Angel Reese made her WNBA playoff debut with a very on-brand performance. She finished the Atlanta Dream’s 92-77 game against the Washington Mystics with 13 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, and 1 block, recording a signature double-double on very inefficient shooting. She went 4-15 from the field.
Inefficient shooting around the rim had been Reese’s biggest weakness since she entered the WNBA in 2024. She largely cleaned that up after a missed layup that could have won the Dream a game against the Indiana Fever in August. She shot over 45% from the field in seven of her last ten regular-season games, playing the best basketball of her WNBA career.
After that Game 1 performance, the question is whether Reese is reverting to old habits or if it was simply a result of playoff jitters and rushing her shots against a physical, big Mystics team because she felt the pressure of her postseason debut.
Washington is not a great matchup for Reese
With Brionna Jones out, Reese is anchoring an undersized Dream frontcourt. She’s playing the center position at 6’4” with 6’2” Naz Hillmon next to her. DeWanna Bonner and Madina Okot offer great size off the bench, but the latter is a rookie.
The Mystics, meanwhile, have a frontcourt rotation of 6’3” Kiki Iriafen, 6’5” Shakira Austin, and 6’7” Lauren Betts. Washington can match Reese’s size, physicality, and rebounding prowess for 40 consecutive minutes. Even Betts, who had to play big minutes when Iriafen got into foul trouble, held her own defensively against Reese.
Washington’s frontcourt has bothered Reese before. She shot 1-12 from the field the last time these two teams met in the regular season.
Better shooting from Reese would make the Dream even more dangerous
Ideally, Reese figures out her shooting struggles by Game 2 of the Dream’s first-round series. She still impacted the game despite shooting just 26.7% from the field, thanks to her rebounding, defense, and rim pressure. She also sank a 3-pointer, which was good to see.
Still, the Dream need to get better from game to game. The Mystics will be more prepared for Game 2. After all, they only had three players who weren’t making their playoff debuts on their roster, and Michaela Onyenwere and Shakira Austin were both in very different positions the last time they played in the postseason. Onyenwere averaged just 7.3 minutes per game for the New York Liberty in 2022. Austin was a rookie that same year.
Moreover, if Atlanta advances, they will face a more experienced, more dangerous opponent in the second round. Either the Minnesota Lynx will advance, hungry to make up for their lackluster playoff opener, or the Liberty will move on, invigorated by upsetting a No. 1 seed. If Reese can score more efficiently, the Dream will have a better shot against either team.
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