The Atlanta Dream started the second half of the season on a good note against the Seattle Storm on Aug. 16 when Tina Charles hit a game-winning shot to give them the victory. It doesn't get any easier for the Dream, as their next opponent is the Connecticut Sun, a team that has stayed atop the standings all season. The Sun are a formidable group that can beat you on both sides of the ball, and head coach Tanisha Wright knows the secret to their success.
“Maturity. They’re an experienced team, they’re a veteran team. They’ve been together for a very long time, and they make you pay,” Wright said before the game. “When you make mistakes, they make you pay. They don’t really hurt themselves, they just wait for you to do the job.”
The Sun have a few high-level defenders on the team such as Dijonai Carrington, who can guard the opposing team's best offensive guard on any night.
“Obviously, they have great players, their complementary players like [Dijonai] Carrignton, [Tyasha] Harris are both having exceptional years. When you combine that with [Alyssa and DeWanna] and Brionna Jones, there’s a reason why they’re the second-best team,” Wright said.
The Dream are prepared for matchup against Sun
The Atlanta Dream are quite familiar with the Connecticut Sun, having already played them twice in the first half of the season. The Dream won the last matchup 78-74, led by Allisha Gray's 17 points. Another reason the Dream were successful in that game was their ability to contain DeWanna Bonner, who can get hot at any time.
“We have to do a good job of keeping people in front of us and stay in place. make them take tough, contested shots,” Tanisha Wright said before the game. “One thing that I did like about our defense, especially early on when we played them, was we ran plays a lot of those times. If people make tough shots they make tough shots, and you have to live with that, but you try to make them depend on making tough shots throughout the game. ”
The Dream will look slightly different this time against the Sun with their three guards, Jordin Canada, Rhyne Howard, and Allisha Gray healthy. The trio were able to close out the game against the Storm, as Howard finished with 30 points, Gray finished with 19 points, and Canada finished with 10 points and eight assists. That was the first time that they all played on the court together this season, and Howard is excited for what is to come for them.
“That was my first time playing with [Jordin] all season, but it was great to have a sense of being able to get easy looks and open shots without having to do it off my own account,” Howard said after the Storm game.
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