Atlanta Dream vs. The Elite: the team’s rising stock and Brittney Griner’s timely spark

Two games into the second half of the WNBA season following the All-Star break, Atlanta (14-10) sits in sole possession of fourth in the standings behind the Phoenix Mercury, the New York Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx. They’ve faced a gauntlet of potential playoff-caliber opponents, including the Liberty, Las Vegas Aces, Indiana Fever and Mercury, four of the league’s top eight and two of them top three. The last time the Dream played a contest at Gateway Center Arena was July 7, when they defeated the Golden State Valkyries. 

Atlanta has lost three of its last five games, falling to the Fever, Liberty and Aces. In each of those losses, turnovers and a drop in ball movement were the Dream’s Achilles heel. Although Atlanta averages only 13 turnovers per game — the third fewest in the league — the Dream coughed up the ball 14 or more times in each of those defeats. Their assists also dipped below their season average of 20.9, with the team failing to reach 20 in all three losses.

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Despite a 2-3 stretch, the Dream enter Sunday’s road trip finale against the league-best Lynx (22-4) with momentum. They defeated Phoenix 90-79 on Wednesday in a strong showing, flashing their second-half potential even without injured star Rhyne Howard (left knee). Atlanta now has a shot to avenge its June overtime loss to Minnesota, close the road trip on a high note and, once again, prove it can sustain sharp execution for a full 40 minutes.

“There are times where we play at a level that is right at the top of the league,” Dream coach Karl Smesko said after the team’s win against Phoenix. “There’s other times where we just lose focus. … The challenge for us is to get to that highest level more often and for a longer period of time. I do think our players are motivated to get there.”

As Smesko’s squad pushes to remain among the league’s elite, Griner is playing her best basketball of the season. In seven games in July, the 10-time All-Star has scored in double figures five times, including four of the last five during the current road trip. She also registered her lone double-double performance of the season. 

In her emotional homecoming against the Mercury — filled with memories, familiar faces and a few tears — Griner delivered a classic performance, posting 17 points and eight rebounds in front of a lively PHX Arena crowd that watched her for 11 seasons. The 34-year-old is averaging 10.5 points and 5.8 rebounds this season, but has boosted that to 12.2 points and 7.0 rebounds during the road trip.

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While her numbers have improved, Griner remains focused on building team chemistry and continuity, factors she believes are key to dominating the second half of the season.

“When we stick together, we really lock in [and] we hold each other accountable, we can have games like this [victory against Phoenix],” Griner said postgame. “That shows a team that’s ready for the second half, ready for playoffs [and] ready to make that push.”

Overall, Atlanta’s production dipped during the road trip. Currently, the Dream rank seventh in scoring (80.4 ppg), field goal percentage (43.6%) and made threes (9.2). They’re ninth in assists (20.6), sixth in 3-point attempts (26.4), eighth in free throws made (13.6) and fourth in attempts (18.8).

Defensively, they’ve stayed strong on the glass, ranking second in defensive rebounds (30.6), but slipped to 11th in offensive boards (6.4). Turnovers ticked up slightly to 13.6 (eighth), while blocks improved to 5.0 per game (fourth).

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The Dream closed the first half of the season — which included the first three games of their current road trip — ranked fourth in scoring (83.8 ppg), eighth in field goal percentage (43%), fifth in made threes (9.3) and third in 3-point attempts (28.8) per contest. Atlanta also averaged 21 assists (fifth), ranked fifth in free throws made (16.0) and third in free-throw attempts (21.1).

On defense, the Dream led the league in defensive rebounds (28.3), ranked fourth in offensive boards (9.3), second in fewest turnovers (13.0) and fourth in blocks (4.5).

The Dream have felt the absence of Howard (16.5 ppg, 4.5 apg, 1.6 spg and 0.9 bpg), who remains sidelined through the end of the month. The three-time All-Star could return Friday against Phoenix. But until then, Smesko will lean on Maya Caldwell — starting in Howard’s place — and key bench contributors Naz Hillmon, Nia Coffey, Shatori Walker-Kimbrough and Te-Hina Paopao. Currently, Atlanta’s bench is averaging 17.8 points per game, ranking 11th out of 13 WNBA teams.

Paopao snapped a scoring slump with 13 points against the Chicago Sky in the final game before the All-Star break, her first double-digit outing since June 22. Hillmon has scored in double figures in two of Atlanta’s last five games. Walker-Kimbrough added a spark off the bench with 11 points in the win over Phoenix.

“It’s not just like you put one player in [for Howard] and that’s all there is,” Smesko said. “There’s a lot of things to be made up for. Maya’s a good defender. She’s come in and had some really good games for us since Rhyne’s been injured. … [Walker-Kimbrough] had a really good game [on Wednesday]. … [Hillmon] has had an outstanding season coming off the bench. … Nia, she can go in there, rebound, defend and is very capable of hitting open threes.”

Before Friday’s matchup, Atlanta plays three games starting with the Lynx on Sunday, Tuesday against the Valkyries and Wednesday in the back end of a back-to-back on the road against the Dallas Wings.

Not only will Atlanta need quality minutes and production from their bench in the upcoming games, but Griner believes this will be one of the most important factors for the team’s success as the regular season winds down. She also thinks it will help take some of the load off of the team’s core starters, including herself, Howard, Jordin Canada (10.7 ppg, 5.4 apg, 3.6 rpg), Allisha Gray (team-best 19.0, 5.8 rpg, 4.0 apg) and Brionna Jones (12.9 ppg, 7.6 rpg).

“Everybody being able to play minutes like that just shows everybody is showing up on this team and everybody’s contributing,” Griner said after the Dream’s win against the Mercury. “Getting into [the WNBA] playoffs, we’ll have our legs behind us.”

As Atlanta prepares to close July, the Dream will play seven of their 12 games — their heaviest month of games — in August at home. After Friday’s contest against the Mercury, the Dream will face the Washington Mystics at home on Aug. 3 before entering another six-game road trip starting Aug. 7 against the Sky.

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In just half a season, Smesko has propelled Atlanta far beyond where it stood a year ago. Two games after last season’s Paris Olympics/All-Star break, the Dream were 9-17. Now, with a winning record and growing league-wide respect, Smesko’s impact is clear.

Still, players aren’t satisfied. They recognize their improved chemistry but remain focused on finishing the season stronger than they started.

“We haven’t even reached our ceiling,” Jones said after the Dream’s win against the Sky on July 16. “I think that is the most exciting part. I think we’ve shown that we can compete with the top of the league, but it’s about playing our brand of basketball every game and going out every night doing what we want to and taking care of business. … Hopefully by the end of the season we’re peaking at the right time.”