In this week’s Bowman Beat we look at Atlanta’s last three games and how Atlanta’s new players are doing with the team as the Dream works its way through an exhausting road trip.

“Trade?” you might ask.  Read on.

San Antonio Stars 102, Atlanta Dream 85

Atlanta’s first game after the All-Star break was the first time since 2008 that Erika de Souza was not on the roster.  De Souza was a part of a three-way trade between Atlanta, Chicago and Minnesota that saw de Souza go to Chicago and the Dream obtain center Damiris Dantas and rookie forward Reshanda Gray from the Lynx.  The Dream also picked up the rights to Minnesota’s first-round draft pick from the 2016 WNBA Draft.

But other than the above, it was a night Atlanta probably wanted to forget.  It also looked like Stars forward Kayla McBride was going to have a banner day, scoring 13 points in the first quarter for San Antonio.  The Dream only shot 29.4 percent during that span, with top scorer Angel McCoughtry not getting the start and only entering the game four minutes into the first quarter.  The Dream was lucky to be down 25-18 after 10 minutes.

While McBride continued to put points on the board for San Antonio in the second quarter, the Dream’s Matee Ajavon provided some punch for Atlanta off the bench.  Atlanta had finally found its shooting touch, with point guard Shoni Schimmel making valuable contributions off the bench.  San Antonio’s McBride had seven points in the quarter and Stars point guard Danielle Robinson would finish the half with eight assists but Atlanta began to work its way back.  With 32.1 seconds left in the half, forward Roneeka Hodges would hit a three-pointer to close the gap to three points, and Atlanta was only down by five at the half, 47-42.

Unfortunately, that would be the Dream’s high-water mark.  The wheels fell off the bus as the Stars scored the first 10 points of the third quarter and carried a 15-2 run across two quarters which left the Dream staring at a 62-44 deficit with 5:17 left in the period.  The Stars boosted their lead up to 22 at one point with San Antonio shooting 67 percent and by the end of the third the Stars were firmly in command, 79-67.  For the most part, both teams emptied the benches in the fourth quarter and Atlanta would never challenge again, the only suspense being if the Stars would break the century mark.

Atlanta’s McCoughtry finished the game with 14 points despite playing for just 20 minutes.  Six players scored in double figures for the Dream in the loss, including Gray with 13 points and six rebounds.  Unfortunately, Robinson had almost as many assists (12) by herself as the entire Atlanta team (13).

McBride finished with 25 points for San Antonio and every starter finished in double digits.  Center Jayne Appel’s 15 points were a career high.  Robinson had a double-double with 10 points and 12 assists in the San Antonio win.  Valeriane Ayayi also scored 10 points in her WNBA debut with the Stars.

McBride on the Stars team defense:  “I think it has been a big emphasis for us, especially on this team with Angel (McCoughtry). Their guards like to penetrate so much. I think we did a really good job; our posts did a really good job. We are just communicating better. Like I said, it just comes with us jelling and finding our chemistry and things like that and showing our defense today.”

McCoughtry on Dream defensive issues:  “Pick and rolls and overall just being more aggressive. We can’t have games like this, it’s unacceptable. We have to come with more energy and focused. We have more games so we’re going to bounce back. ”

Minnesota Lynx 86, Atlanta Dream 70

There’s no rest for Atlanta as it finished up a span of six games on the road by losing to the Lynx in Minneapolis.  Atlanta went 1-5 on the road over those games.

Fans knew it was going to be an ugly game when the Dream turned the ball over three times in the first minute of play.  After three minutes of action, Atlanta had five turnovers, forcing head coach Michael Cooper to call a full timeout.  It didn’t seem to help, as the Dream could only shoot 26.9 percent in the first quarter.  Gray picked up three first-quarter fouls in just over two minutes, Hodges received a technical for arguing a foul call and the Lynx would finish the quarter on an 11-0 run to put Minnesota up 26-9 after just one quarter of play.

The Dream would actually manage to close the gap to nine at one point in the second quarter.  Early in the quarter Atlanta would go on an 11-4 run including a jumper at the top of the arc from Dantas to close the score to 30-20.  However, Atlanta’s turnover and foul problems continued.  After Gray converted an overhead pass from Schimmel into a layup with 1:15 left in the half and the score at 40-29, she shouted at referee Tyler Ford that he should have called a free throw for the Dream due to a foul by the defender.  Ford called a technical on Gray, and after Maya Moore hit a technical free throw Minnesota reeled off six more points to lead 47-29 at halftime.

