2018 Atlanta Dream and WNBA Previews

[lethalweapon3]

There is Nothing New Under the Sun. Just the entire Eastern Conference, and the rest of the WNBA as well. The Atlanta Dream close out their homestand tonight, as coach Nicki Collen prepares her team to face her prior employer, the undefeated Connecticut Sun (8:00 PM Eastern, Fox Sports South in ATL, NBC Sports Boston in CT), who have basically steam-rolled all comers with ease.

Last year, the Sun were waylaid by multi-talented forward/center Chiney Ogwumike being shelved for the whole season due to an Achilles injury. They started out 2017 at 0-4 and yet finished with a stunning 21-13 record, making the playoffs for the first time in five seasons while falling short of the Eastern Conference regular season crown by a single game versus New York. That was enough of an impressive bounceback to make coach Curt Miller’s top assistant, Collen, look the part of a prime head coaching candidate.

So now what does the league do with a Connecticut team that has barreled out of the 2018 gates at 5-0, steamrolling their foes by an AVERAGE of 23.0 PPG? It was merely a preseason warm-up, but since plundering the visiting Dream by a score of 74-58 in Bridgeport on May 11, the Sun has blazed and shows no signs of setting.

Did we discuss yet the fact that the league’s breakout star from last season, three-point shooting All-WNBA second-teamer and dunking All-Star Jonquel Jones, has been playing off the bench?

The Bahamian baller had offseason personal family and passport travel issues to work through, causing her to miss the entirety of training camp. Miller elected to start this season with Chiney in the starting lineup, alongside Jones’ fellow 2017 All-Star Alyssa Thomas (WNBA Player of the Week in the East, two weeks ago), as Jones comes off the pine in relief.

The results have been sterling, not the least of which because the league’s best offense (WNBA-high 97.4 PPG, only team shooting above 50 percent from the floor and 40 percent beyond the 3-point line) has been guided by two former Atlanta players, neither of whom is the traded Bria Holmes (pregnancy).

Another 2017 All-Star (and All-Defensive First Teamer), former Dream point guard Jasmine Thomas, continues coming into her own. The 28-year-old veteran's season-high 25 points was key to Connecticut trouncing the Delle Donne-less Mystics in D.C., 88-64 on Sunday. On this balanced Sun offense, Jasz (14.0 PPG, team-high 5.2 APG) has been surpassed thus far in scoring only by fellow ex-Dreamer Alex Bentley (team-high 14.2 PPG).

Behind that backcourt duo in the scoring column, the Sun have triple-threat Alyssa (13.8 PPG, 57.4 FG%, 9.8 RPG, 4.2 APG), who has switched shooting hands in hopes of improving her free throw shooting (55.6 FT%), Chiney (13.0 PPG, 65.0 FG%), and Jonquel (11.6 PPG, 54.5 3FG%), the latter of whom has joined Bentley in forming reserve depth not seen anywhere else in the W. Jones got caught up in a heated war-of-words with the Mystics’ Krystal Thomas, the opponents drawing double technicals as the Sun lead got out of hand on Sunday. She proceeded to show off her dead-eye perimeter shot, following that my aiming her eyes dead at Krystal. No more doubting, Thomas!

If there is any one coach who can craft a scheme to tame the beast the Sun are forming, it’s Collen, who was instrumental in many players’ development and chemistry-building during her two seasons up in the Nutmeg State. Unfortunately, Coach Nicki cannot go out on the floor and shoot free throws on her team’s behalf.

The Dream (WNBA-low 72.4 FT%; 71.9% at home) clunked eight of 22 attempts on Sunday versus Phoenix. As @Gray Muleastutely observed, that proved to be essentially the difference in their 78-71 loss to the Mercury here at McCamish Pavilion.

