After break for FIBA World Cup, Dream face sprint for playoff seeding

The Dream don’t have much time left to establish their postseason seeding.

With just four games left in the regular season, the Dream will have to continue looking to punch first.

On Sunday, the Dream bounced back with a win over the league-leading Lynx after what they called an embarrassing loss to the Fire on Friday. It was the first time since their loss to the Fever two weeks ago that the Dream felt the disappointment of defeat.

But they channeled the energy that led them to four consecutive wins on their West Coast swing with a nearly wire-to-wire win over the WNBA’s top team. The Dream trailed the Lynx for just 31 seconds, all in the first minute of Sunday afternoon’s action.

Then they went on a three-minute, 14-7 run that forced the Lynx to call a timeout. Though the Lynx came with countless adjustments, the Dream kept deploying their counterattacks.

“It says a lot about our team,” Dream point guard Jordin Canada said after the game. “It says that we had a terrible loss last game and we wanted to come out with a lot of energy, and I think we did just that.

“And when we play this type of basketball, I think we’re one of the best teams out there. So we just have to be consistent in what we do and play for a full 40 minutes is what I think we did tonight — and executing on the offensive end and defensive end, and just being there for each other.”

The Dream have little time remaining to iron out those inconsistencies. After Friday’s loss to the Fire, the Dream lost their half-game lead on the Fever. Both teams are now tied for fourth in the standings at 26-14, one game back from the third-seeded Aces. Teams seeded fourth or higher have home-court advantage in the first round.

So, the Dream will use the break for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup not only to catch up on rest but also to get in some much-needed practice.

Four Dream players from the team’s roster will participate in the FIBA World Cup in Berlin — Rhyne Howard and Angel Reese (USA), Sika Koné (Mali) and Isobel Borlase (Australia) — so the Dream won’t have everyone at practice. But they’ll still be able to clean up some of their common problems.

The Dream will also look ahead and evaluate the teams heading into the playoffs.

“What are the things that we could shore up during this week with everybody that is there that will help us once the playoffs come?” Dream coach Karl Smesko said.

“Like, be real deliberate about the, maybe, three or four things that are going to be most important for us if we’re going to advance in the playoffs and really get everybody on the same page with that. And that’s the challenge for me: to do all the preparation work, but to really focus on the three or four things.”

The eight teams that have clinched playoff berths are the Lynx, Valkyries, Aces, Dream, Fever, Liberty, Mystics and Wings.