2017 Atlanta Dream and WNBA Previews

[lethalweapon3]

1 hour ago, Gray Mule said:

I KID.  I KID.  I THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA.  MY BAD.

I wanted the Dream, after their first game, to teach the boys how

to shoot free throws.  Seems that the Hawks have been teaching these

Dream girls how to shoot free throws.  Egad.

Despite all that, Atlanta wins!!

I was hoping my shouts of "Gray Mule!" after every missed FT were loud enough for the broadcast to pick up! :-)

All those missed freebies almost caught up and bit them once Chelsea Gray finally heated up in the 4th. But that decision by LA to gamble on their final free throw attempt was head-scratching. We'll take that W over the champs, though, however we can get it!

Great work by Tip Hayes, and Layshia's dimes in the fourth-quarter helped put the game just barely out of LA's reach!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Keep some earplugs handy! It’s one of those mid-day matinees at the Thrillerdome today. That means that, as the Atlanta Dream face off with the San Antonio Stars (11:30 AM Eastern, Fox Sports South), McCamish Pavilion should be teeming with screaming kids.

The Stars haven’t reeled in any significant talent via trades or free agency since the sunset of the retired Becky Hammon’s and Sophia Young-Malcolm’s careers. They have gone 15-48 over the past three WNBA seasons, including this one, where they await their first W (0-5). San Antonio is hitting the reset button by bringing in WNBA vets in the front office and on the sideline.

Vickie Johnson (14^th all-time in Assists) retired with San Antonio after 13 WNBA seasons, and now handles the clipboard after several seasons as an assistant under longtime coach Dan Hughes. She works for Ruth Riley, the former (Silver) Star and 13-year vet, who retired after her brief 2013 season in Atlanta, then returned to Texas to eventually serve as the team’s general manager.

The Draft hasn’t brought them much talent over the past few seasons in the frontcourt, but there’s a stocked backcourt crowded with their best potential small-s stars. Swing player Kayla McBride (16.7 PPG, early career-bests of 54.2 2FG% and 88.2 FT%) arrived in 2014, and lead guard Moriah Jefferson (missed opening games with knee soreness, 5.5 APG in 2 games) was drafted in 2016. McBride arrived late and missed the opening games due to overseas commitments in Turkey.

The Stars’ 7-27 record in 2016 netted them the top lottery pick, but the Best Player Available was also a guard. Kelsey Plum enters her pro career as college hoops’ all-time leading scorer, and her agent was pulling out all the stops to keep Plum from landing, or staying, in San An.

“You have established assets who have played well, so why are you taking the number one pick to play out of position?”, griped Lindsey Kagawa Colas to Summitt Hoops, following the draft.  “In what sport does that happen? It’s entirely unprecedented. You don’t take Kyrie Irving, John Wall, Sue Bird or Derrick Rose to play the two. This is a woman who has twice been selected for USA Basketball as a point guard and broke the NCAA scoring record as a 1—and you’re going to ask her to essentially change positions?”

Despite her agent’s adversarial advocacy, Plum became an immediate hit for public relations in San Antonio. Similarly bothered by injury (ankle sprain) at the outset of the season, Kelsey has been slow to make waves to this point. While Plum hasn’t been shy with the basketball (WNBA-high 31.7 usage% in just 2 games) Johnson isn’t pushing her rookie (9.0 minutes per game) to make immediate impacts, not with Kay Mac and Mo Jeff around to run the show.

It’s only two games in, but only Atlanta’s Matee Ajavon (18.8 TO%, just 8 minutes of action) has been more likely to turn the ball over than Plum (17.1 TO% in two games), who has also been out-of-sorts defensively. At least until Plum ripens behind the scenes, there’s no reason for Coach Vickie to usher in three-guard starting lineups.

The Stars did move former star guard Danielle Robinson in the offseason. They traded to acquire center Isabelle Harrison (team-high 2.8 O-Rebs per game and 1.4 BPG), hoping the second-year player and former reserve for Brittney Griner will pay dividends long-term. In the interim, Johnson is leaning heavily on bench forward Mo Currie to fill the gaps.

Now in her 12^th WNBA season, Currie’s 16.6 PPG, 1.4 3FGs per game (50.0 3FG%) and 6.4 RPG would easily be career-best marks. Her scoring has cooled lately (9.7 PPG, 3-for-9 3FGs, 7-for-18 2FGs last 3 games). But until Johnson can get more out of Dearica Hamby, the 2015 top pick who hasn’t panned out, or 2017 first-rounder Nia Coffey, picked 5^th overall, the Stars coach will turn to her experienced vets.

Those veterans include longtime Dream center Erika de Souza, who started but mostly rested during the Stars’ 80-66 defeat in Minnesota on Sunday, and former Georgia Tech star Alex Montgomery (team-high 6.8 RPG), now in her 7^th season.

