2014 Atlanta Dream and WNBA Previews

[lethalweapon3]

Time to bust out the hardware! My picks on the year, followed by the Peak Performer winners.

 

MVP: Maya Moore, Minnesota – Led the league in scoring for the first time, and kept the Lynx steady and on-par with the Mercury despite injury setbacks at the start and middle of the season. Phoenix’s Diana Taurasi is a close second.

 

Defensive POY: Brittney Griner, Phoenix – Shattered the all-time blocked shots record, more than double the volume of any other player this season, along with the in-game record. Her Mercury edged Atlanta for the top WNBA spot in team defensive rating.

 

Most Improved: Skylar Diggins, Tulsa – Diggins turned the ball over on five more occasions this season… while playing nearly 350 more minutes. The presence of Odyssey Sims helped a little, but the improved passing and interior shooting on the way to becoming a 20-point scorer is all too hard to ignore. Phoenix’s Brittney Griner, Chicago’s Allie Quigley and Atlanta’s Tiffany Hayes deserve some votes, too.

 

6^th Woman: Allie Quigley, Chicago – What a sight for sore eyes she has been! With injuries/illness piling up all season long in Chicago, Quigley wound up second on this talented team in total points while also posting career-bests in multiple categories. The oft-underappreciated Jia Perkins deserves acclaim for helping get the Stars back into the postseason.

 

Rookie: Chiney Ogwumike, Connecticut – Tulsa’s Odyssey Sims was a late-charger with explosive scoring, but Ogwumike carries the day as an effective offensive rebounder and shotblocker who’s only beginning to round out her game.

 

Coach: Sandy Brondello, Phoenix – I mentioned at the outset what a splendid fit the Aussie was for this roster. Her delivery of defensive principles and accountability to a team not well-regarded for either was enough to push her players, individually and collectively, over the top.

 

 

All-WNBA Team

(1^st Team)

G – Diana Taurasi, Phoenix… led league in APG and top-5 in TS%. Leadership, clutch play second-to-one.

G – Lindsay Whalen, Minnesota… Topped the league in total assists for the 4^th-straight season.

GF – Angel McCoughtry, Atlanta… Rose above the Eastern crop to hoist the Dream to the top seed. 1st in SPG.

GF – Maya Moore, Minnesota… #1 in PPG, Top 10 in RPG, SPG, FT%, What hasn’t Maya done?

FC – Brittney Griner, Phoenix… In 2 short years, the most imposing defensive force in the league, by far.

 

(2^nd Team)

G – Skylar Diggins, Tulsa… Her game matches, if not surpasses, the hype. Gets to the FT line with ease.

G – Danielle Robinson, San Antonio… The undisputed floor leader as Becky Hammon departs. 2^nd in FT%.

GF – Candice Dupree, Phoenix… An ideal glue player. Top 10 in Points, D-Rebs, FG%, TO%.

FC – Candace Parker, Los Angeles… 3^rd in PPG, 5^th BPG, 6^th APG and SPG. Maligned due to L.A. being 3^rd.

FC – Tina Charles, New York… League’s top defensive rebounder also finished 5^th in scoring.

 

 

All-Rookie Team

 

G – Odyssey Sims, Tulsa… Came on so strong in the second half, she finished 6^th in PPG and 8^th in APG.

G – Kayla McBride, San Antonio… Emerged as the top shooter among rooks, 6^th in 3FG%, 4^th in TO%.

GF – Anna Cruz, New York… Undrafted Spanish FA was 1^st in SPG, 2^nd in APG, 3^rd in PPG and Rebs for NY.

F – Alyssa Thomas, Connecticut… Averaged 10-and-5 and was a steady option for a green team.

FC – Chiney Ogwumike, Connecticut… O-Reb extraordinaire did all one could ask for in Year 1.

