The Dream’s players have a bad taste in their mouth after losing at home Wednesday, but it’s nothing that a successful road trip can’t cure.
The Dream start a season-high three-game road stretch Saturday when they travel to Texas to take on the San Antonio Stars. They then head to Seattle to face the Storm on June 28 followed by a game against the L.A. Sparks two days later.
It’s a trip that spans five days and 4,275 miles. It’s also one Dream coach Michael Cooper is putting a high priority on.
“(The loss to New York) puts a lot of stress on this road trip,” Cooper said. “I think we can go out there and get three in a row.”
The overtime defeat to the Liberty capped off a busy five days for Atlanta. The Dream won an overtime showdown with the Chicago Sky last Friday then turned around the next day to play the Mystics in Washington. The result was a 30-point thrashing from the Mystics.
Angel McCoughtry and Tiffany Hayes sat out of practice in the days before the game with New York, which Cooper felt may have caused an issue. Guard Meighan Simmons explained that the jam-packed schedule had taken a toll, but the team has to move past it.
“After a long trip with practices and games, we have to be mentally prepared,” Simmons said. “We’ll be recovering our legs and getting ready. We have to come out and play hard.”
While the Dream have lost three of their past five games, the matchups away from Philips Arena offer a chance to regroup. The Stars (2-11) have the worst record in the WNBA and are riding a five-game losing streak. Seattle hasn’t fared much better, as the team is 4-9 and has lost three in a row.
The game against the 11-1 Sparks is no gimme, but Cooper said even the best teams can be knocked off their pedestals from time to time.
“You’re going to see Minnesota have a little spill, L.A. will have a spill,” Cooper said. “Then you’ll have some teams (below them) that will start playing better. Every game is important.”
Atlanta’s hot start to the season caught many across the league by surprise, but the team has to get back to its winning ways if it wants to stay in the discussion for best team in the Eastern Conference.
“Our first stop is San Antonio, so we’ll go down there to win the game,” Cooper said.
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