The Stars can put together long bursts of competitive play, but have yet to show they can sustain it over 40 minutes. They held a nice 26-22 first-quarter lead on the road against the Lynx, then got outscored 44-13 over the following two quarters of play. Eight different Stars committed at least two turnovers during the game, and they’ll need to cut that league-high volume down (18.6 TOs per game) if they intend to keep up with Atlanta (WNBA-high 9.3 SPG) in transition.

Back home last Thursday, San Antonio carefully crafted a 69-61 lead on rival Dallas through three quarters, then forgot how to defend. They lost the final frame 33-13, and the game 94-82. The Stars (WNBA-low 66.3 D-Reb%) can make better runs only if their guards help the bigs rebound, especially late in the game, and if the bigs make the effort to run the full floor.

After a strong home showing against the defending champion L.A. Sparks on Sunday, the Dream should be able to wear down the Stars by the second half. Atlanta and San Antonio rank first (62.3%) and second (61.5%) in percentages of buckets from two-pointers. Elizabeth Williams (10.5 RPG, 3^rd in WNBA) and Sancho Lyttle (WNBA-high 2.5 SPG) need to outpace and outwork Harrison and DeSouza, and Bria Holmes needs to keep Currie from becoming a handful on the boards.

Only Seattle, with Sue Bird and Jewell Loyd, can boast of a better start among its starting guard duo than Atlanta’s Layshia Clarendon (now a bride-to-be) and Tiffany Hayes. Hayes’ 24 points versus Los Angeles was a season-high, while Clarendon contributed a career-best 12 assists in the 75-73 win. Layshia kept the Sparks at arms’ reach by constantly looking for her post players. The pair also sunk ten of their 13 free throws. Considering the rest of the Dream made just 7 of their 15 free throws, anything less from Hayes (league-high 7.3 FTs made per game) and Clarendon (87.5 FT%) could have portended a different outcome.

It’s hard to find any more room on Hayes’ shoulders to place another chip, but she sure found one on Sunday. Even before drawing a questionable technical foul during the Sparks game, earlier that morning, Atlanta’s outspoken leading scorer tweeted (as reported by Swish Appeal) that the league mysteriously took time to block her from all of their social media platforms. The WNBA isn’t expected to respond, but you know Hayes envisions the awkwardness of the league having to honor her at some point this season, allowing her to speak her mind before a live audience.

Atlanta can help themselves today by funneling the Stars’ top scorers into shooting spots outside of their comfort zones. McBride (9.5 TO%) and Clarendon (7.5 TO%) have the highest turnover rates among any players with 100 or more possessions. But unlike San Antonio, Layshia’s team has cut the turnovers down significantly (16.3 team TO%, 3^rd-lowest in WNBA) from seasons’ past thus far. Meanwhile, Atlanta’s continued ability to force turnovers, as shown during much of the Sparks game, has helped Michael Cooper’s club obtain their 3-1 record to start the season, with the chance to accomplish just a little more before their homestand concludes.

 

It's Time to Scream for your Dream!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

I scream. You scream. We all scream for...

"McCoughtry's Ice Cream" opens tomorrow in Castleberry Hill (185 Peters St. SW), right near RHOA stars Kandi Burruss' and Todd Tucker's new "Old Lady Gang" restaurant.

~lw3

[Gray Mule]

Either there were not a lot of fans at this game or the TV cameras were

not trying to show them.  Dream has moved into their home away from home

and their fans don't seemed to have followed.

I know, game at mid day in mid week with an opponent without a win spelled

disaster for attendance.  Enough of the gripe.

Dream won !  Very close, exciting game until late before Atlanta pulled away.

Feisty, bride to be PG Layshia Clarendon set the tone for this one.  When she re entered

the game in the 4th quarter, Dream suddenly became a different, much better team.

 

[lethalweapon3]

48 minutes ago, Gray Mule said:

Either there were not a lot of fans at this game or the TV cameras were

not trying to show them.  Dream has moved into their home away from home

and their fans don't seemed to have followed.

I know, game at mid day in mid week with an opponent without a win spelled

disaster for attendance.  Enough of the gripe.

Dream won !  Very close, exciting game until late before Atlanta pulled away.

Feisty, bride to be PG Layshia Clarendon set the tone for this one.  When she re entered

the game in the 4th quarter, Dream suddenly became a different, much better team.

 

I wasn't too worried with the Dream falling behind early, because the quality of their shots were much more in the flow of a decent offense than San An's (Mo Currie was trying to play 1-on-5 at times). It was just a matter of Atlanta keeping up the movement in halfcourt, and beating their opponents down the floor off their turnovers late in the game.

Rebkell user "toad455" does the dirty work and routinely tracks attendance figures relative to the prior season average. Throwing in yesterday's lunchtime game, by my rusty math the Dream are about 1,332 fans below last year's season-long average of 5.614, 3 games in with 14 left to play.

Still, I doubt that it's cause for alarm quite yet. Two of the three opponents played thus far are not popular draws for any WNBA club (post-EDD Chicago, San Antonio with an 11:30 tip).