 

 

WNBA Peak Performers:

Scoring – Maya Moore, Minnesota (Angel McCoughtry, Atlanta, 4^th)

Rebounding – Courtney Paris, Tulsa (Sancho Lyttle, Atlanta, 5^th)

Assists – Diana Taurasi, Phoenix (Celine Dumerc, Atlanta, 10^th; Dumerc led WNBA in Assists per-40)

Steals (unofficial) – Angel McCoughtry, Atlanta (Sancho Lyttle, Atlanta, 2^nd)

Blocks (unofficial) – Brittney Griner, Phoenix (Erika DeSouza, 4^th)

 

~lw3

[Randy]

Pretty much agree with your picks, but I'd move Charles to the first team center and Griner second.  Charles is a better scorer and rebounder.   Seems to me that Griner relies too much on "hero blocks" sending the ball out of bounds and just giving the other team a do over.  Crafty posts can score on her, and she's not a good rebounder among centers.  So I think she's not really deserving of DPOY.  I'd go for Catchings, except she missed so many games.  So maybe Angel gets the nod or maybe even Erika. But it could be Griner gets it by default after all.   

 

As for all rookie - I'd replace Cruz with Shoni.  Shoni was the only rookie of note that played on a winning team, and Cruz just isn't a rookie in my book.  She's played pro ball since she was sixteen.  Maybe there needs to be a new category of International New Player of the Year of something.

 

As for COY - I'd like to see anyone win as many games as Dunn did with the team she had on the floor this year, so she gets my vote.  Most coaches would be lucky to win 10 games with the oft injured, and undersized, Indiana crew.   It ought be easy to win with Taurasi, Taylor, Phillips, Bonner, DuPre, Griner and Bass,etc.  I think with no coach at all, they could win 20 games. 

[Randy]

BTW - your 6th woman pick is a pretty remarkable story.  Quigley played only a total of 34 games for 4 teams in the WNBA from 2008-2011, averaging less than 2 points, in about 6 minutes per game.  In 2012 she didn't even play in the WNBA.  In 2013 she was picked up by the Sky and played less than ten minutes a game, averaging less than 4 points.  Suddenly, given the chance to play, in 2013 she's putting up 11.2 per game, shooting 38.7% from 3.  A real case where persistence pays off.  She has to be giving a lot of hope to players like Courtney Clements, Amanda Thomson, Nadia Colhado and others.  I just wish she was on our team.....

Edited August 20, 2014 by Randy

[lethalweapon3]

“Unfinished Business.” That’s the rallying cry for the WNBA team still struggling to win over the fickle hearts and finicky minds of their Atlanta-area sports fanbase. The three-time WNBA finalists know they’ve overachieved relative to other teams in the league, yet are perceived as underachievers for the way they’ve wilted whenever they finally earn the casual observer’s undivided attention.

 

To make it through the 2014 playoff gauntlet, beginning with tonight’s Game 1 contest against the Chicago Sky (7:30 PM, NBATV), the Atlanta Dream have some fundamental issues to overcome. Atlanta ranks last in the league in 3FG% (30.3%) and FT% (73.3%), ranks second-worst only to non-playoff Tulsa in opponent 3FG% (35.5%), and leads the WNBA by a mile in turnovers per game (15.7 per game), the latter value 10% more than non-playoff New York. Regardless of where they finished in the standings, can any team that carried all those issues through the regular season “finish their business” and make it out of a playoff series against freshly healthy opponents in the East, much less win a game in the WNBA Finals?

 

The good news is, even with similar stats, they’ve pulled rabbits out of their hat before, most recently in 2013 when they got off the canvas after dropping Game 1 to the Mystics to zoom past Washington and Indiana in convincing fashion. The bad news is, turning on the switch is now an expectation for the team that’s a #1 seed for the first time in its history.

 

After five consecutive seasons of being the happy hunter, it’s not easy being the hunted in the Eastern Conference. The Chicago Sky is quite familiar with this sentiment. After scratching and clawing for years just to make the playoffs, in 2013 the Sky soared to the #1 spot in the East, only to get run off the floor in the first-round by the defending champion Indiana Fever. Their 2014 postseason mantra is “This is Our Moment.” One could argue that’s what 2013 was supposed to be, too. Which team will Swin Cash be pulling for?

 

Particularly now with Cash a distant memory, the Sky have, reportedly, the league’s youngest roster. Even with the positive momentum gained from having their core players back and ready-to-go, Chicago will be going up against a battle-tested Atlanta starting frontline that has outlasted the Eastern Conference in three of the past four postseasons.