There were some high points for Atlanta.  Schimmel had six assists in the first half and would finish the game with 12 assists against one lone turnover.   Unfortunately, in the second half Atlanta would always be looking at a double-digit deficit and never really challenge.  Aside from Renee Montgomery and maybe Tiffany Hayes, the back half of the game was characterized by both coaches emptying the benches…and in the case of Atlanta picking up two more technical fouls, one on Cooper in the third quarter after Hayes was shoved to the floor on a hard play and one delay of game technical in the fourth.

The only player who finished the game in double-digits for Atlanta was Hayes, with 15 points on 5-for-16 shooting.  McCoughtry would play just 21 minutes due to foul trouble, and close with nine points on 4-for-11 shooting with the Dream shooting 42 percent as a team.

Five players would score in double digits for the home Lynx, led by Maya Moore with 21 points and 10 rebounds.  New Lynx acquisition Sylvia Fowles would finish with 12 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocked shots.   Atlanta would finish the game with 20 turnovers, and Minnesota would turn those turnovers into 23 points.

Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve on Fowles’s strategy:  “The thing that you have to resist the urge to do, especially when you’re 6’6, is kind of hunting blocked shots with these guys, because these guys get to your bodies and they try to draw fouls. I think when we had the notion that if we just kind of stayed straight up and altered versus trying to block or take it from them – we were more successful with that. I thought Sylvia had really good attention to that early on in the game.”

Gray on the pace of the game:  “The mindset going into the second half is just we have to be more consistent… as you can see we probably didn’t get any calls, but we’ve just got to learn how to play through things like that.”

Phoenix Mercury 71, Atlanta Dream 68

The Dream came back home for a brief visit on Sunday, but the Mercury would be waiting for them.  Atlanta has been a strong home team this year, but Phoenix has been strong all season.

Atlanta got off to a lucky start in the first period – Phoenix center Brittany Griner had picked up two fouls before four minutes were up in the first quarter and spent the rest of the first 10 minutes on the bench.  Phoenix found itself in found trouble early, but maintained the lead due to poor Atlanta shooting, the Dream going 4-for-15 during the period with Schimmel and Gray finding themselves in foul trouble.  Mercury forward Candice Dupree took over the scoring responsibilities by scoring 14 points in the first quarter alone.  Nine of ten of the Dream’s active players saw minutes early, but it was Phoenix leading 20-15 in a first quarter where both teams combined for 15 personal fouls.

For a few moments, it looked like the Dream would have to write off the game in the second quarter – Atlanta found itself on the wrong end of a 15-0 run with Phoenix taking a 35-17 lead.  At one point, the Dream’s shooting percentage plummeted to 15.4 percent (4-for-26) with Sydney Carter, Dantas, and Hayes a combined 0-for-10.  Dupree finished the first half with 18 points and Monique Currie finished with 12 points but Griner picked up her third foul and McCoughtry and Aneika Henry both began to heat up.  Tiffany Hayes hit a lonnnnnnnnnng three pointer to help the Dream close the second half down 43-31.

Atlanta refused to write this game off.   McCoughtry crossed into double digits in the third period and Sydney Carter hit a three-pointer to close Phoenix’s lead back into single digits.  A jumper from McCoughtry closed the gap to six points, 49-43 and with 4:37 left in the quarter the Mercury was forced into a full time out.  Back to back fast breaks from Gray and Dantas closed the gap to five points, 52-47 and Schimmel had a three from the top of the arc and the Dream were down by just two, 52-50 with over a minute to go.   The crowd was back in it and Atlanta looked energized going into the final ten minutes of the game as Schimmel hit another long bomb in the final minute to tie the score at 53-53.

Could the Dream seize victory from the jaws of defeat?  The game tightened up with Schimmel crossing into double digits in scoring with her third three of the game and Atlanta down 57-56 with 5:59 left.  Atlanta would close to within one multiple times but could never take the lead – they’d miss an open look or suffer a turnover at a critical moment.  Momentum became friends with the Mercury, and Atlanta’s last attempt to score with half of a second on the clock fell short, with Schimmel unable to get the ball to Dantas on time for her shot to count.

Dupree would finish the game with 27 points for the winners, shooting 11-for-13 from the free throw line.  Monique Currie would score 14 points for Phoenix, and Griner would be held to nine points and seven rebounds.

McCoughtry led the Dream with 16 points, followed by Hayes with 13 and Schimmel with 11.

Cooper on Schimmel’s performance:  “I think just from everything like the floor leadership, distributing the basketball, looking to be more creative on the offensive end, shooting the ball, was good. I still like her as a two guard a little bit more because her hands on the ball is great for us but I think her best asset is her scoring which is difficult for her to do off the dribbling. The one shot she hit that tied the game up she was in an off guard position.”