The Dream have always been on the back end of the league in attendance. Only Dallas, who just moved from Tulsa to a college gym in Arlington last year, draws fewer fans from year-to-year. Even bringing every one of 2016's average fans back would have the Dream ranked 11th out of 12 teams right now.

But the team has certainly budgeted for the lost draw of playing in the increasingly popular area of downtown Atlanta (no "casual attendees" just walking up), and the lost draw from Angel's departure (fewer "knowledgeable" and "star-catcher" fans). Plus, they have an intermittent home schedule to start the year (hardly any more games at McCamish until the end of June). And almost all WNBA clubs build up attendance as the season goes along, so those 2017 averages are sure to bump up for everybody.

Atlanta's current numerical drop is not as steep as that of more established teams (Phoenix, Indiana, New York). Indiana, like Atlanta, is finding its way without its franchise icon (permanently, in the Fever's case), while the new-car-smells of Brittney Griner and Tina Charles may be wearing off.

One thing we take for granted here in ATL is an excellent regional TV package. There are a few WNBA clubs that don't have virtually all their home games aired on regional cable. In many WNBA metros, if you really want to see your team with any sense of regularity, you have no choice but to turn off the TV/put down the phone and get your fanny to the arena.

The Dream certainly benefit from the added TV publicity, the sponsorship potential, and the reliability of quality broadcasters like Bawb and LaChina. Even without the dedicated fans in-house, the Dream likely catch up with many of these other teams in the TV revenue department. Much like the NBA, the WNBA benefits from being in a TV-friendly media market like ATL, even if its viewers are more interested in basketball per se than the local basketball team.

They also have the benefit of being in a multi-sports town where the teams' PR outfits are actively helping promote one another, via social media and at live games (e.g., Tiffany getting to pound the big railroad tie at the Atlanta United game around the corner). The Dream, thankfully, are not on an island to themselves.

All this team can do is continue winning, especially playing well at home and in the few cases they get a national spotlight (ESPN 2/NBATV/Twitter). The Dream have an asset in Coach Michael Cooper, who has been mixing in media rounds during the NBA Playoffs to help promote the WNBA on TV and radio. His NBA pedigree helps to woo some of us local bump-on-a-log sports fans with XY chromosomes to make the leap and head over to GT for some games.

A fairer measure will come after the first homestand following the All-Star Break in July. The more Coach Coop's team looks like a playoff contender without Angel around, the better off the Dream will be attendance-wise.

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

In WNBA news: Game Recognizes Game.

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

"Yes, you May!"

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

You’ll recall my preview declaring New York and Washington as the class of the WNBA East, as the rest of the conference will be left fighting for table scraps. Well, while the Dream have marched into June with a pleasant 4-1 record, their next two opponents – today’s hosts, the Mystics (3:00 PM Eastern, WNBA League Pass only in ATL, CSN Mid-Atlanic), and the Liberty – are looking up.

The Mystics (4-2) hope to trade places with Atlanta by securing their fourth-straight victory today. But a monkey wrench has been thrown into the plans of the Dream, the Libs, and the Styx, and several other teams in the East as the calendar turns. Specifically, EuroBasket Women is coming!

This month, 16 European teams are vying for five qualifying spots in the 2018 FIBA Women’s World Cup. One of the EuroBasket title contenders, Spain, already qualifies as they’ll be hosting the World Cup. Still, the Spaniards are looking forward to the return of their EuroBasket 2013 MVP – Atlanta’s Sancho Lyttle, a naturalized citizen from St. Vincent – to claim the 2017 championship in the Czech Republic.

Lyttle elected to sit out of Spain’s title defense in 2015, but got injured with the Dream and missed the rest of the WNBA season. Last year, an injury right before heading overseas caused Sancho to miss Spain’s silver-medalist run in Rio. They’re not going to let her go 3-for-3. So, she’ll miss Atlanta’s 5-game road trip to help prep for the tourney, then the Dream’s home return versus Chicago while Spain competes as far as the title game on June 25.

Sancho isn’t the sole native or naturalized citizen heading back across the Atlantic. Key players on several WNBA rosters, most notably Eastern clubs, are departing or have already arrived for practices and friendlies. The Mystics will be without two All-Star talents. Kristi Toliver, arguably the biggest free agent signing of the WNBA offseason after winning a title with Los Angeles, is suiting up for the Slovak Republic, while sweet-shooting stretch big Emma Meesseman is off to help out her native Belgium.

Other key WNBA losses include New York’s Epiphanny Prince (Russia) and Kia Vaughn (Czech Republic), Connecticut’s Alex Bentley (Belarus), Chicago’s Courtney Vandersloot (Hungary).

The momentary loss of Lyttle is a setback for Michael Cooper’s club for sure, especially as they set out to navigate a busy road schedule to start the month. After a sluggish offensive start in her first three games, Sancho shot 12-for-18 from the floor and added 5 assists and 4 O-Rebs in the home wins over Los Angeles and San Antonio.