 

Coming off of a bout with tendinitis in both feet, Angel McCoughtry will need to cover a lot of the floor to keep Chicago at bay. She can help give Erika DeSouza and Sancho Lyttle a definitive rebounding edge against Sylvia Fowles, Jessica Breland and the Sky, who have ceded the most opponent offensive rebounds in the league (Atlanta finished the season #1 in offensive rebounds). Winning second opportunities and getting quick putbacks will put pressure on Chicago’s bigs to play physical and risk foul trouble. Lyttle’s ability to draw Chicago bigs outside the paint with mid-range shots should also help open up the floor for Atlanta, particularly dual offensive threat Tiffany Hayes.

 

To scrape the Sky, Angel will need to float out to the perimeter on defense and help contest Allie Quigley, Elena Delle Donne, and Epiphanny Prince, especially without fouling, since each one of the trio ranks in the top-ten of the league for FT%. Prince, Jamierra Faulkner and the newly returned point guard Courtney Vandersloot (the latter leading the league in assists per game and per 100 possessions) will look to get around the Dream guards and collapse the defense. Getting their first taste of WNBA playoff action, Atlanta’s Shoni Schimmel and Celine Dumerc must avoid going under screens and make lane penetration difficult for the Sky ballhandlers.

 

The Dream is accustomed to being the quickest draw in the East (78.6 possessions per-40), but they won’t experience a clash of styles with Chicago, who ranks second in pace (76.1 per-40). The team who creates offense quickest and most effectively in transition will give themselves a leg up in this series.

 

(All this bolding is a subtle reminder to wear black to tonight's Game 1. Black tees will go out to the first 3000 in attendance.)

 

Let’s Go Dream!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Fun game, a little short on fundamentals there at the end though. Let's knot that thing up in Chicago! Lively Game 1 crowd!

 

~lw3

Edited August 23, 2014 by lethalweapon3

[NJHAWK]

It was a great game but a heartbreaking loss. We have had alot of trouble with Chicago so its going to take all the moxey they muster to win up there. GO DREAM !!!!    Screw these 3 game series, too dam short after playing a whole season.

[Randy]

The good news is that I'm undefeated on the Dream seat upgrade contest.  That bad news is that the business remains unfinished.   Guess we can wear the same t-shirts Tuesday, if necessary.  If not, next year.......

[Randy]

Looks like it took us a while to figure out that Sancho can't stop Delle Donne from scoring, but seems like Angel did.  So that may be the key for the next game.  I think its unlikely Young will go off 5-9 for 12 points again.  Hopefully, she starts thinking she should be the one shooting the ball. 

[lethalweapon3]

Game 2 in the Windy City tonight (7:00 PM Eastern, ESPN2)! Chicago will do anything to win the first playoff series in their nine-year history front of their home fans tonight.

 

No word on Jessica Breland's status after the Sky power forward injured her shoulder in the first half of Game 1.

 

Head Coach Michael Cooper will need to make defensive adjustments to deal with Elena Delle Donne while making sure Shoni Schimmel doesn't get lost on her assignments in crunch time, as was the case in Game 1's game-clinching play by Courtney Vandersloot.

 

The Dream must show focus in completing shots around the rim, particularly bigs Erika DeSouza and Sancho Lyttle.

 

Let's Go Dream!

~lw3

[Randy]

The Dream have built the whole season on winning a championship.  But somewhere along the way, they seem to have forgotten that to do that you have to win some games along the way.  Hopefully, facing elimination today will job their memory. 

 

I think the only thing closer to Delle Donne than Angel today will be her uniform.  When Angel puts her mind to it, anything can happen.  Anyway, If we win today, I think we can win Tuesday and win the east.  If not, I'm picking Indiana to win the east.  . 

[lethalweapon3]

Rubber match on Tuesday! Angel went Beastmode and Shoni had better be on #SCTop10 after that pass to Angel! Great work from Jasz with Celine sidelined.

 

~lw3

[Randy]

Wow - sometimes I forget about Angel.  What a game!!  She has 3 of the top 4 playoff games in the WNBA history.  This is a player that steps up when it counts the most.   I'm all out of predictions for game 3, though.  Expect the unexpected.

