Winning games does not come easy in sports. Combine that with being a first-year coach, and the odds become even harder to succeed. However, Dream coach Karl Smesko welcomes the challenge, despite key injuries to Jordin Canada and Brittney Griner and fresh off four games in five days that included the team’s first back-to-back contests over the weekend.
The Dream (4-2) kicked off its two-game West Coast trip Tuesday with an 88-82 victory against the Los Angeles Sparks (2-4) at Crypto.com Arena. In a game in which the Dream led by as many as 17 points with 1:15 remaining in the third quarter, Los Angeles sparked an immense 18-3 run that included a pullup jumper from rookie Liatu King to shave the deficit to two points, at 69-67, midway through the fourth quarter.
Then, a couple of possessions later, Kelsey Plum made her fourth 3-pointer of the game to bring the Sparks within one, 71-70. But when the Dream needed points and timely defensive stops to extinguish the Sparks’ runs in the contest, multiple players delivered. Five Dream players notched double-figures point totals: starters Allisha Gray, Rhyne Howard and Brionna Jones and reserves Shatori Walker-Kimbrough and Naz Hillmon.
“We were able to keep our composure (in the fourth quarter), even though things went so poorly to start,” Smesko said after the Dream’s win. “Everybody just contributed and made key baskets. … I like the progress our team is making.”
The Dream picked up their third consecutive win since losing Thursday to the Indiana Fever in their home opener at State Farm Arena. Even more, with the first six games of the season played in a 12-day span, the Dream currently sit at No. 4 in the standings, with a chance to earn a fifth win in a matchup Friday at the Seattle Storm.
Here’s what we learned from the Dream’s win against the Sparks and what the team must consider in its contest Friday.
Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray’s versatility
Smesko, along with Dream players, will love when Canada returns as the team’s main floor general. But for now, in her absence, Howard and Gray have continued to show their on- and off-ball point guard skills on the court.
The Dream generated a season-high 26 assists on 30 made field goals, shooting an efficient 46.9% from the floor Tuesday. The duo combined for half the team’s assists while Gray led the team in scoring with 25 points on 7-of-8 shooting, five rebounds and six assists to capture her third consecutive game of 20 or more points.
A two-time All-Star, Gray joined WNBA legend Sylvia Fowles and Sabrina Ionescu as the only players in WNBA history to amass 25-plus points, five or more rebounds and five or more assists on at least 85% shooting in a contest.
“(Gray) doing a good job attacking the basket,” Smesko said. “She’s scoring on cuts. … really hunting shots.”
Meanwhile, Howard, who has flirted with double-double performances on multiple occasions in the first half-dozen games, finished with 15 points, nine rebounds, seven assists — including three in the fourth quarter — three steals and one block in the Dream’s win. She also registered her fifth game this season with 10 or more points.
“She’s (Howard) really been sharing the ball, keeping everybody involved,” Smesko said. “She’s always been a good defender but she’s really elevated to an elite wing defender. … When (Canada) gets back, (Howard) will be more of a natural, being able to mix up being a primary ball handler and playing off the ball more. That’ll be another step for her to show what she can do.”
Bench production provides key contributions
Smesko started Nia Coffey and Maya Caldwell, two players who typically come off the bench, in back-to-back games. Coffey shifted to the starting lineup, with Jones shifting to center in the absence of Griner. Howard shifted to point guard while Gray played off-ball at shooting guard, with Caldwell starting at small forward.
Still, with two reserves in as starters in those two games, the Dream’s 25 points off the bench marked a season-high, with Walker-Kimbrough and Hillmon combining for 21 and 19 of the team’s total coming in the second half.
“If we didn’t get the production out of those two (Hillmon and Walker-Kimbrough), we wouldn’t have won,” Smesko said.
The veteran guard finished with 10 points — her first contest recording 10-plus points this season — on 4-of-6 shooting from the field and two clutch corner 3-pointers, including one in Los Angeles’ third-quarter surge.
Hillmon, who also tallied her first double-digit points total in Tuesday’s contest, added 11 points that included hitting a lone 3-pointer — her third of the season — off an assist from Howard in the fourth quarter, putting the Dream up 84-77 with 43 seconds to play in regulation.
“We’ve been telling Naz (Hillmon) to shoot 3’s for two years now,” Howard said with a laugh.
“She keeps telling me she doesn’t like how hard we (Dream teammates) cheer when she (makes a 3-pointer). I said, well, maybe if you shoot them more, we’ll stop cheering.
The ex-Michigan star also hauled in seven rebounds, dished three assists and registered two blocks. When the Dream’s bench outscores the opponent, the team is 2-0. When two or more reserves for the Dream notch 10-plus points, the team also is undefeated.
The power of the third quarter
The Dream have won every third quarter in all four of their wins, producing 164 points of their total 507 points this season. The team also controlled the opening period in three of their four wins. Even more, the Dream sit a 3-0 when tied or leading after the third quarter.
Nia Coffey’s impact
Coffey entered Tuesday’s game fresh off pouring in a season-high 18 points Sunday in the Dream’s win against the Connecticut Sun. While Coffey did not replicate another double-digit outing, the veteran forward’s impact was felt still.
She has a knack for securing a rebound in a critical moment, converting a clutch free throw, limiting an opponent with points with a timely block, as well as setting up her teammates for efficient scoring situations. Her stat line in the Dream’s victory against Sparks included seven points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block while surpassing 150 made 3-pointers in her career.
While only six games into the season, Coffey is recording the second-best 3-point shooting percentage (40.9) and her best free-throw percentage (85.7) of her career.
“In every game, she’s given us a positive burst,” Smesko said Saturday after the Dream’s win against the Dallas Wings.
What to make of the Seattle Storm
As the Dream prepare to close their West Coast excursion, they will do so against a Storm team that is coming off an 82-77 loss Tuesday against the Minnesota Lynx. The Storm (3-2) enter Friday’s contest as one of the better defensive teams in the league, holding their opponents to the third fewest points (77.2) per game while sitting in the WNBA’s top five teams in defensive rating (95.5).
Currently, Seattle holds the fourth best field-goal percentage (45.2), with a lot of its success stemming from its ability to share the basketball, averaging the third most assists (22.8) per contest. The Storm also find most of their scoring success in the midrange and in the paint outside of the restricted area.
Skylar Diggins (18.8 ppg, team-high 7.6 assists per contest), Nneka Ogwumike (18.8 ppg, team-leading 9.8 rebounds) and Gabby Williams (12.8 ppg, 4.4 assists and 3.8 rpg) anchor Seattle as its double-digit scorers. However, Ezi Magbegor contributes the second-most rebounds per game (8.0) to go with an average of 6.6 points, while veteran guard Erica Wheeler — who notched 10 points in the Storm’s loss to the Lynx — averages a little over nine points per contest.
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