The 33-year-old vet remains a terror anytime opponents pass or put the ball on the floor in her vicinity, leading the WNBA in the early going with 2.6 SPG. She is now two more thefts away from reaching the WNBA Top 10 All-Time. She is six blocks away from the league’s Top 30 list, four of those rejections away from 200 for her career.

Atlanta needs Damiris Dantas to shake out of her offensive funk from the field (last 2 games: 1-for-6 2FGs, 1-for-5 3FGs) and use her size to her advantage around the rim. The good news is she hasn’t logged heavy floortime in those two games, so she should be well-rested for the upcoming slate.

Second-year forward Bria Holmes is taking the mantle from center Elizabeth Williams as Coach Coop’s premier young iron-woman (34.6 minutes per game, 2^nd in WNBA). At 6-foot-1, she can put in minutes at the 4-spot, although her light frame suggests she shouldn’t rack up heavy minutes in this role. The best news is her defensive activity suits her well as a short-term replacement for Sancho. Her 1.8 SPG ranks 6^th in the league, tied with her teammate Layshia Clarendon.

Aneika Morello (foot) remains out indefinitely, but was a game time decision against the Stars. Moving Holmes to the 4-spot on occasion likely means that we will see much more of veteran Matee Ajavon, rookie Brittney Sykes and upstart Meighan Simmons at the wing during this road excursion. Second-year backup big Rachel Hollivay is also primed to get more floortime.

For Washington, the situation without Meesseman and Toliver will be more severe. It’s hard to get this far into a preview of the Mystics without mentioning Elena Delle Donne, the Mystics leading scorer (19.8 PPG, 5^th in WNBA) and newest franchise face thanks to a commandeered sign-and-trade deal out of Chicago. But EDD will be pressed to elevate her contributions even more at both ends of the floor.

As a sample of just how much effort her team has to put in to win games, Delle Donne grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds and blocked a season-high 5 shots on Wednesday. Guard Tayler Hill dished out a career-high 8 assists. Yet the Mystics still had to climb out of a 10-0 hole at home versus Connecticut, claw back from nine points down late in the fourth quarter, and hang on to get the 78-76 win despite a barrage of threes by the Sun.

Washington is also making-do without center LaToya Sanders, who would be in Eurobasket for Turkey if not for season-ending foot surgery. Going forward, Mystics coach Mike Thibault will lean heavily on Krystal Thomas (11 points and 9 rebounds vs. CON), whose game-saving block sealed the win over the Sun, starts in Meesseman’s place with both spots backed up by Tianna Hawkins (11-for-21 FGs in last 3 games). The less Delle Donne has to patrol at center, the better for the Mystics’ defense.

Delle Donne has keyed the league’s best rebounding team, Washington ranked 1^st in the league for both offensive and defensive rebounding percentage. Williams will have to leave her imprint on the glass and avoid foul trouble while defending the Mystics, who also lead the East with 53.2 TS%. Washington doesn’t turn over the ball much (WNBA-low 14.6 TO%), so it’s on Atlanta to control possessions and ramp up the tempo against the Mystics (WNBA-low 73.6 offensive pace).

There are ample scoring options within the backcourt to account for Toliver’s short-term absence. Ivory Latta (41.7 3FG%, 9.0 PPG) is certainly doing her part off the bench. But D.C. needs Hill and Tierra Ruffin-Pratt to get going from long-range. We may see Coach Thibault loosen the reins on rookie first-rounder Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, who has seen limited action thus far.

It could be a war of attrition when the Mystics play perimeter defense. Atlanta shoots just 25.0 3FG% as a team, and would certainly be last in the league if not for the hot hand of guard Tiffany Hayes (38.5 3FG%), whose 19.8 PPG ties Delle Donne atop the WNBA East. Fortunately for the Dream, Washington has allowed opponents to shoot a blistering 43.0 3FG%, and it’s unclear which Mystics guards will be able to counter whatever Hayes (WNBA-high 8.0 FT attempts per game) wants to do with the basketball.

Layshia Clarendon (1-for-10 3FGs last 3 games) has been cold from outside, but must keep her passing wizardry up by using dribble penetration to get open looks for Hayes and Dantas. Both Dantas and Delle Donne will want to capitalize whenever one fails to leave the paint to defend the other.

Sancho has long been the bedrock of Atlanta’s defensive efficiency, currently 3^rd in the league and tops among the East squads. Without her, the Dream have to raise their scoring up into the 80s, a volume they haven’t reached in the past three games, to stay competitive with the better scoring clubs like Washington (3^rd in WNBA O-Rating, best in East).

Let’s Go Dream!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

UPDATE: Just checked Rebkell and apparently Sancho is still with the team, and hasn't been suspended yet, so presumably she'll play today. She may just wait until right before Eurobasket starts (June 16) to head over, which would be great for Atlanta as their road trip wraps up around the 15th. She may leave before the team heads out to Seattle after playing Connecticut on the 10th.