Even despite woeful first-quarter defense (69.2 opponent FG%) and even more treacherous second-quarter offense (2-for-18 team FGs), aggressive rebounding and help defense from forwards Angel McCoughtry (season-highs of 21 points and 10 boards vs. PHX) and Jessica Breland had the Dream back in the game by the third quarter. Alas, the disparity in accuracy at the charity stripe created too wide of a gap for Atlanta (2-3) to close, especially once Phoenix’s Diana Taurasi and DeWanna Bonner (combined 40 points, 14-for-16 FTs) finally got things rolling.

Chemistry among the reconfigured Atlanta starting unit continues to be a challenge. Renee Montgomery (4-for-6 3FGs vs. PHX) has helped stretch the floor, but she has struggled with setting up her teammates (team-high 3.4 APG), who shot 1-for-13 on threes against the Merc, and with defending at her position. Meanwhile, the Dream bench, even with 2017 All-Star Layshia Clarendon and All-Rookie Brittney Sykes, has proved next-to-no offensive punch, four reserves combining to shoot just 4-for-16 from the field on Sunday.

Collen may want to take a flyer from her former boss and consider swapping one All-Star talent for another on the Dream bench. Clarendon and Montgomery together in the starting unit would make for a smallish backcourt, but their dual playmaking capabilities could jumpstart an offense that also ranks last in the league with 37.5 FG%, placing way too much pressure on the defense (WNBA-high 9.8 team SPG; 5.8 team BPG, 2^nd in WNBA; 42.5 opponent FG%, 3^rd-lowest in WNBA) to stand on its head.

Tiffany Hayes (team-high 16.4 PPG, but 34.9 FG%; double-digit scoring in all five games, despite season-low 12 points vs. PHX) could thrive off the bench, subbing for either of Layshia or Renee while working in tandem with Sykes to exploit mismatches versus second-tier opponents. Tip has worked hard to improve her on-ball defense (season-high 3 steals on Sunday), and can play a crucial role as a crunch-time closer. Playing more of Maggie Lucas (4.5 MPG) with Hayes and Sykes would help the bench stretch the offensive floor.

Hayes not having to share the ball as much with McCoughtry (16.2 PPG, 45.2 FG%) at the outset of games may help both players. Angel is shaking off the rust and thriving while playing more off-ball in the halfcourt, and her would-be career-low 1.4 APG is understandable in the context of the team’s current needs. It is essential for Breland (31.4 FG%), who has become more of a stopgap mid-range option, and Elizabeth Williams (39.5 FG%, 47.4 FT%, questionable with an ankle injury), to finish around the basket when they’re fed by McCoughtry, who has long bedeviled this Connecticut team, and the Dream guards. Until rookie Monique Billings, Imani McGee-Stafford, and Damiris Dantas can get up to speed, the Atlanta frontcourt has no other options.

Despite the miserable team shooting, the Dream have held their last four opponents below 80 points, both Atlanta and their opponents finishing in the seventies during each of the past three home games. Some minor lineup tweaking could make a major difference in some of the outcomes.

Backcourt, frontcourt, bench. Before what is likely to be a sparse mid-week, late-night crowd at Georgia Tech for the conclusion of Atlanta’s four-game homestand, the Dream must find a way to come out ahead in two of those three areas to have a shot at handing the Sun their first defeat of the season. The talent is here, but the team chemistry, unlike Connecticut's, has yet to form. There won’t be much time to sort things out off the court, as Atlanta heads out West for the next three games and will play every other day from this coming Friday until June 16.

 

Let’s Go Dream!

~lw3

[Gray Mule]

DREAM WIN !!  DREAM WIN !!

Any win is exciting but when your team comes out on top when they are playing an undefeated team, it gets to be really exciting.  23 point was their average spread in 5 victories.  Going over 100 didn't seem strange to them.  Well, they didn't get their 100 nor did they get a win.

Nice to see some Atlanta Hawks there for the game, including their new head coach, Lloyd Pierce.

Go Braves!!

[lethalweapon3]

Got some surprising bench help to blot out the Sun for the 1st time this season!

