through 11 seasons without even a conference finals appearance, before rattling off three consecutive West pennants, the highlight being the 2011 WNBA title after sweeping the Dream.

The Dream is 0-for-6 in Finals appearances, but the margin of victory has not been bad on average (5.7 PPG). In fact, Atlanta had a lead in halftime of all three of the 2011 Finals games against Minnesota, and lost Game 1 without Erika DeSouza, who was still with Brazil for a national team Olympic qualifier.

What’s scary is Atlanta-area talent and WNBA superstar Maya Moore, then a rookie, had not yet taken over the reins as the Lynx’s top option. Seimone Augustus came to the rescue then, dropping 36 points in Game 2 of the 2011 Finals to neutralize Angel McCoughtry’s 38. Augustus (17.3 PPG in the 2013 playoffs) now takes a proud backseat to Moore, who has blazed through the 2013 playoffs averaging 21.5 PPG on 52.4 FG%, 92.9 FT%, and 35.0% on threes, plus 2.25 steals per game. At Collins Hill, Moore won her high school championships on the floor of the Arena at Gwinnett Center. She would love nothing more than clinching her second WNBA title on the same floor.

Moore has had a bad taste in her mouth ever since losing three-out-of-four to the Indiana Fever in the 2012 Finals. I don’t think she had finished more than three seasons of her playing career (China and Europe included), since junior year of high school, without winning a title. With apologies to Alicia Keys, this girl is on fire from the perimeter, the first WNBA player to lead the league in both three-point field goals made and 3FG%. To contain the top-scoring team in the league (82.9 PPG), Atlanta will need to shadow Moore with Tiffany Hayes to keep a hand in Maya’s face on the perimeter and make dribble-drive action tough.

DeSouza has had a career year, and has been particularly dominating inside during Atlanta’s series victories over the Washington Mystics and Indiana Fever, helping Atlanta pile up the points-in-the-paint. Unlike those two undersized opponents, the Lynx have players with the girth and talent to match up with either 6’5” DeSouza or 6’4” Aneika Henry.

A month from her 31^st birthday, Janel McCarville no longer possesses the offensive firepower she exhibited with the New York Liberty, but the 6’2” center has served as an adequate stopgap as season against the bigs in the West. She turned Phoenix rookie Brittney Griner into a non-factor in the Western Conference finals. Janel is also the best passing center in the game (2.9 APG regular-season; 3.3 APG playoffs) right now. In a pinch, the Lynx can deploy 6’5” Amber Harris.

McCarville’s ability to occupy opposing bigs, most importantly, frees up Rebekkah Brunson to wreck shop at the rim. Brunson averaged a double-double of 10.8 PPG and 10.3 RPG in four playoff games at the power forward spot. Sancho Lyttle would have been an ideal opponent pairing for Brunson, but due to her continued injury recovery, Brunson will get a mix of pairings thrown at her by coach Fred Williams, including McCoughtry, Henry, and DeSouza. Williams told a Lynx reporter he doesn’t expect Lyttle to be available in this series.

The team that wins the team-rebounding competition gains significant leverage in this series. Minnesota led the rough-and-tumble West in rebounds per game, but the Dream led all WNBA teams in offensive rebounds per game. Atlanta’s bigs have been boosted by sparkplugs Armintie Herrington (2.2 offensive rebounds per game) and Hayes helping on the boards, having the speed to recover defensively if they cannot secure the rebound. Minnesota will need a big effort from Devereaux Peters and the future Mrs. Kevin Durant (Monica Wright) to fend off Atlanta’s forwards from the boards.

Back in 2011, Lindsay Whalen was only beginning to establish herself as the premier point guard in the league. Atlanta’s third-year guard Jasmine Thomas has her work cut out for her against Whalen, who quarterbacks her Lynx teammates into finding ideal shots as well as anyone. She has improved her own shot-selection and ball-handling to become a veritable headache whenever she drives into the paint.

Whalen’s dominance with her ball-handling makes the Lynx the league’s most seal-tight offense, with WNBA-lows of 11.7 turnovers per game and 6.0 turnovers-by-steal per game. Atlanta relies on their defensive work (WNBA-high 10.2 steals per game, 16.1 opponent turnovers per game) to produce points. So without thefts-by-taking, Atlanta’s rebounders have to key the fastbreak to get Atlanta the edge in transition points.