For Washington, the Mystics may have to do without Tayler Hill (shoulder) or Natasha Cloud (knee), both listed as doubtful.

~lw3

[Gray Mule]

If part of your name has Atlanta in it and you play basketball, there must

be a rule, which the Dream broke in their first game, that says, "You must

not be a great free throw shooter if you play here!"  (Dream, 22\15 today)

Moreover, Atlanta teams surely are taught to ignore the three point shot.

Washington hit three after three to open the game.  Defense?  On top of all that,

The Dream did manage to hit a three.  Problem was, they missed on 14 of them.

Dream fell way behind early.  They fought back with stellar defense.  Washington

hit their free throws and their threes, winning 78\72.

(Note:  Missed 7 free throws and lost by 6)

 

[lethalweapon3]

Another early-morning tipoff! Today’s Screaming Kid’s Day game will be at Madison Square Garden, between the Atlanta Dream and the host New York Liberty (11:00 AM Eastern, MSG Network in NYC, NBATV in ATL and everywhere else). Washington scooched past Atlanta in the standings on Sunday, and today, another Eastern Conference favorite is aiming to follow suit.

New York (4-3) is making do without starting guard Epiphanny Prince (Russia) and center Kia Vaughn (Czech Republic), each helping their respective European clubs prep for Eurobasket Women. Sancho Lyttle (Spain) remains with the Dream (4-2) and is in the starting lineup. Even before the temporary defections, the Libs also found themselves scrambling after just a couple games.

Coach Bill Laimbeer entrusted the starting point guard gig to young Brittany Boyd, but an Achilles tear in her second game concluded Boyd’s season prematurely. With Boyd on the shelf and Prince headed overseas, the Liberty re-signed their second-round pick, rookie Lindsay Allen out of Notre Dame, to the roster. Acquired by trade in January along with Vaughn, former Mystic guard Bria Hartley is in the starting lineup.

The reigning conference leaders started out 2017 at 2-3, with two double-digit nationally-televised losses at MSG to the reigning WNBA Finalists, Minnesota and Los Angeles. Yet fans remain confident they are righting the ship and can soar to the top of the standings, especially once Prince and Vaughn return, and certainly so long as frontcourt superstar Tina Charles remains healthy.

On Monday, Charles (20.7 PPG, 4^th in WNBA) notched her 22^nd conference Player of the Week award, already tying WNBA iron-woman Tamika Catchings, who just retired after her 15^th and final season. Charles got some help on Sunday, as center Kiah Stokes (career-high 23 points, 11-for-12 FTs vs. PHX) came alive after a sluggish start to the season to help the Liberty overwhelm Brittney Griner’s Mercury by an 88-72 score. Stokes’ 14 boards fell one shy of the mark she established two days prior versus Dallas.

Tina will work with Stokes to try and keep the reigning conference Player of the Month, Atlanta’s Tiffany Hayes (19.6 PPG, 6^th in WNBA), and her fellow backcourt mate Layshia Clarendon (7.2 APG, 3^rd in WNBA) from piling up points in the paint. Both New York bigs must avoid foul trouble. Former top-pick Amanda Zahui B. continues to struggle, forcing Laimbeer to turn to Canadian rookie Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe and former Dream player Cierra Burdick. Stokes hopes her glass-crashing ways will continue versus Atlanta’s Elizabeth Williams (10.0 RPG, 3^rd in WNBA).

Atlanta surely was disappointed with falling behind by as many as 18 second-half points at shorthanded Washington on Sunday, missing 14 of 15 three-point attempts (the sole make by Hayes in the second quarter) and 7 of their 22 shots on trips to the free throw line. Surely, Mystics star Elena Delle Donne doesn’t grab a career-high 15 rebounds (only 1 offensive) if Atlanta hit nylon more frequently.

But there were some silver linings in the Nation’s Capital, most notably Atlanta committing just three turnovers (including just one Mystic steal) while dishing out 16 assists on their 28 made field goals. The Dream stormed back from a 50-32 third-quarter deficit to get within a point with just over seven minutes left to play. Even more decisive, for the 78-72 defeat, than the missed threes was the free throw disparity. While Atlanta (WNBA-low 69.4 FT%) went 15-for-22 from the charity stripe, Washington made 26-of-31.

Even so, perimeter play will go along way for Atlanta (WNBA-low 22.3 team 3FG%) toward keeping pace with, or keeping ahead of, the Liberty. Atlanta sorely needs eventual starter Damiris Dantas (1-for-6 FGs vs. WAS, 3-for-17 last three games) to get back on track, along with Clarendon (2-for-11 FGs vs. WAS), whose shot has cooled after a strong start (9-for-27 2FGs, 0-for-7 3FGs last three games).

