At 5-7, the Atlanta Dream sit seventh in the WNBA.
That does not seem all that impressive until you realize half of their 12 games have been against the top-three teams in the league.
Atlanta has faced off against the New York Liberty three times, the Connecticut Sun twice and the Las Vegas Aces once.
That is brutal.
In those six games, the Dream are 2-4.
That record could very easily be even at 3-3 if it were not for the reigning WNBA Finals MVP, Chelsea Gray, closing out the Aces’ narrow 92-87 victory over the Dream on June 2.
Keeping it that close with the Aces is enough to celebrate on its own. That is how dominant Las Vegas has been.
Atlanta Dreaming of a Win Streak
The Dream had a very impressive win streak, picking up three straight victories over the Liberty, Sun and Fever.
The most impressive part— they were all on the road!
Battle at Barclays
On June 13, Atlanta had a notable seven-point victory against the Liberty. New York was, however, without its second-best player, Sabrina Ionescu. That doesn’t take away from what the Dream accomplished, though.
Atlanta had six players reach double figures with Allisha Gray leading the way with 16 points.
This game was won on the defensive end as Atlanta held New York to just 79 points on 39.4% shooting from the field and 29.6% shooting from three.
Cheyenne Parker proved her defensive worth as she went head-to-head with league’s MVP favorite, Breanna Stewart. Parker held Stewart to an abysmal 1-of-14 shooting from the field and 0-for-5 shooting from the three.
Atlanta Dream Handling the Sun
Two days later, Atlanta would pick up a thrilling overtime victory over the second best team in the league, Connecticut Sun.
Down 10 at halftime, Atlanta would completely turn the game around and outscore the Sun 52-38 in the second half. Not sitting a single minute, Allisha Gray had a spectacular game with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Her All-Star-caliber teammates Rhyne Howard and Cheyenne Parker contributed 19 points each.
The Dream withstood the Sun’s big three of Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner and Brionna Jones. Thomas had 23 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Bonner scored 20 points and Jones had 28 points while grabbing 13 rebounds.
All of that, and the Dream still pulled out the victory on the road.
This team does not quit.
Treating the Fever
The final game of the win streak came against another current playoff team. The Dream defeated the Indiana Fever 100-94.
This was another solid game from Gray and Howard.
Shocker!
Gray poured in 25 points and Howard had 21. That was enough to hold off the easy rookie-of-the-year favorite, Aliyah Boston, who had 25 points and six rebounds. Atlanta had to show the rook that there are no easy victories in this league.
Only Up from Here
In the first 12 games for the Dream, they played the top-three teams six times. In the 26 games remaining, they will play those three teams just six more times— the same amount they have already played them.
Atlanta has taken this punch at the beginning of the season very well as they still own a playoff spot as of June 28.
The Dream can take a breath and realize their season will get just a bit easier.
Now, that does not mean slow down. Atlanta needs to continue their game, and they will for sure earn a playoff spot.