The Dream led East teams with 16.6 assists per game, and to help offset Whalen’s passing production they’ll need to supplement Thomas with continued heady play from Herrington and Alex Bentley. Bentley’s shot is decidedly broke (5-for-27 in the playoffs, 0-for-9 on threes) but has made solid decisions with the ball in limited action (9 assists and 1 turnover in 5 games).

Coach Cheryl Reeve guides a Lynx team that sinks opponents by enticing them to settle for shots out on the perimeter and out of their comfort zones, then dominating the rebounding battle. Opponents shot a WNBA-low 40.5 FG% against Minnesota, largely reliant on three-point shots (17.1 attempts per game, second-highest in WNBA; 31.8 opponent 3FG%) and not on trips to the free throw line (18.2 attempts per game, third-fewest in the league).

Atlanta, of course, is downwright wretched at three-point shooting (league-low 27.5 3FG% overall, 24.3 3FG% on the road), and have been no better in the postseason (13-for-63 on threes), so any settling for those shots plays right into the Lynx’s paws. The Dream’s bigs must provide solid screens to free up backcourt players for buckets inside.

Hayes’s offense was a sight for sore eyes when the struggling Dream knocked off the Lynx in their last matchup in August, an 88-75 win, shooting 70% from the field for a game-high 23 points in 25 gritty minutes off the bench. Atlanta throttled Minnesota with a 22-5 final quarter to pull away. With undivided attention on Angel, Hayes and Herrington are Atlanta’s X-factors, and must be ready to receive the ball and make big shots and big plays.

Let’s Go Dream!

~lw3

Edited October 6, 2013 by lethalweapon3

[lethalweapon3]

McCarville is questionable for Game 1 after straining her back in practice Friday. If she cannot play, Minnesota would need some strategic adjustments to help with rebounding and boxing out DeSouza. I may not have mentioned that Le'Coe Willingham (knee) is available if needed for Atlanta.

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

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~lw3

[WraithSentinel]

Decided to check out the game and they are once again getting blown out. Do they even get the memo that the finals have started? Look like history is repeating itself yet again.

[lethalweapon3]

Atlanta's Postseason Pity Party Week continues! The beatings will continue until morale improves!

Game 2 tonight! (ESPN2, 8:00 PM Eastern) Like many have said already, Game 1 was a lot like the Four Horsemen against Dusty Rhodes and the Mulkey Brothers.

One team has it perfected and precise like clockwork, trolling the hapless American Dream (Angel) all over the venue as partners are all-too-willing to settle for the clueless jobber role.

As forewarned in the Finals preview, the Dream were tricked into trying to out-Lynx the Lynx, and got worked. Sinking in the quicksand they jumped in with both feet, they took 15 3-pointers, and made zilch. Maya Moore sunk her first three treys in a row, and Atlanta foolishly tried to "keep up."

"3s the old-fashioned way" won't come in bunches, either, not against a Minnesota team with the second-fewest personal fouls per game in the league. Erika DeSouza got just 9 shots despite her physical advantages in the paint, because the Dream could not find a way to get her the ball in the post against a pestering Lynx defense. Janel McCarville stepped out and leveled McCoughtry on a crushing, unannounced pick (thanks, teammates!) and continued to pick the Dream apart with her passing skills from the perimeter. Aneika Henry showed what could be done (14 points, 14 boards) if Fred Williams, the best coach named "Fred" in Atlanta, would stick to being assertive inside.

The early loss of human-demolition-derby Tiffany Hayes to that bothersome knee meant Atlanta had no answers for Monica Wright (20 points) off the bench. They need beaucoup productive minutes out of Hayes for this team to compete in Games 2 and 3. Angel's 6-for-24 night (4 shots blocked) looks rough at first, until you see her Mulkey teammates (Herrington, Hayes, Alex Bentley, and especially Jasz Thomas) were a combined 7-for-31 and virtual non-entities defensively (4 of just 6 steals -- maybe a team-low?). They must play tighter on ballhandlers and help with defensive rebounding to get the transition points they crave.

When Ric, Tully and the Andersons are teaming up on ol' Dusty, somebody has to step up and be a Magnum T.A.

Let's Go Dream!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Not much more to say before tonight's Game 3, before a semi-home crowd, other than...

Let's Go Dream!

~lw3

[Dnice]

Hope they keep it within 7-10 points for a change.

[AHawks89]

Has the WNBA always have this format for the Finals? Best of 5 but yet you're playing 3 games at home court advantage? Why the hell are they not playing 2-2-1-1?

Def agree with Damien.

