September 3, 2024
Locked On Women’s Basketball: Atlanta Dream in contention
By The Next
'That's the biggest blessing that you could have'
In the latest episode of Locked On Women’s Basketball, The Next’s Wilton Jackson breaks down the Atlanta Dream with host Howard Megdal. With Tina Charles looking like peak-era Tina Charles, Jordin Canada being the engine for the Atlanta Dream GM Dan Padover pictured when he acquired her and both Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray healthy and thriving, the team finds itself effectively tied for the eighth and final playoff spot at 11-21 entering play on Tuesday.
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“When you have a veteran player like Tina Charles, who’s constantly contributing night in and night out, that’s the biggest blessing that you could have,” Jackson said. “I’m excited to see what she’s going to do, what she’s going to continue to do. They go as Tina goes.”
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With eight games remaining on the schedule, Megdal and Jackson also broke down how many games the Dream will need to win to secure that last playoff berth. Atlanta plays in Phoenix against the Mercury on Tuesday night, before a home matchup against the Wings on Friday and a battle in Indianapolis against Caitlin Clark and the Fever on Sunday.
“I think .500 would get them there, but I would hope that they could finish maybe one or two above .500, maybe at least one above .500, and I think that would get them in,” Jackson said. “But more than anything, beyond just the numbers, I think the biggest thing that can help them is making sure they maintain health. You talk about a team that doesn’t need any more injuries or issues or anything like that, this is the team that doesn’t need any of that.”
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Tune into Locked On Women’s Basketball for more from Jackson about the state of the Dream as the regular season winds down and the team aims to qualify for the playoffs in back-to-back seasons after a four-year playoff drought.