Big win for Coach Nicki and her coaching crew. Take that show on the road!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

True To... yeah, you know!

~lw3

[Dnice]

Don't watch much of the games of late but  Tabitha's pretty... I was listening to her guest host on 680  this afternoon, so I had to check her out.. she's a jacket @kg01

[lethalweapon3]

Vegas, Baby! After handing Connecticut their first loss of the season, the Atlanta Dream head west for the next three games, including a Western-style Kid’s Day game versus the Las Vegas Aces (3:00 PM Eastern, Noon Pacific, WNBA League Pass only in ATL, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain in LV). One can only hope that whatever happens in Vegas won’t need to stay there.

Directed by coach/GM Bill Laimbeer, Las Vegas moved WNBA as a franchise for the second time after last season, formerly the Utah Starzz and, later, the San Antonio (Silver) Stars. Their indoor arena at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino seats up to 12,000, but you can forgive the local sports fans if they’re a tad too groggy and deflated from last night’s action (how bout dem Golden Knights, though, eh?) to head out to The Strip for this one.

Laimbeer’s Aces are in the hole (1-5), but they have played much better of late after an 0-4 start. This time last week, they won their first-ever game in this building, 85-78 over the (stop me if you’ve heard this before) EDD-less Washington Mystics (Caps got revenge for that last night). They went up to The Second City a couple days later, and while the Sky were missing Stef Dolson and Allie Quigley, Las Vegas built up a 23-12 first-quarter lead before running out of steam defensively and falling short, 95-90.

Making the book on the Aces has been simple thus far because they’re trying to play with Laimbeer’s well-worn imprint. Namely, ram the ball inside, inside, inside like a pitcher trying to back an opponent off the plate.

Las Vegas has shot a league-low 9.7 threes per game (the next-lowest team, Minnesota, shoots just under 15 per). And the shots they take tend not to hit nylon (27.6 3FG%, now last in the WNBA since Atlanta finally got hot during Tuesday’s win).

That college hoops’ all-time leading scorer and 2017’s 1^st-overall pick, Kelsey Plum, is still coming off the pine after missing preseason and the first two games due to overseas duties tells pretty much what you need to know about the Bad Boy coach’s mindset. “She needs to learn our offense and how to run a team,” Laimbeer said last weekend. Okay.

Ace opponents, conversely, are feasting from the outside, hoisting a league-high 23.5 three-point attempts and sinking a league-best 41.1 3FG% (58-for-141, versus the Aces’ 16-for-58). Plum can’t do much more than help close the gap offensively, but the constricting nature of Laimbeer’s defense has starting guards Lindsay Allen and Kayla McBride, and ex-Dreamer Tamera Young, running ragged to get out and contest shots from the arc.

This full-court, paint-heavy strategy might have worked well for the ex-Liberty and Detroit Shock coach, had he brought Tina Charles over from New York with him to pair with rookie sensation A’ja Wilson (an Aces-high 21.0 PPG, t-3^rd in WNBA; league-high 9.8 FTAs per game; 7.7 RPG, t-7^th in WNBA).

Alas, he and the Aces have had to weather the storm with Carolyn Swords and the league-returning Kelsey Bone taking turns in the starting lineup at center. There has been one bench player who has been making it hard for Coach Bill not to consider rolling the dice and shifting Wilson to the 5-spot. And it’s an ATLien.

Norcross High and Marietta High legend Dearica Hamby has been cherries across the board in recent games. Versus the Mystics, 10 of her 14 points came during the final four minutes of play to seal the Aces’ first win of the season. Then, in Chicago, Hamby upped the ante. The forward topped off her career-high 24 points (11-for-13 FGs) by sinking a three to narrow the Sky lead to one with just a minute left in the game. Surely pleasing Laimbeer, she added three blocks for good measure.