Griner on foul trouble:  “Lovely refs; I love them. Just foul trouble tonight, I had to sit out and help my team but I just have wasn’t able to help to adjust to how they were calling the game.”

WNBA Tidbits

The Dream is 0-9 when teams score 80 or more points against them.   Atlanta, sadly, is now on a five-game losing streak.

Friday night’s 88-53 victory by visiting Washington over San Antonio was San Antonio’s biggest home loss (35 points) in franchise history, which dates all the way back to 1997 when they were the Utah Starzz.

Since Candace Parker’s return to the Los Angeles Sparks, LA has won two straight – they beat the Chicago Sky 88-77 on the road on Friday and squeezed by the San Antonio Stars 80-78 on the road on Sunday.

Upcoming games

August 7:  Atlanta Dream @ Indiana Fever, 7 pm ET

(Atlanta leads 1-0)

Atlanta’s brief respite at home ends next week, where the Dream finishes their eight-games-on-the-road-against-nine-played span with two more road games, starting at Indiana.

As of this writing, the resurgent Fever had won eight of their last 10 games.  They will be hard to beat, and have three double-digit scorers in Tamika Catchings (12.6), Marissa Coleman (11.7) and Shenise Johnson (11.4).  The Fever, however, are more than just a team that puts points on the board.  In their last 10 games, they’ve led the WNBA in steals – they’re a team that does the little things right.

Credit that to first year coach Stephanie White, continuing the tradition of Lin Dunn.  Indiana is 3-0 in games decided by five points or less, so Atlanta will have to do a bit more than just hang around with the Fever until the end.  Two of Atlanta’s final 10 games of the regular season will be against Indiana, so this is the time to get a good look on WNBA Live Access.

August 9:  Atlanta Dream @ Tulsa Shock, 4:30 pm ET

(Tulsa leads 1-0)

What a long, strange trip it’s been!  Atlanta’s long road journey comes to an end when the Dream takes on the Tulsa Shock in Tulsa – and if there’s a spark of light at the end of the tunnel, it might come against the Shock.

Why?  The Shock is falling like a rock, having lost six straight and nine of their last eleven games as of this writing.  It seems that Skylar Diggins’s injury has caused the team to throw a piston.   Furthermore, this will be the final season that Tulsa plays in Tulsa before moving to Dallas for the 2016 WNBA season – will this have a negative effect on the Tulsa home advantage?

Atlanta has had trouble getting its motor started, but over these last 11 games the Shock is by far the worst shooting team in the WNBA.   The Dream will be looking forward to heading home on a strong note and if McCoughtry or Hayes get a hot hand, look out.  Besides, it would be embarrassing to get swept by the Shock, which is in danger of finishing under .500 in the West.  Let’s hope that the Dream evens up the series on Sunday.

WNBA Power Rankings

1. Minnesota Lynx (15-4): the Lynx don’t seem to be suffering without Dantas or Gray – Fowles more than makes up for it.  Will they even lose another game?
2. Phoenix Mercury (12-7): At least Atlanta doesn’t have to play the two best teams in the West back-to-back anymore…
3. Indiana Fever (11-8): …but they follow up those two games with the Fever, who have won eight of their last 10.  It’s Indiana’s turn to be the best of the East.
4. New York Liberty (13-6): Number One in the East standings, winners of six of their last seven and nine of their last 11.  Their only loss in their last seven games was to Indy.
5. Washington Mystics (11-7): A tough loss to the Sky on Sunday breaks a five-game winning streak.
6. Chicago Sky (12-8): The stumble to the Sparks on Friday caused the drop, but it’s a tight race in the East where anything could happen.
7. Los Angeles Sparks (5-14): The distance between #6 and #7 in the power rankings this week is a chasm.  But now that they have Candace Parker back, the Sparks are the best-equipped team to bridge the gap.
8. San Antonio Stars (6-14): The only blemish on the Fever’s recent record is an 18-point loss to San Antonio.
9. Connecticut Sun (9-9): They did beat the Lynx recently, but Connecticut looks very mortal.  Lost by 13 to the Fever in the final game on Sunday.
10. Tulsa Shock (10-10): See above – they certainly don’t play like a 10-10 team.
11. Atlanta Dream (7-13): It really hurts me to put my beloved Dream so low. But Atlanta has lost five straight and Cierra Burdick is likely done for the season due to a left foot stress fracture.
12. Seattle Storm (5-16): The worst team in the WNBA by record.  Their only hope is lottery balls.