The Atlanta Dream have a lot to think about and focus on before hosting the Golden State Valkyries for Game 6 of the WNBA Finals. The two teams will begin at 12:30 pm EST at the State Farm Arena, an unusual game time that's been the subject of plenty of debate and discussion — but that's ultimately what we're doing, so it's time to get with the program.
This is not another article about the game time or the hoops the league jumped through to arrive at this plan, because there are plenty of those. This is an article about how the Dream messed things up during Game 5, because that's a game they could have won, and should have won.
The Dream came into the fifth game in the series on a high. They'd tied things up 2-2. They'd also already beaten the Golden State Valkyries at home in San Francisco, proving that the walls of Ballhalla aren't quite as impenetrable as many have hoped. Had Atlanta won this game, they would have been on the brink of bringing things back home, getting a win, and securing the franchise's first-ever WNBA Championship in their own yard.
But we're here now. The Atlanta Dream that lost Game 5 was not the team we've been watching throughout the playoffs, but it's also not the Dream we've seen at all this season. Atlanta played their worst game of basketball Monday night. They scored just 55 points, a season low that boggles the mind, turned the ball over 17 times, and shot 29% from the field. Though they lobbed complaints about officiating at the postgame press conference, and some of those complaints might be true, the fact of the matter is that you can't throw fault at the feet of officials if you're also just playing badly.
The Dream can't afford another loss, and especially not at home: it would be really difficult to bear if the Valkyries closed the championship out on their home court. But a win will also be a challenge: that will send the teams right back to San Francisco, where the Dream will have to attempt to close things out in a hostile environment, and the Valkyries will be more motivated to win than they have been the entire season.
A win for either team will be a historic one — and hopefully, no matter what happens, the Dream will show up to the remaining games as a team we can all recognize.
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