After starting the year 0-4, The Dream find their rhythm
By: Dorothy Gentry
After starting the year with two preseason losses and a 2-5 record going into a stretch of road games, the Atlanta Dream finally found a rhythm. They began a turnaround in their season, rattling off impressive wins – including three consecutive – and now sitting at 5-6 and fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
That turnaround has made the Dream one of the most exciting, young teams to watch in the WNBA – and could result in one, maybe two, All-Stars in Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray.
“The relationship that the staff has with the players is very cohesive,” said Haley Jones. “With the culture set here, it’s open communication and very transparent. T’s not going to tell you what you want to hear, she will tell you what you need to hear and I think it’s something we all crave because we want to get better.”
And what have been the keys to the turnaround?
“We have played really good teams so for us it was continuing to work through the things we needed to work through and get better in the areas we needed to get better,” said head coach Tanisha Wright. These areas include defensively being more tuned in to the game plan and offensively shooting and taking care of the ball better, Wright said.
“We are not all the way there yet and are still working on some things. We are a quarter of the way through the season and so we are still figuring out how we play the best and what that looks like that’s best for us.”
The Dream (5-6) host The Liberty (7-3) on Friday at 7 p.m. EST – How to watch the game and get tickets.