The Atlanta Dream entered their game against the Golden State Valkyries flying high. Karl Smesko’s squad had just secured consecutive wins over the Phoenix Mercury and Minnesota Lynx. They left no doubt that they could hang with the top teams in the league and inched perilously close to the Mercury in the regular-season standings.
A two-point loss to a Valkyries team missing its lone All-Star dampened the excitement around the Dream’s recent successes. While the final score was close, the Dream allowed the Valkyries to get a sizeable lead. After a 30-point third quarter, Golden State was up 69-56 going into the final ten minutes. Atlanta battled back but didn’t have enough to secure the win.
Naz Hillmon didn’t hold back in her postgame press conference. “We can’t expect to win a game that we don’t…come to play [in] for three quarters,” Hillmon said about the Dream’s lack of intensity to start the game. “There were spurts, but, you know, if we talk about being a top team in this league, you can’t take three quarters off and expect to win in the fourth.”
This isn’t the first time the Dream suffered a tough loss after beating one of the top teams in the WNBA either. If the Dream want to find playoff success, they must reverse that trend.
Bad losses after big wins are starting to become a trend for the Dream
The first time the Dream met with a potential contender was in their second game of the season. They secured a 91-90 win over the Indiana Fever, immediately announcing their ability to beat one of the teams projected to lead the league. However, the Dream followed up that win with a loss to the Fever.
After that loss, Atlanta went on a four-game win streak, securing another major victory over a contender with a 94-97 win over the Seattle Storm. That win was followed by an 84-76 loss to the league-worst Connecticut Sun.
In late June, the Dream beat New York, handing the Liberty a rare loss. They couldn’t build on the momentum, though, and lost a close game to Seattle.
Likewise, the Dream made a statement when they beat Phoenix and Minnesota in consecutive games without Rhyne Howard. Once again, they followed it up by losing a tough game.
The Dream struggled to contain the Valkyries’ hot shooting
Unlike the Dream, the Valkyries entered the game coming off a bad loss and hungry to prove themselves. They were red-hot on offense, shooting 47.6 percent from the field and 42.3 percent from three, and showed their usual defensive intensity.
Meanwhile, the Dream shot only 37.5 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from three. Despite their size advantage with Bri Jones and Brittney Griner in the frontcourt, the Dream also lost the battle in the paint. Jordin Canada and Naz Hillmon were the only Dream players who really got going offensively. Even Allisha Gray only made two of her eleven shots from the field.