The Dream know what they do well as they prepare to open training camp Sunday: They score.
They also recognize what they don’t always do well: play defense.
General manager/coach Marynell Meadors and her players know they must improve that weakness if they want to make it to the WNBA finals for the third consecutive year. They believe a few tweaks, and not an overhaul, are what’s needed to bring home their first title.
“I don’t think we can change who we are,” Meadors said. “We like to play a fast-paced game. That’s what we will continue to do. We need to be better on defense. We can do that with present personnel. ... Once we can do that, we can go down to the other end and score.”
The Dream were one of the highest-scoring teams in league last season, averaging a second-best 80.6 points per game. However, they gave up 87.3 points in the finals against Minnesota, a year after giving up 84.3 to Seattle.
To reduce those issues, Meadors made a few additions to what she said is a solid roster to help with defense and another area she wants improved, 3-point shooting.
Yelena Leuchanka, a 6-foot-5 center, was brought back. She played for the Dream in 2010, but wasn’t on the team last season because she was trying to help her native country of Belarus qualify for the Olympics. She will replace Alison Bales, who retired to pursue a medical career.
Meadors also added free-agent veterans Ketia Swanier, a 5-7 guard, and Cathrine Kraayeveld, a 6-3 forward, along with draft pick Tiffany Hayes, a 5-10 guard.
Meadors hopes Swanier will be able to give point guard Lindsey Harding a few minutes of rest in each game. Kraayeveld will be counted on to fill the void left by Iziane Castro Marques, who left as a free agent. Kraayeveld is a 38.2 percent 3-point shooter, slightly better than the Dream’s 36.6 percent average. Hayes made 40.7 percent of those shots last season at Connecticut.
But as those players are coming in, one player, starter Erika de Souza, won’t join the team until August because she will play for Brazil in the Olympics. The team was in a similar situation with players coming and going last year during qualifying for the London games.
“When you are missing key players other players have to step up and take over those responsibilities,” guard Coco Miller said. “We will miss those players, but the rest of us have to fill that void as best as possible. We do have the players to do that.”
Meadors said Miller is one of the players who will step up. Though Meadors wants more 3-point shooting, she said Miller’s ability to make mid-range jumpers is crucial because it’s a rare asset in the WNBA.
The team also should be improved because Harding will have a year in the Dream’s system. Meadors traded for Harding before last year’s draft, giving up two players and a first-round pick, hoping she would be the missing piece in the title puzzle.
But it took a while for Harding to get used to the Dream’s system and players. Harding acknowledged the beginning was “rocky, really rocky.” The team started the season 3-9, and Harding, who calls herself a defensive player, wasn’t making an impact on either end of the floor.
But as the season progressed and Meadors said the players got used to each other, Harding improved. The team won five consecutive games after its poor start, added two winning streaks of three games each and a six-gamer that carried over from the regular season into the playoffs. The Dream finished 20-14, third in the East.
Meadors wants Harding to shoot more 3’s and to work on limiting dribble-penetration, which she said was one of the weak spots in the team’s defense in the finals.
