The Atlanta Dream have been on a tear lately. They won four of their last five games, including a 90-86 statement win over the Minnesota Lynx. The Dream’s latest 95-72 victory over the Phoenix Mercury even catapulted Atlanta into the top three of the standings. Before, Karl Smesko’s squad was trailing the Mercury, sitting in fourth place.
While the Dream are now officially a top-three team in the WNBA, they can still reach another level. Karl Smesko made that very clear after the win over Phoenix.
“I think most people can see that when we have it really going, we’re a top-level team in the league,” Smesko said in his postgame press conference. “But the thing is to be able to do that consistently is the next step.”
The Dream can still improve
While Atlanta has gotten big wins over Minnesota, Phoenix, New York, and Seattle, it has also lost games to teams it should have beaten. In early June, the Dream lost to the Sun, handing them their second win of the season. After that, they also lost to the Wings, Aces, and Valkyries.
Almost every big win was followed by a loss that could have been avoided. When the Dream lost to the Valkyries, Naz Hillmon even called out the team’s lack of effort in the first three quarters.
Most of the Dream’s key players have been healthy all season long. However, Jordin Canada missed some time at the beginning of the season, and Rhyne Howard is out right now. Playing without two of their best players has forced role players to step up, including rookie guard Te-Hina Paopao.
On top of that, Maya Caldwell and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough got off to slow starts and just started playing their best stretches of the season.
The Dream have tons of potential
Atlanta has a chance to finish the regular season as a top-three team. If they play like a top team consistently, they should be able to hold on to their newly secured number-three seed or even sneak past the New York Liberty. The Liberty sat firmly in second place for most of the season. After a string of losses, the Liberty’s advantage in the standings has disappeared, and the Dream are now only half a game behind the defending champions.
The Dream are well set up to make some noise in the playoffs as well. Hiring Karl Smesko as the new head coach was a massive success. Several players are thriving in his system, none more so than Allisha Gray.
Gray ranks sixth in scoring in the WNBA behind Napheesa Collier, A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum, Kelsey Mitchell, and Sabrina Ionescu. She has emerged as the best player on a star-studded roster that also features Rhyne Howard, Brittney Griner, and Brionna Jones.