The Dream begin what they hope will be their first championship season with Sunday’s 3 p.m. game against New York at Philips Arena.
They dispatched the Liberty in an entertaining Eastern Conference semifinal last year before being swept by Seattle in three games in the finals.
In an attempt to reach that next goal, the Dream acquired point guard Lindsey Harding in a draft-day trade, completing coach and general manager Marynell’s Meadors’ No. 1 offseason goal of improving the scoring and defense at the position. It is the only significant change to the roster, but the continuity doesn’t mean the team doesn’t have several questions it hopes are answered.
Here are three storylines for the Dream as they enter their new season:
1. How is Harding fitting in?
Meadors said she wanted a point guard who wasn’t afraid to shoot and someone who could help the run-oriented team with its pressure defense and transition offense. Harding would seem to accomplish both goals: She has averaged 11 points per game in her four-year career and was named to the WNBA’s all-defensive team last season.
Her new teammates said Harding fits in as if she has played with them for years. “It’s just learning people,” Harding said. “Learning timing.”
2. Does the team have the experience necessary to win a title?
Though the team has many players who have won a lot of games in college and the pros, few have won championships. Erika de Souza and Sancho Lyttle led Halcon Avenida (Spain) to the Euroleague title during the offseason. Meadors and Angel McCoughtry helped the U.S. team to the gold medal at the 2010 World Championships. Otherwise, there’s not a lot of title-winning miles on the rest of the players’ high-tops.
Meadors said learning to win titles is like the previous steps the team has taken: learning how to compete, how to win close games and how to win playoff games.
“Next step is to win that championship,” Meadors said.
The Dream are the preseason pick to win the Eastern Conference, which brings expectations that Harding said the players embrace. She said just because most players haven’t won a championship, it doesn’t mean they don’t know how or can’t learn how. “Point is you have to have the mentality that we are the best, no one can stop us, having that swag when you walk on the floor,” she said.
3. Can the team get off to another good start?
The Dream won its first six games last season, paving the way for a 19-15 record and the playoffs. The road may not be as smooth this year. The team will have to deal with the absence of two key players, the Spaniard Lyttle and Belarusian Yelena Leuchanka, who will spend some time away helping their countries try to qualify for the Olympics. Leuchanka, who averaged 4.2 points per game last year, has yet to join the team. She is expected to return in mid-July. Lyttle, who averaged 12.8 points per game last year, will leave the team in mid-June and return in early July. She will be with the team for the first four games and then miss at least six.
“We’re just trying to survive June,” Meadors said.
Adding to the situation are injuries. Leading scorer McCoughtry (21.1 points per game) has missed the past few days after tweaking her knee during a scrimmage. Iziane Castro Marques (16.9 ppg) has missed more than a week because of a strained Achilles tendon. Both are expected to return for the opener, but Meadors said Castro Marques won’t be able to play her customary 30-plus minutes for the first few games.
While the team is deep, there’s not anyone who can fill some of the scoring that the duo provide. Meadors said good defense will be important. The Dream was 9-0 in the regular season when holding opponents to less than 80 points.
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