Atlanta also needs some offense from Bria Holmes to offset contributions from Sugar Rodgers, the Liberty's current second-leading scorer who is looking to shake out of her own slump (2-for-16 FGs last two games), and Shavonte Zellous (48 points her last two games, 5 assists vs. PHX). Williams (2-for-7 FGs vs. WAS), meanwhile, must find ways to finish on her post touches, and needs help from Dantas and Lyttle if Atlanta is going to get many, or any, second-chance opportunities in New York (WNBA-high 76.5 D-Reb%).

New York is looking to ensure their five-game homestand, their longest of the season, is a winning one. But the Dream has enough tools to trip them up. An early win last season at a MSG matinee, led by Hayes’ 27 points and 11 rebounds, Lyttle’s 3 steals and 3 swats, and Williams’ 4 blocks, was the definitive springboard to a 6-1 start that helped Atlanta secure a .500 record and a playoff spot. Another one today would make for great momentum as the Dream’s road trip continues.

Let’s Go Dream!

~lw3

[Gray Mule]

SLEEPWALK

And we thought that only applied to the Hawks.  Wrong!  Dream can do that too!

Liberty shot 55% in the first half and scored 47.  They hit on 3 from down town.

Dream shot 24% in the first half and scored 29.  They missed all 7 of their 3 point attempts.

Liberty grabbed a lot of rebounds and hit a lot of second opportunity shots.

In their sleepwalk mode, Dream are not one step but two steps slower than usual.

Down at the half by 18, on the road, can't hit ther shots and can't rebound.  Doesn't

look great for the second half.

[lethalweapon3]

I joked on Twitter that if we were an AUC school, we'd be "CLANK Atlanta University"! lol

On to the next one (help us out, Connecticut)!

~lw3

[Gray Mule]

Better second half, but such a bad first half, no real chance in this one.

Shot 28% and missed 12 of 13 from down town.  Got out rebounded by 12.

Did hit a reasonable % of free throws but everything else we did was so

bad, it didn't really matter.

Could Atlanta please, please, please find someone who could hit 3 point shots

at a reasonable rate?  Please!

[lethalweapon3]

"WE HAVE A TRADE TO ANNOUNCE..."

One of the greatest names in pro basketball is now in our stead.

Looks like we suspended Sancho (now with Spain for Euroleague) a game early to make room for Hooper, but a roster cut is coming when Lyttle returns ((knocks on wood)) later in the month.

Hooper's a 34% shooter from three the past two seasons with the ShockWings, and we'll gladly take that. No offense, but there's been no offense. The Dream haven't cracked 80 points since May 19 (61 points @ NYL the team's lowest output since August 2014), and have collectively made 2 of their last 31 three-point attempts. I'd just as well send Star out there with us those shooting nimbers.

Hopefully, Jordan will have a chance to make an immediate splash tomorrow evening, against her most recent team, the Connecticut Sun (7:00 PM Eastern, League Pass only in ATL; CSN New England up thar). The Sun (2-5) is warming up, having won two of their last three, with the sole loss a 2-point defeat in Washington.

~lw3

[Gray Mule]

Dream didn't make it to 80 points again - - 104\71 blow out.

Braves called up pitcher from AA.  He went 7 innings, looked mighty fine,

then Braves were blown out, not once, but twice today.  Bad day to be

an Atlanta fan.  Ruined our entire week end.

[lethalweapon3]

The slip-sliding Atlanta Dream have their work cut out for them if they intend to slow their steep descent down the WNBA standings. They’ve traveled to the Emerald City to face a Seattle Storm team (10:00 PM Eastern, ESPN3) that has done some cross-country traveling of their own.

The Storm (5-4) have dropped three of their last four games. After falling 100-77 at home to Minnesota, they embarked on a trek of three road games in six days. Seattle prevailed in winless San Antonio, but came up short in Indiana on Friday and New York on Sunday. Jenny Boucek’s club hopes that the only team statistically worse than Seattle over the past ten days (demonstrably so, at that) will be at Key Arena to break the Storm’s fall.

Seattle’s -8.1 Net Rating since June 4 is tied with San Antonio’s, but pales in comparison to Atlanta’s (-23.3 Net Rating). As soul-crushing as the Dream’s perimeter shooting has been (1.7 threes per game since June 4, 15.0 attempts per game, 11.1 3FG%), more alarming is the lack of presence at the pivot position.

The Dream (4-4) have amassed just three blocked shots in their past three games, all losses, and opponents have now averaged more than double (6.1 BPG) the Dream’s block tally (3.0 BPG). Illustrating just how eaten-alive Elizabeth Williams (last 3 games: 7-for-24 FGs, 1 total block, 6.7 RPG) has been at turns by Elena Delle Donne (23 points, 15 rebounds), Tina Charles and Kiah Stokes (combined 25 points and 32 rebounds), and Jonquel Jones (20 points, 14 rebounds), Atlanta’s 44.0 total rebounding percentage since June 4 ranks dead-last in the league.

