Weekend Reflections: Dream miss big win as Angel Reese’s layup woes continue

In the first half of Sunday’s showdown against rival Fever, all of Indiana’s defenders were well behind Angel Reese when she got the ball on a fast break. Reese missed badly on the layup attempt, but her strong play sparked an Atlanta Dream rally before halftime.

The Dream had a chance to win when Reese collected an offensive rebound with the score tied in the final seconds of regulation.

She missed that layup, too.

The Dream went on to lose 95-91 in overtime Sunday at State Farm Arena.

“It happens,” Dream guard Allisha Gray said. “We know any other time, Angel will make the shot. She knows she’ll make the shot. In that moment, you’ve just got to encourage your teammates.

“No one person lost us the game. It’s a team effort.”

Reese did not address reporters after the game.

It was a good effort overall for the Dream (21-13). They were missing starter Jordin Canada (illness) and key bench player Brionna Jones (leg), and still pushed fourth-place Indiana (23-12) to the limit.

But it’s likely the Dream will lose more important games if Reese can’t make more layups. Nobody in the WNBA takes and misses more of them than Reese.

That’s why I was confused when Dream coach Karl Smesko said in June that Reese was adding a 3-point shot to her game. It seems that time would be better spent helping Reese improve her one glaring weakness.

Per WNBA tracking data, Reese is making 48% of her shot attempts from within 5 feet of the basket. That’s the lowest mark among 18 players with at least five attempts per game from that range. Shakira Austin is second-worst, and her accuracy is 10 percentage points better than Reese’s.

And about that 3-point shot Reese added: She’s shooting 6-for-43 (14%). That’s the lowest accuracy among players with at least 40 attempts. Indiana invited Reese to shoot 3-pointers, and she missed both her attempts Sunday.

Reese did her usual good work on defense and the boards (14 rebounds, including five offensive). But she scored just 15 points on 16 shots. She missed 9 of 13 attempts from within 5 feet, including one that could have won the game.

“Just like she’s with us when we’re struggling, we do the same thing with Angel,” Gray said. “It’s a sisterhood. We really love each other, support each other. I’ll put everything on the line that the next time she gets a shot like that, she’ll make it 100%. It’s just this time she came up a little short

“But I have all the faith in the world that Angel is going to finish her shots.”

Reese doesn’t seem to have the same faith, considering how she hurries to take easy shots even when no defenders are around.

Braves’ all-or-nothing offense

The Braves played a three-game series against contending teams during each of the past two weekends. If those were previews of the postseason, then October is going to be ugly for Atlanta.

The Braves scored eight runs against the Diamondbacks at Truist Park this past weekend, after they scored eight runs against the Yankees in New York the previous weekend. They struck out 35 times in New York and 24 times against the Diamondbacks. The Braves lost two of three games in each series.

The Braves have become too reliant on power to score runs. They ranked first among MLB teams in extra-base hit percentage from the All-Star game through Saturday, but 15th in on-base percentage. That’s why even with so many extra-base hits over that time, the Braves ranked tied for just seventh in runs scored per game.

The Braves (74-50) still are in control of the National League East. They lead the Phillies by 7½ games with 38 left. FanGraphs gave the Braves a 92% chance of winning the East and a 99.6% chance of making the playoffs overall.

Still, watching the Braves scuffle against the kind of pitchers they’ll see in October doesn’t inspire confidence for their postseason chances. We’ve seen that movie before.

The last time the Braves made the playoffs, they scored four runs in the two-game wild-card series against the Padres. The year before, the Braves scored eight runs in a four-game NLDS loss to the Phillies.

The Braves aren’t going to suddenly become a small-ball team. They are who they are. The offense looks good when they are slugging, and it can be ugly when they are not. There’s not much in between.

At least the pitching is holding up, for the most part.

No positive spin for Falcons

Falcons general manager Ian Cunningham’s in-game interview with Fox 5 on Friday night was supposed to be a chance for him to put a positive spin on his team’s outlook.

That was hard to do under the circumstances.

Hours before the game, the NFL announced an eight-game suspension for James Pearce Jr. for violating the personal conduct policy. Then the Falcons fell behind 24-0 to the Broncos at halftime of their first exhibition game.

Asked for any positives he saw from the Falcons at that point, Cunningham said:

“Obviously, the score isn’t what you’d hoped, but you look at the special teams, they showed some good things. Jake (Bailey) was able to get the ball down there on the punt (and) a lot of our young players were able to show up in coverage.”

Usually, it’s not a good sign when the GM leads with the punt team as a reason for optimism. But special teams were so bad under ex-coach Raheem Morris last year that covering a punt should be celebrated.

The bar is that low for the Falcons.

As for Pearce’s suspension, here was Cunningham’s answer to how the Falcons would approach the edge-rusher position without Pearce or Jalon Walker (ACL surgery):

“We are constantly looking at each position group. We are turning the bottom of the roster. We are trying to create more competition. … We’re looking to make sure that we continue to add depth to this roster, whether they are going to be starters or whether they are going to be backups. Always trying to raise the level of the depth.”

Yeah, the Falcons are in trouble.

Three quick things

1. So much for Tua Tagovailoa seizing his chance to be QB1 for the Falcons. He played two series against the Broncos and was 3-of-5 passing for 22 yards (one throwaway). “Definitely not up to standard,” Tagovailoa said. The other contender for the starting QB job, Michael Penix Jr., hasn’t been cleared for contact, as he recovers from ACL surgery.
2. Atlanta United ended its all-competitions winless match streak at eight with a comeback victory over the New York Red Bulls on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Five Stripes still stand last in the Eastern Conference, but captain Miguel Almiron’s surge provides some hope. He’s tallied three goals and an assist in four matches since representing Paraguay at the World Cup.
3. Broncos coach/Falcons villain/Bountygate co-conspirator Sean Payton took a shot at the home fans during a halftime interview on Friday. “A lot of people dressed up as empty seats today so, anyway,” Payton said before smirking and walking off. Payton seemed awfully pleased with himself for his lame dad joke.