3 adjustments Dream must make after rough Game 1 loss to Liberty

09/23/2024 03:57 PM

The Atlanta Dream took a tough loss against the New York Liberty in Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs, 83-69. It was never going to be easy for the Dream facing the best team in the league, but they have the talent to stay competitive. Head coach Tanisha Wright was completely honest after the Dream’s defeat.

“They punched us in the mouth, that’s exactly what they were supposed to do. They’re in their home, their supposed to come out like that, and we have to learn how to respond to it,” Wright said after the game.

Game 1 was pretty much lopsided, but there are some things that the Dream can do as Game 2 approaches and they try to keep their season going.

Create better opportunities from three

One of the main reasons for the Dream’s loss was their poor shooting from three. They shot 3-of-16 from three, and that will cost you against a team like the Liberty. It’s not that they need to take fewer threes either, but they have to find better ways to get open shots and knock them down. The Liberty have a good defense, which made it harder for the Dream to get the shots that they wanted, so it will come down to execution.

“Before we get to shots and anything like that, our mindset has to change in terms of what to expect,” Wright said. “When you’re not able to run your things smoothly, it affects how many shots you’re going to be able to get off or the kind of shots that you’re going to get off.”

Tina Charles did most of her work in the post, and if she can continue to do that, the Liberty might elect to double-team her. If that happens, that should create better looks for the perimeter players. Rhyne Howard is one of the players who has to get going for the Dream, and she struggled in the first half but was able to find success in the second.

“We just started spacing out a little bit more. Using the full extent of the court to try to create easier looks and that’s what helped my success,” Howard said.

Start the quarters strong

Out of the gate, the Dream saw themselves down 13-4 and head coach Tanisha Wright had to call a timeout. It didn’t get better for the Dream throughout that quarter, but they allowed the Liberty to increase their lead to as much as 21 points in the third quarter. The only quarter that the Dream won was the fourth quarter, and by that time the Liberty had already created a big enough lead to not play their starters as much.

“I think they did a good job of punching first,” Wright said. “When you’re in a series like this and we just had a game with them, you want to come out and make a statement. They did a good job of making a statement.”

Throughout the season, the Dream had problems with starting and finishing games at times, and it wouldn’t be ideal for them to get back into those habits in this series. The best thing they can do is limit turnovers, get better shots, and improve their defense.

Be more physical

Tanisha Wright mentioned several times after the game that the Liberty were more physical than them, which helped them get out to an early lead in the game and dominate throughout. In Game 2, the Dream are going to have to match the Liberty’s physicality and do the extra things on the court to be able to win, whether that’s getting offensive rebounds, executing plays better, or turning their defense up a notch.

“I knew it was going to be a hard, physical game,” Charles said. “For me, it’s about the character of us. It’s not about the score, it’s not about how many points each of my teammates have. It’s just about the toughness and the grit that we have, and the aggression that we have.”

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