Williams had to endure Saturday’s trouncing at Connecticut without starting mate Sancho Lyttle. Sancho’s replacement in the starting lineup, Damiris Dantas, tried to be of some use offensively (6-for-11 2FGs, 1-for-6 3FGs), but struggled mightily at the other end of the floor, a team-high minus-30 for the game with no steals and no blocks.

Lyttle’s defensive contributions are highly valuable, but they should not be the difference between winning 81-74 in the season opener and getting pasted 104-71 less than a month later in the same building. Connecticut fielded a team not only missing Alex Bentley to international play, but also sitting Lynetta Kizer and Morgan Tuck due to injuries. Yet the Sun blazed anyway against visiting Atlanta.

The Dream failed to build depth at center behind Williams, and with Lyttle and Aneika Morello out there are signs the league’s reigning Most Improved Player is again being over-worked, and now out-worked by her opponents. Among the eight WNBA PF/Cs averaging over 30 minutes per game, Elizabeth is the only player shooting below 40 percent from the field (41.1 FG% from Seattle’s Breanna Stewart is the only one that comes close). Her 37.7 FG% is not helped at all by her 56.5 FT%, easily the lowest among all 21 WNBA players getting 30+ minutes per contest.

The abject failure by Atlanta to hit jumpers, particularly open ones, has caused Layshia Clarendon to start pressing, and as defenses pack the paint daring the Dream to beat them from the outside, Atlanta’s floor general has found less room to roam. Clarendon committed seven turnovers in Saturday’s defeat. That makes it five assists and ten TOs in the past two games for Layshia, after 34 dimes and 7 TOs in her prior four starts.

Coming into tonight’s contest, one silver lining is Seattle hasn’t been significantly better rebounding the ball (45.1 rebound% last ten days, 10^th of 12 WBA teams). Bria Holmes and Dantas must help Williams box out Stewart and Crystal Langhorne, especially when the reigning Rookie of the Year Stewart (35.1 3FG%) isn’t camping out along the perimeter. Clarendon and Tiffany Hayes’ eight defensive rebounds in Uncasville were two more than Holmes and Dantas amassed, together, at either end of the floor.

Brittney Sykes was assertive versus the Sun, but made too many rookie errors (4 TOs, 0-for-2 3FGs, fouled out in just over 20 minutes) coming off the bench. Still, Brittney’s extended floor time suggests Dream coach Michael Cooper is eager to let her take lumps now in hopes she’ll blossom as a backup wing down the line. Among the players Sykes will have to curtail defensively is fellow rookie Sami Whitcomb, who surprised many by nailing 9-of-13 three-point attempts in back-to-back May home games but has gone just 3-for-10 since in Seattle’s last four games.

Sue Bird remains masterful as a distributor (WNBA-high 8.1 APG, 1.9 TOs per game, career-high 110.5 O-Rating), happily feeding Stewart and All-WNBA candidate Jewell Loyd (team-high 19.0 PPG, 6^th in WNBA). But the defensive presence continues to wane for the 15-year vet, her career-low 106.1 D-Rating the 4^th-worst among players averaging 30+ minutes per game. Clarendon and Hayes must help crash the offensive glass for Atlanta and avoid getting in early foul trouble by putting Bird and Loyd on the line.

In closing... Vote Tip!

Let’s Go Dream!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

I got called for a foul just posting this.

Just Win, Baby!

Damiris gets the Dream Off the Schneid (for now)!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

After slipping out of Seattle with an overtime victory, the Atlanta Dream can steer momentum back in a positive direction with a road win over the Indiana Fever (7:00 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Indiana in IND, WNBA League Pass elsewhere), concluding their string of 5 away games before heading back to Atlanta for a 3-game homestand.

When last the Dream (5-4) faced head coach Pokey Chatman, her Chicago Sky (minus Elena Delle Donne) dispatched Atlanta from the 2016 WNBA Playoffs. Chatman relied upon a balanced effort to offset brilliant offensive displays by Tiffany Hayes and Angel McCoughtry.

This season, Coach Pokey runs a Fever team that is still finding their way without their franchise face, Tamika Catchings, on the floor. But in the hunt for their 13^th consecutive playoff berth, Indiana continues Chatman’s approach to attacking opponents all around the floor. Playing at the most methodical tempo possible (WNBA-low 75.0 offensive pace; league-low 12.9 team APG), the Fever will meticulously pass the ball around and dribble-hand-off until they find an exploitable matchup to their liking.

Indiana is 0-5 in road games but a spiffy 4-1 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the sole blemish thus far an overtime loss to Phoenix. They’ve been back home resting since Sunday’s 88-70 defeat in Washington, the first Pokey-EDD reunion. It would have helped for the Fever to have had struggling star point guard Briann January (3.1 APG, 39.3 FG%) available, but she remains questionable for tonight’s action while dealing with an Achilles strain.