All told, in her last three outings, Dearica has been a true “DH” in the baseball sense, combining to shoot 72 percent (18-for-25) from the field, after being deployed sparingly by Laimbeer (6.0 minutes per game) in Vegas’ first three contests. Particularly while Atlanta’s undersized Elizabeth Williams is playing with a tender ankle, perhaps the time is right for Las Vegas to shift the 6-foot-4 (but under-200-pound) Wilson to the pivot, making room for Hamby, and save the beef for the bench.

Atlanta (3-3) got a sorely-needed lift of its own on Tuesday from the bench. Coach Nicki Collen hinted that Damiris Dantas was the best performing big during training camp, and the Brazilian rewarded Collen’s trust in her, sinking six of eight shots, including an early confidence-boosting three, along the way to 15 points, key to the Dream eclipsing the Sun by an 82-77 score.

Dantas’ on-ball defense was on-point, especially late, where Collen chose to stick with her as the sole big off the bench, leaving Imani McGee-Stafford and Monique Billings on the shelf. For these two Californians, especially the rookie Billings, this West Coast excursion is an early chance for family to see them in action (you’ll forgive the McGee family if their focus is on the proceedings in Ohio later today).

While some consistency from Dantas would be warmly welcomed, it has yet to be seen. It is critical for Billings (DNP last two contests), who played well in a late fourth-quarter spurt during the Dream’s last road game, not to fall too far out of the rotation. As for Imani (DNP vs. CON), the remnant from the 2017 late-season gambit which cost Atlanta a lottery pick, whose Player Impact Estimate (WNBA’s version of PER) is the lowest in the league among ANY active players? As Whoopi might put it, “you in danger, girl.”

Running from post-to-post at a league-high pace does seem to wear Las Vegas down, and it should be late in today’s contest where Atlanta’s combination of energetic play and veteran savvy will become a factor.

Renee Montgomery (3-for-3 second-quarter 3FGs vs. CON) has been carrying the load for an otherwise poor perimeter-shooting team, going 7-for-11 from deep in her past two games. And Atlanta can always count on Angel McCoughtry (44.0 FG%, team-high among active players) and Tiffany Hayes (t-season high 22 points vs. CON, 88.1 FT%) at closing time. It will be up to the supporting cast, particularly up front, to ensure the gap in the closing moments is on Atlanta’s side.

The biggest question to be answered by game’s end needs to be, “Are there really enough kids around to fill up a Kid’s Game on the Vegas Strip?”

 

Let’s Go Dream!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

The Kids Are Alright!

~lw3

[Gray Mule]

Dream wins!  Nice big lead in second half until they let up on defense in the end.  Still won 87/83.  The best part was, someone must have listened.  They hit 18 of 21 free throws, 86%.

Dream showing very good defense and rebounding.  Nice road game on kid's day.  I believe the kids on our kids day are louder...

GO ATL

[lethalweapon3]

If you're already suffering from roundball withdrawal... I know, it's only been 12 hours, right? lol... head over to NBATV to catch the Lynx and Sun at 2 PM Eastern. Oughta be a good one!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Hope the Atlanta Dream aren’t sleepless today! They’ve got a tall task ahead of them as they visit the Seattle Storm (7:00 PM Eastern, WNBA League Pass only in ATL, JoeTV in SEA), a challenge that didn’t seem so arduous on paper at the season’s outset.

Working a “new” coach, longtime Stars head honcho Dan Hughes, into a squad that disappointed in 2017 and didn’t make much more than cosmetic changes to their roster in the offseason, the thinking was that Seattle was in flux. Fortunately for them, future Hall of Famer Sue Bird took the initiative to work hard to gel with co-stars Jewell Loyd (20.1 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 3.4 APG) and Breanna Stewart (21.5 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 3.0 APG). And, wow, has that offseason work been paying dividends in the Emerald City.

Minnesota had to be licking their chops over the right to swap 2019 first round picks, gained by shipping Natasha Howard to Seattle back in February. So far, that deal is not looking so hot for the Lynx. Not with the Storm mowing opponents down during a 6-2 start, including Thursday night’s 88-63 thrashing of the Los Angeles Sparks at Staples Center.

