The “road trip from hell” is finally behind us. And it was definitely an eventful one. There were some positives and some negatives, but I think we can all at least agree that this team is getting better. Here’s my take on the road trip.
THE GOOD
What’s most impressive about the two wins on this road trip is that they were types of games that this team lost earlier in the season. Despite dealing with the same shortcomings, we saw the Dream fight back and get results. Here’s a quick refresher course.
1) Falling behind early: this has become somewhat of a routine, and the blowout losses in Chicago and Phoenix showed that it’s still a major problem. In Minnesota, it was no different with a 19-6 deficit after just one quarter. But the team fought back and won in the fourth quarter. The Dream also made a furious push late after struggling early in Sacramento, but fell just short.
2) Losing momentum late in the third quarter: in Indiana and San Antonio, we saw this happen for the umpteenth time, as a 10-point cushion quickly became just four heading into the final stanza. Whether it’s losing such a cushion, blowing a lead, or creating a deficit that is simply too much to overcome in the fourth, the final moments of the third period have been an area where teams have jumped on Atlanta all year. But the Dream fought tooth and nail against the Fever and Silver Stars after losing momentum in the third. They beat the Fever with some late heroics, and played well enough to win in San Antonio but were defeated by one of the best teams in the league.
3) Execution: Can someone please tell me how Katie Douglass ends up rebounding her own shot in crunch time on Wednesday? And then proceeds to drill a backbreaking 3-pointer to give Indiana the lead with 44 seconds left? How many times have we seen things like this? A lack of execution at crucial times has just killed this team. But again Atlanta responded and ended up winning.
This team still has a long way to go. But despite all of those things that went wrong, this young team stayed poised and had some success. How can you not get excited about such character and perseverance, especially from such a young team? Clearly, we are starting to see some serious progress.
THE BAD
The bottom line is this: the Dream aren’t going to be a winning team if they continue to make the mistakes I just listed. This was on display last weekend when the offense got off to a terrible start in Sacramento, and the Monarchs pulled away methodically and stretched their lead to 16 points after three quarters.
I must give credit to the Dream for making a great run in the fourth quarter and having a chance to win. But you’ve got to think that we’d be talking about a different result had the Dream managed more than just 41 points through three quarters and not turned the ball over 20 times.
When this team doesn’t execute for long periods of time, there just isn’t the personnel to consistently dig out of big holes like that. And while you must commend them for a fantastic effort in the final ten minutes, you have to wonder when they’re going to stop putting themselves in such difficult positions.
THE UGLY
It won’t get much uglier than the shellacking this team endured in Phoenix. Beating a team with that kind of offensive firepower is virtually impossible when you struggle to execute on both ends of the floor. After seeing the beating Phoenix laid on the Dream at home thanks to such problems, I wasn’t all that surprised to see the 110-84 final score.
Eventually, the Dream are going to have to learn how to come out of the gates quickly. When you’re down 29-13 after one quarter against Diana Taurasi and company, chances are you’re going to lose the game, and you’re going to lose it by a wide margin.
On another note, the defending champs are a confusing team. They’ve got a lot of talent, a style that is very tough to defend, and two incredible scorers in Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter. I can’t figure out how that team is fighting for a playoff position and not a No. 1 seed.
QUOTES FROM THE ROAD
“It was bad loss, a real bad loss. Atlanta might be the last team in the league standings but they aren’t a bad team.” – Indiana’s Ebony Hoffman on the loss to Atlanta
“There’s just not enough of me. What I’m doing is playing hard. When you’re playing with such a young team you just have to allow them to make their mistakes and then point them out at the end of the game and try to learn from them.” – Betty Lennox on being a leader for an expansion team
“We made them look good at times, but we absolutely had no legs. This is the sixth game on the road in twelve days and we finished it up with a back-to-back on the road, so we absolutely had no legs left. But we fought hard and our effort was good. We just didn’t make a lot of plays when we needed to.” – Coach Meadors on the blowout in Phoenix
Check back here tomorrow after I speak with Coach Meadors. Hopefully I’ll have another Erika DeSouza update (she was expected back for this homestand as of last week), and plenty more to look for as the Dream return to Atlanta with the Olympic break looming.
Bagriansky can be reached at jbagriansky@scoreatl.com.
Loading ...