[benhillboy]

I never watch the WNBA, but McCoughery and Shcimmel might pull me in. Those chicks be hooping. I'm definately gonna hit a few games next year.

Then I saw the Griner breakaway dunk looking like Al Horford. Crazy thing is I never watched her play, yet I expected her to do it. The hell is going on?

[macdaddy]

What's the expected crowd for tonight?   Do these playoff games get a good turnout?

[Randy]

macdaddy - don't worry about getting tickets. There will be plenty.  Usually regular season games draw better because they have more time to sell the tickets and line up groups.  They reported numbers of 5900 or so for the Friday game. They only use the lower bowl.  It will be a loud crowd and a fun game no matter what.  Tickets are pretty cheap - I think as low as $10 in my section which is 211 (Midcourt.)  Hawks tickets in that section would probably be $50-$75.   

[lethalweapon3]

Another trip to the Conference Finals is at stake tonight! At the Highlight Factory for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals (7:30 PM Eastern, FoxSports South in ATL, NBATV outside ATL), the Atlanta Dream will try to keep the momentum from Game 2 going against the Chicago Sky.

 

* As usual for much of this season, the Magic Number is 80! The Dream scored 97, 81, and now 90 in their three wins against the Sky this season. If the Dream put up anything less than 80, there's a good chance they'll be packing up for the season.

 

* Angel McCoughtry had another of her masterful postseason performances in Game 2 (39 points). She figured out she's more effective finding her offense by getting to the rim and to the free throw line (13-for-14 FTs). Chicago missing shotblocker Jessica Breland after she dislocated her shoulder early in Game 1 opened things up much more for Angel to spread her wings inside in Game 2.

 

* Celine Dumerc may remain out with her sprained knee from Game 1, but Jasmine Thomas and Shoni Schimmel (combined 11 assists, 4 turnovers, 4 steals in Game 2) did a tremendous job pressing the action and keeping Chicago's backcourt on their heels. Thomas and Schimmel found Tiffany Hayes open for three-pointers, and Hayes responded by going 3-for-5 after shooting just 3-for-14 in her last six games. Hayes' hustle is needed on the floor the whole game, and she cannot afford to find herself in early foul trouble with the season on the line as she did in Game 2.

 

* The Sky has to find a way to get Angel to pick up her dribble outside the paint, meaning there should be another busy day for former Dream player Tamera Young. Elena Delle Donne can help, in theory, but someone will have to account for Sancho Lyttle, plus she'll want to conserve her limited energy for the other end of the floor. Sixth-woman Allie Quigley's best defense has been her offense. However Chicago does it, it's clear there has been little defensive pressure on McCoughtry so far. The league's leading turnover maker has just 3 turnovers total through the first two games of this series.

 

* Chicago has not been getting many looks in to Sylvia Fowles, who is staying back on D for rebounds and, like Delle Donne, may also be conserving her effort with so much floor time. Big Syl has just 2 offensive rebounds in over 75 minutes of postseason action. They need to get her going on the offensive end to keep Erika DeSouza and Aneika Henry busy.

 

* Securing the perimeter made a huge difference for Atlanta in Game 2. The Sky shot just 4-for-18 at home, compared to 6-for-13 in Game 1. When Angel comes out to defend, Delle Donne (1-for-6 on 3FGs in Game 2) is reluctant to put the ball on the floor if she's gassed and isn't the strongest passer. Lyttle, Hayes, and the Dream backcourt have to be primed to pick off any attempts by EDD to find teammates that can bail her out. Angel also has to avoid bailing the Sky out by overextending for fouls.

 

~lw3

[Randy]

I wonder if the strategy is to have Lyttle start on Delle Donne in the first half, wear her down, then put Angel on her in the second.  Seems to have worked that way both times. 

[Dnice]

Lookin good in the 1st.

[benhillboy]

WTF!!!!!

[Gray Mule]

Can't hit those free throws, therefore Dream season is over.

 

Angel wanted the ball in her hands.  She got her wish.  Down the stretch,

over and over, she couldn't buy a basket.

 

Dang!  Dang!  Dang!

 

Season, suddenly, is over for the Dream.