Former Dream guard Erica Wheeler has started the past two games in January’s place. “EWeezy” has led the team in scoring in both games, 19 in last week’s home win over Seattle, 15 in the loss to Washington, while contributing six assists in each. In the 5-foot-7 guard’s past three games, she has shot 21-for-43 from the floor, although much of that scoring came from inside the perimeter (2-for-9 3FGs).

Five-time All-Star Candice Dupree (team-high 14.9 PPG) has already made herself comfortable in the Hoosier State. Acquired via a three-team deal from Phoenix in the offseason, the five-time WNBA All-Star replaced the retired Catchings as the only active WNBA player with over 5,000 points and 2,000 rebounds. CanDu collected 12 boards in the win over the Storm, and after going rebound-less in the loss at D.C., she remains just ten boards away from moving into 10^th in the league all-time.

Indy is not a team the Dream (season-high 28 personal fouls @ SEA), or anyone, wants to send to the free throw line. Every active Fever player shoots comfortably above 80 FT%. Second-year guard Tiffany Mitchell (97.0 FT% 3^rd in WNBA) has made 42 straight. Maybe the most underrated player in the league, wing Shenise Johnson (90.5 FT%, 7^th in WNBA; 2016 leader in FT%) made 40 in a row to end last season, missed her first free throw in 2017, and has since gone on to sink 19 of 20. Only the Mystics have been more prolific than the Fever when it comes to accuracy from the charity stripe (87.4 FT%).

The Fever’s biggest weakness has been their defense (league-worst 111.6 D-Rating, no over WNBA club over 108), perhaps the affect of relying so heavily on Catch for defensive playmaking over the years. Their overall rebounding percentage 47.4% ranks dead last, and opponents have shot a league-high 49.4 FG% and 38.0 3FG%, giving defensive rebounders few caroms to pursue. January’s absence only serves to exacerbate the challenges for Coach Pokey to solve. If there is an opponent for Atlanta (93.5 O-Rating, up to 10^th in WNBA) to iron out their offensive wrinkles against, this is the one.

With Indiana (WNBA-best 113.5 O-Rating at home) playing so much possession ball, Dream defenders have to find ways to coax the Fever into taking contested jumpers early in the shot clock. They should be able to find ample transition scoring opportunities if Damiris Dantas (career-high 22 points, 6-for-6 FTs @ SEA) and Elizabeth Williams (4 blocks @ SEA) can rebound and outlet quickly.

Despite a team high 8 rebounds and 6 assists in the 91-86 win at Seattle, Layshia Clarendon continues to press. The former Fever guard missed ten of her season-high 14 shot attempts in Seattle (0-for-5 3FGs), and committed four turnovers before fouling out of Tuesday’s game with three minutes to play. Atlanta led Seattle 76-68 at that point but scored just one free throw in the rest of the fourth quarter without their floor leader, needing a rare free throw miss by Jewell Loyd in the clutch to avoid blowing the game in regulation.

Clarendon needs to rely on her other mates to keep the Atlanta offense from becoming too static and predictable. Hayes dished out 5 assists in the second game of the season, but since May 19 has only collected than that many dimes combined over the course of seven games. Dantas and Williams are also capable of setting up teammates more frequently from the post. But Indiana would love for today’s game to be a shot-clock-sucking iso-fest instead.

Dream coach Michael Cooper shuffled his lineup while trying to squeeze some more juice out of Atlanta’s offensive lemon, shifting Dantas back to the bench and elevating Matee Ajavon into a combo wing/ assistant table-setter role. The spark worked, to an extent: as Dantas showed signs of getting out of her funk, Atlanta exceeded 40 points in a first half for the first time in eight games.

Whether the veteran Ajavon stays in the starting unit for now remains unclear. But with Jordan Hooper in the fold in exchange for next year’s second-rounder, and with Sancho Lyttle returning in a couple weeks, this is sink-or-swim time for someone on the roster.

The most likely waiver target is Meighan Simmons, who played less than two minutes in Seattle but matched Hooper by making her sole three-point attempt to widen the Dream’s small lead at the end of the third quarter. Simmons needs to continue making positive impacts in small stints in order to remain above Coach Coop’s cut line.

There won’t be many more opportunities left to show-and-prove. Atlanta won’t play again for eight days after today, and Lyttle is scheduled to return from Europe shortly thereafter.

Let’s Go Dream!

~lw3

[Gray Mule]

Whatever Cooper did, it didn't work.  If you can't hit your shots

and your opponent does, the outcome is obvious.

Dream did manage to hit 7 of 24 from downtown but, until they

manage to get off the bottom of the league in too many different

catagories, being lowest in %, it's hard to win games.

Sure, we miss Sancho and Angel, but Dream had too many easy

shots that refused to fall.  Why?  Who knows?

Question:  Is the new Dream player a pale face?  She looks like

she might be.

With one game in the next two weeks, can the coaching staff

of the Dream bring these gals out of the current funk they hit

in their last game?