After dropping their home opener here at Key Arena, the Storm have been dropping jaws. They won five of their next six despite doing just what Atlanta is beginning to do, playing on one night’s rest. They got four nights’ rest before dusting off the reigning WNBA finalists on the road, making believers out of a national audience.

The Storm have blown teams out by being sort of the transverse of Atlanta, stellar from three-point distance (WNBA-best 38.2 team 3FG%) and at the free throw line (WNBA-high 87.3 team FT%). Stewie and Loyd are not satisfied seeking their own shots in isolation, as Hughes and Bird have made ball-movement (20.8 APG, 2^nd in WNBA) and player motion downright infectious. Meanwhile, Howard (13.8 PPG, 58.9 FG%, 87.5 FT%) is coming into her own.

The Dream got to 4-3 on the season (2-1 on the road) by outlasting the Aces in Las Vegas, 87-83 on Friday afternoon. But after building up an 18-point lead in the third quarter, Atlanta went through lapses and lulls that could have cost them the victory.

Excessive fouling allowed Vegas eight more free throw attempts than the Dream. Had Atlanta’s opponents not missed nine of their first 17, we could have had a barnburner in the closing minutes at Mandalay Bay. Jessica Breland made defensive stops (8 D-Rebs plus a pair of blocks, including a nice payback swat on Kelsey Bone) but otherwise endured a bad-hair day with five personals plus four turnovers.

Fortunately, the two-woman wrecking crew of Tiffany Hayes and Angel McCoughtry (combined 47 points, 15-for-33 FGs, 14-for-15 FTs vs. LV) were on-point for much of the contest. Renee Montgomery continued her timely perimeter shooting (3-for-5 3FGs vs. LV) to keep the Dream playing from in front.

It’s hard to believe that, just nine months ago, Layshia Clarendon (14 dimes vs. SEA last September) was at the precipice of shattering the all-time WNBA record for assists made in a single season, her eventual 6.6 APG for 2017 virtually tied with the league’s all-time assist leader, Bird. While the new coaching regime, the return of McCoughtry and a relegation to bench duty meant a predictable downturn in touches, there is no reason why the situation should seem so dire for Clarendon.

Layshia has been granted no more than 15 minutes of play in her last four contests, and she has just five total assists to show for her efforts, including none against Minnesota and none in Las Vegas. While she has characteristically kept the turnovers to a minimum as a ballhandler, Clarendon (1.9 APG in 15.1 MPG) has fallen victim to her team’s predilection for fouling in lieu of contesting and help-rebounding, while her once-promising outside jumper (pre-2017) has not returned (0-for-4 3FGs through 7 games).

Meanwhile, Bird (6.6 APG) has remained a steady foundation for Seattle. Further, the Storm have enjoyed getting play-setting relief in the form of 2017 first-rounder Jordin Canada (3.6 APG in 20.3 MPG), Mo Billings’ UCLA teammate, off the bench. Having perimeter shooting threats in Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and Sami Whitcomb helps Canada, as opposed to the struggling Brittney Sykes (1-for-12 3FGs in last five games) in the case of Clarendon.

Dream coach Nicki Collen needs to look at the tapes of what worked for Clarendon not only under new BIG3 coach Michael Cooper, but also on this very floor in July, where she nearly set the WNBA All-Star record with 10 assists (in a mere 18 minutes) only to be upstaged late by fan-favorite Bird. It was her star turn at the mid-season exhibition that led New York Times writer Howard Megdal to headline his article on Layshia with the question: “The Next Great Point Guard?” Much of her utilization since then has been all the more questionable.

