The Atlanta Dream are the best team in the WNBA at forcing steals. Those steals then turn into transition points going the other way.
It's their greatest strength, and it was on full display in their Game 1 victory over the New York Liberty on Sunday. If the Liberty are going to get back into the series, they will need to not only overcome the Dream's steal-generating superpower: they need to turn it to their advantage.
The Dream have a superpower
In the Dream's 92-82 victory over the Liberty in Game 1, they forced a whopping 19 turnovers, 14 of which were steals. That helped the Dream score 18 fast-break points in the game compared to the Liberty's 0, and overall, Atlanta scored 32 points off turnovers compared to the Liberty's 14.
In this year's postseason, only once has a team had more than 14 steals: Atlanta's 16 against the Washington Mystics in Game 1 of the first round. They had 16 steals to the Mystics' two, and that disparity was too much for a lively Washington team to overcome.
When you add in the 10 steals that the Dream snagged in Game 2 of the first round, they own the top three games in terms of team steals in this year's postseason. And that is hardly a one-year anomaly; their two Game 1s rank first and second among any WNBA team in the playoffs in the last five seasons (a couple of other teams also got to 14 steals).
This is what Atlanta does. They ranked first in the league in total steals this season, snatching 9.1 per game. Rhyne Howard led the league in total steals with 99 this year, followed by Atlanta point guard Jordin Canada in second with 82, and Defensive Player of the Year Angel Reese in third with 77. The Dream steal the basketball -- it's what they do.
That does not mean the Liberty are without hope.
The Liberty can turn this to their advantage
The Atlanta Dream may have led the league in steals, but that does not mean they were an impenetrable defense.
The Dream ranked second in defensive rating this season, but were in a virtual tie with multiple other teams just behind them. In fact, they ranked closed to the Dallas Wings in sixth than to the Golden State Valkyries in first.
If steals were the reason they ranked so highly, defending on possessions where they did not generate a steal was the reason they were not No. 1. Teams had an effective field goal percentage of 53.1 percent against Atlanta in the regular season, which ranked only 11th out of 15 teams, and by far the worst of any of the eight playoff teams. If teams got to shoot, they tended to make it.
That is the window of opportunity for the New York Liberty. They have a veteran team that is experienced with postseason basektball. They also just faced the No. 2 team in the W in forcing steals, the Minnesota Lynx, and smothered them en route to two easy wins and a series upset.
If the Liberty can slow things down, put Breanna Stewart into position to receive the ball outside of danger, and work their way to good shots, they will find opportunities against the Dream. Angel Reese was one of the league's best defenders this season, but she can be scored on if she doesn't knock the ball away. Stewart and Jonquel Jones should be able to generate offense inside.
Such an approach is going to take care from Sabrina Ionescu and the other New York ball-handlers. It will take intentional motions from head coach Chris DeMarco to free Stewart up to get the ball. And it will take discipline not to get sped up, but to deliberately work into plays and find open shots.
If they can do that, however, offense will come much easier. And once the Dream are taking the ball out of the net instead of running in transition, the defense will get easier. It will be a feedback loop that allows the Liberty to get back into the series.
Easier said than done, of course.
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