The Atlanta Dream are 7-3 on the season and recently got an 88-70 win against the Chicago Sky. In the first half of the game, the Dream started off slow and were trailing going into halftime. It was the second half where things turned up for Atlanta, and Rhyne Howard was key, as she finished the game with 36 points.
Most of the Dream’s wins this season have started and ended the same way, but they’ve been able to do what they have to do to come out victorious. Though the Dream have been able to turn things up in the second half, they know they can take things to the next level if they play a complete game.
“I think we beat ourselves,” Howard said after their win against the Sky. “The things that we’re doing, we’re only doing them during periods of time. We’re only doing them during half of the games. I think once we get everything to click and put together a full 40 minutes, I think we’ll be really dangerous.”
In all of the Dream’s wins this season, they’ve outscored all of their opponents in the third quarter. Things seem to improve on both sides of the ball in that period, and head coach Karl Smesko likes the trend.
“I would like to win the third quarter every time,” Smesko said. “I think it’s important to set the tone. You get out at the start of the game and you want to set the tone and get off to a good start, but sometimes the second half is even more important.”
Despite having a good record early in the season, the Dream know they have not reached their full potential yet, and once they do, it could be scary for the rest of the league.
Dream still working out the kinks early in season
Through ten games, the Dream are still not playing some of their best basketball, but they’re in a good place right now standings-wise.
“Right now, we’re still learning who Atlanta is, and that’s not surprising, because it’s only been a month, and we’ve got a lot of new players working together,” Smesko said. “But we do want to see a lot of progress over the next couple of weeks so we can start hitting both ends of it, really get into a game plan and be able to do some things that we want to do to help us win that way, while already knowing that we can play the way we want to play.”
Players such as Brionna Jones, Brittney Griner, and Naz Hillmon are taking the most 3-point attempts per game in their careers, and are still trying to find comfort in taking those shots. Rhyne Howard is still working through her offensive game, and after her recent performance against the Sky, things could be trending upwards with her.
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