Damien Wilkins ✔ @dwilkins3000

So the @AtlantaDream are in the finals and can't play on their home court? They played the entire finals on the road. #nobueno

Retweeted by Kris Willis

[WraithSentinel]

They don't deserve any respect. They have completely embarrass the WNBA in 3 of the last 4 WNBA Finals with their no show. Sending the sport back light years. With that I am done with them.

[lethalweapon3]

I'd disagree about "embarrassing the WNBA." The team that swept the Dream off the suburban Atlanta floor last night repped a franchise that spent 11 seasons in the hinterlands of the league, without so much as sniffing a trip to the Conference Finals. Before becoming the juggernaut we saw last night with three straight Finals visits and now two titles, Minnesota had a single playoff (game, not series) victory in those first 11 seasons, and their first WNBA title came after a six-year postseason drought. Thankfully, their fans weren't "done with" their team.

Alternatively, aside from gate receipts, I imagine the WNBA couldn't be prouder of a team having reached 3 WNBA Finals in just its sixth season of existence on Earth. The Dream overacheived this season. They simply couldn't overacheive in the Finals.

Comparatively, would anyone take, say, the BRAVES making the playoffs at various seeds, winning the NL, reaching the World Series, then falling flat on their faces SIX times since 2001, over what they've produced so far in that span? Given just those alternatives, I suspect someone would, indeed. Begrudgingly, but happily. I'll take the predictably lopsided effort I witnessed in Gwinnett Center Arena (by the underdog Dream) over the abomination that was Game 1 at Turner Field (by the home-field-advantaged Bravos) in the last couple MLB seasons every time.

The Cavs and Magic blowing the Hawks out of their own arena in epic fashions, in consecutive seasons, didn't cause too many people to vow never to darken Hawksquawk's door again. Even though the Braves could only muster a single home run against the Dodgers, Braves fans will be right back at the Ted diggin' the long ball next spring. Rather than being dismissive, last night's loss should only encourage true Dream fans to push the organization for an even deeper team and better personnel.

Much like their male brethren, the Dream have the fortune to be in the competitively weaker conference. That makes the degree-of-difficulty much lower for Atlanta than, say, Seattle, to make a four-game run after winning half their regular season games. When they do make the Finals, though, that advantage also makes their flaws appear more stark on a national stage than they do during most of the season.

Last night's Game 3 was actually a joy to watch if you're not simply rooting in desperation for whoever has the Atlanta jerseys on. Minnesota has painstakingly crafted a team of All-WNBA-caliber stars supported by All-Star-caliber role players and probably the best strategic head coach in the game. Lindsay Whalen, Rebekkah Brunson, Janel McCarville, and Seimone Augustus have been cutting their teeth in this league well before the Atlanta Dream even existed, and it showed last night. They've been through far worse trials and tribulations to get to where they are than Atlanta has, and they put the Dream and rest of the WNBA East on notice: unless you want the drubbings to continue, either do what you have to do to get on our level, or wait for us to get too old.

They are among just a handful of teams deep and healthy enough to throw multiple bodies at Angel AND Erika, and force their teammates to try and be heroes. They know how to get back on D to stop Atlanta's signature transition offense, and how to pack the paint to keep Atlanta's stars from getting buckets and foul shots, getting them to settle for the shot they were last in the league in for two straight years. They had multiple reliable options to score at any moment, while Atlanta had (maybe) 2. When Lynx teammates got the ball they were in position to shoot without hesitation because they understood the play. And did you see how cleanly their ballhandlers passed under pressure? Most importantly, look at the poise exhibited by Minnesota when Atlanta made their frenetic runs, versus Angel jawing with the refs (hmmm... where have we seen THAT before?) when the whistles weren't going her way, leaving her teammates 4-on-5 defensively against the top team in the league.The only way the Lynx would have lost a game in this series was if they slipped up. The Lynx exacted their will and put on a clinic last night to illustrate where the Dream (and most other WNBA franchises) want to be.

Re-watch the series sweep of Phoenix (who was better than the Dream this year) and you'll see this buzzsaw was sharpened and coming for anybody coming out of the East. If Indiana could have done any better than Atlanta, they'd have beaten Atlanta. If Chicago could have done any better, they'd have at least shown up to play against Indiana.

To a less-than-casual observer that assumes the Lynx and the Dream arrived to the Finals equally matched, I'd imagine they would be disappointed. To anyone that's been paying attention from the jump, the outcome is pretty much what was anticipated.

Go Dream 2014!

~lw3

Edited October 11, 2013 by lethalweapon3