Playing Clarendon and Montgomery together (along with any of McCoughtry, Hayes, or Sykes) seemed to work well late during the Dream’s victory back home versus Connecticut. Clarendon can be helpful in setting up the pick-and-roll and feeding the post, where both Breland and Elizabeth Williams (combined 5-for-15 FGs @ LV) have thus far been less-than-ideal as post scorers.

With Seattle executing plays at such a high offensive pace, the Dream will need to be firing at all cylinders, not just the predictable ones, to offset the Storm offensively. A half-hearted effort may be good enough to hang on against the green Aces, but not against an increasingly confident Storm team with multiple early MVP candidates (Stewie, Jewell, Bird) running the show.

 

Let’s Go Dream!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Team of the Week and Player of the Week? It oughta be crystal clear for Tiffany and Co.

~lw3

[Gray Mule]

Yawn.  Dream win..   Good gracious.  Atlanta isn't supposed to be this good.  Yet, they continue to beat the top teams in the WNBA.  Angel went ice cold.  Couldn't hit any basket.  Yet, Dream win.

Seriously, this was a nail biter in the end.  These gals play hard nozed defense. 

GO ATL DREAM ~~~~~~~~~~~

[lethalweapon3]

POW!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

The Atlanta Dream are slowly getting noticed, and now they’ve been rewarded with an extra game on national TV -- specifically, tonight’s visit to Staples Center where they take on the Los Angeles Sparks (10:30 PM Eastern, NBA TV in ATL and elsewhere, Spectrum SportsNet in LA).

The Dream ran into a Storm team on Sunday that ravaged the Sparks here at Staples just five days ago. Yet they throttled the hosts in Seattle with stifling perimeter defense (4-for-26 Seattle 3FGs) in a 67-64 victory that was almost as stunning for Atlanta as the Storm’s win was in LA. Shutting down three-point shooters (league-best 27.2 opponent 3FG%, only squad with a sub-30% mark) has been the elixir for all else that currently ails the Dream (5-3).

Los Angeles (5-2) is one of the only teams shooting worse on threes (29.5 team 3FG%, 11^th in WNBA) than the Dream (29.8 team 3FG%). Thus far, that’s a disappointing performance by coach Brian Agler’s crew that did not improve in Sunday’s bounceback home win versus Chicago, where they sunk just a pair of treys out of 13 attempts. Being next-to-last in the WNBA with 20.0 O-Reb% hasn’t helped matters.

Atlanta survived shooting just 3-for-19 themselves from deep on Sunday night, including Renee Montgomery’s and Angel McCoughtry’s 0-for-5 outputs, and a punchless offensive performance from Elizabeth Williams (0-for-3 FGs in 20 minutes). Jessica Breland continues to be a mixed bag (6 O-Rebs, 14 total rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 4 TOs, 3-for-9 FGs), while second-year pro Brittney Sykes is out with a foot injury.

Fortunately, the Dream had the Eastern Conference Player of the Week in their corner. Tiffany Hayes was 9-for-12 inside the 3-point arc and finished a solid week with 23 points to carry the team to another gritty road win. Atlanta isn’t winning pretty, yet, but Hayes finding her comfort zone in coach Nicki Collen’s schemes give some hope that style points are soon to come. In her last 3 games, Tip has shot 24-for-43 from the field, and 16-for-18 from the line in her last three games, and she has grabbed a steal in every game so far this season.

The Dream has also benefited from a three-pointer in each of their past three wins courtesy of stretch big Damiris Dantas. Her boost in activity has offset the downturn in production from Williams, who has been able to rest more since her injury scare last week. Atlanta will need more from the frontcourt, including lightly-used Imani McGee-Stafford and former UCLA star Monique Billings, to counter the one-two All-Star punch from LA’s Candace Parker and Nneka Ogwumike.

Guards Chelsea Gray, Odyssey Sims, and Riquna Williams must improve their three-point shooting to allow Candace and Nneka to do more of their damage on the interior. It’s not entirely clear, though, that Atlanta will be a willing touchstone for the Sparks tonight.

 

Let’s Go Dream!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Rise and… shine? Coming home from a mostly successful West Coast road trip, the Atlanta Dream have perhaps its most important pair of games this season upcoming, a home-and-home series that begins this morning (11:30 AM Eastern, Fox Sports South in ATL, NBATV everywhere else) against the Indiana Fever.

Following up from a “good loss” in Los Angeles on Tuesday night, Atlanta can’t afford to pick up any “bad losses” in their quest to return to the WNBA Playoffs. It would be hard to get any more “bad” than falling short to the winless Fever, especially at a Kid’s Day game at McCamish Pavilion. Indiana (0-9) is the only opponent the Dream will face four times this season. If Atlanta (5-4) wants to ensure at least a .500 record, four of their 16+ wins had better come versus Indy.

Hopefully, coach Pokey Chatman’s job status is not yet endangered, as this is undoubtedly the best 0-9 outfit the WNBA has ever seen. They rank third in defensive rebounding percentage (77.0%, just ahead of Atlanta’s 75.9%), and produce the second-fewest turnovers per game (13.2; WNBA-low 5.1 opponent SPG), albeit playing at a below-average pace. They are simply not getting stops when they need them.

They’ve got rookie sensation Kelsey Mitchell (19.1 PPG, 9^th in WNBA; league-high 3.3 3FGs per game) already leading the charge in the scoring department. She, former Dream guard Erica Wheeler (4.6 APG, 8^th in WNBA, 1.4 TOs/game) and the other Mitchell, Tiffany (double-digit scoring in six of last seven games) are taking a lot of the offensive pressure off WNBA all-timer Candice Dupree (52.9 FG%, 88.9 FT%). Turning things around for Chatman’s club will require winning loose balls and defending opposing shooters without fouling (WNBA-high 34.8 opponent FTAs per 100 possessions).

The Fever’s last five losses were by single-digit deficits. That includes Sunday’s home loss, where they fell victim to a late three-pointer by a player whose Fever contract they’re still paying – the Liberty’s Marissa Coleman, who Indiana waived in April and got picked up by New York a week later.

Indiana fell short of winning the Draft Lottery by one pick, and on Tuesday, the rookie player taken before Kelsey, Las Vegas’ A’ja Wilson had to counter a career-night from Natalie Achonwa (26 points, 15 rebounds) with one of her own (35 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks). “CanDu” knotted the game up with 26 seconds left to force overtime against the Aces, but her team ran out of gas in the extra frame.

Both teams will come into this morning’s scrimmage looking lethargic, so sloppiness will be expected. But Atlanta does a far better job of capitalizing on opponent errors (20.2 opponent TO%, 2^nd in WNBA). Angel McCoughtry (1.8 SPG, 2^nd in WNBA; 3-for-14 FGs in Atlanta’s 72-64 loss @ L.A.), who seemed gassed by the close of the third quarter at Staples Center on Tuesday, ought to be thrilled not having to be hounded by the Sparks’ defensive maven Alana Beard for the next couple weeks.

A-Mac and Tiffany Hayes were granted a lot of late-game rest by coach Nicki Collen, whose sudden usage of Blake Dietrick in the clutch (and Imani McGee-Stafford, in lieu of the struggling Elizabeth Williams) against L.A. was a strategic ploy specifically with this quick turnaround in mind. They have the experience advantage and should be able to pressure and pick apart the Fever offense, and the Dream will find the transition scoring smoother versus the Indiana defense.

In what amounts to must-win contests for the Dream, avoiding offensive foul calls, swishing free throws, scoring quickly off turnovers, and executing timely passes from the paint will be key to building up consistent advantages against this hungry conference rival. If Atlanta plays down to their opponent, either today or on Saturday night in Indianapolis, they shouldn’t be surprised to find themselves down to their opponent, especially late in these crucial games.

 

Let’s Go Dream!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Another grimy game... is right up Tiffany Hayes' alley!

~lw3

[Gray Mule]

Angel, couldn't score until late, when it really mattered.  Clarenden took over, hitting on a two and a three to give the dream a lead they would refuse to give up.

Dream were great from the free throw line to close it out.   Kids day!  They were loud and really were enjoying the experience. 

Indiana is good.  They put up a great fight.  We are now going to visit them.  They have no victories yet.

[lethalweapon3]

The only WNBA team undefeated in their own conference? How about your Atlanta Dream? They will try to extend their mark to 4-0 against the WNBA East by finishing off the home-and-home daily double, this time at the Indiana Fever’s house (7:00 PM Eastern, WNBA League Pass only in ATL).

You figure the Dream (6-4) will get better as a unit offensively, insomuch as there’s hardly anywhere to go but up. Dead-last 91.1 O-Rating, 42.0 eFG%, and 47.0 TS%, are all the worst efficiency marks since the 8-26 San Antonio Stars of 2015 (where have you gone, Becky Hammon?).

Angel McCoughtry finding her full-game form, Elizabeth Williams obtaining her rust-shedding mid-season bump, Layshia Clarendon growing accustomed to her sixth-woman role, Brittney Sykes (once she returns from her foot injury) shaking free of the mythical sophomore jinx – all these things have yet to transpire. Getting acclimated with coach Nicki Collen’s schemes also takes time.

And while the Eastern Conference regular-season title is not really a thing anymore, aiming for a 16-0 record in the East would virtually assure Atlanta’s first 20-win season since the WNBA Finalist season of 2011. Ironing out the offensive kinks will be key as the schedule becomes more focused on WNBA East opponents.

Looking at the East a glance, Connecticut is showing signs of falling back to the pack, while Washington’s situation is tenuous with Elena Delle Donne’s health status. New York is slowly working formerly injured starters back into the fold, while Chicago is struggling to put together a 40-minute effort.

And then there’s Indiana (0-10), where Pokey Chatman’s club is still looking for their first win, either in conference (0-7) or here at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Fever remained pesky throughout Thursday’s 72-67 defeat in Atlanta, right up until the final buzzer-beating three-pointer from Erica “EWeezy For3eezy” Wheeler. Indy even held a slim lead after three quarters until Layshia Clarendon’s late-game spark finally got the Dream rolling.

Chatman knows her team has little chance of victory today if they cannot keep Tiffany Hayes and Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta’s 1A and 1B, until further notice) off the charity stripe. For whatever struggles they endure as jump-shooters, Tip and Angel rank 2^nd and 3^rd in PIE among players in the WNBA East (sandwiched between New York’s Tina Charles and Connecticut’s injured Alyssa Thomas) on the strength of their propensity to earn trips to the free throw line. The Dream pair got 23 free throw attempts on Thursday, sinking 19, outpointing Indiana’s entire team (23-for-30 FTs) from the line.

Atlanta was outshot by the winless Fever from the field, was out-rebounded on both ends and out-assisted. But the Dream did not commit copious turnovers, dug in defensively on backcourt scorers (holding the Mitchells, rookie Kelsey and Tiffany, to 4-for-24 shooting; Wheeler’s last-second three raised her day to 2-for-10 FGs), and drew enough fouls to build a comfortable advantage by the close of the contest.

Back home tonight, it is on Chatman and the Fever to change the narrative. Indiana has a combined 2-28 record since July 1 of last year.

 

Let’s Go Dream!

~lw3

[Gray Mule]

It's always hard to beat any team in back to back games.  Tonight, our winless opponent is at home and, like a cat wanting to fight, will have their back up.  They beat the dream last time until the last quarter.

Dream offense isn't up to snuff but their defense is and they prove this, game after game.  Check their opponents scores in any game and we find that they are much lower than their average.

GO ATL DREAM !!

 

[Gray Mule]

Indiana no longer winless.  Wasn't close.  Their best game, surely.  They were one of the best 0-9 teams ever.