Takeaways from the Atlanta Dream’s loss to the Las Vegas Aces

The Dream (7-15) entered Friday’s game as losers of eight of their last 10 games, including their last five. To secure their second victory of the three-game season series against Las Vegas, the Dream needed to hone in on their attention to detail on offense and defense; push the pace offensively; run in transition; and force Aces stars A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young, Kelsey Plum and Chelsea Gray into tough, contested shots.

Although Atlanta delivered glimpses of these demands on the court, the Dream came up short in their consistency, resulting in a 84-70 loss to the Aces (15-7) in front of a sold-out Gateway Center Arena. The final score was a direct reflection of Atlanta failing to take advantage of momentum and opportunity in pivotal moments.

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Despite the Dream registering their sixth consecutive loss and piecing together their seventh different starting lineup this season, hope is far from lost for Atlanta. The team is without Rhyne Howard (left ankle), Aerial Powers (left calf) and Jordin Canada (right finger) due to injuries and without Laeticia Amihere because of international commitments with Team Canada ahead of the Olympics.

“We understand that we’re without some big guns [really good players] for our team,” Wright told reporters after Friday’s loss. “… That’s part of it. We have to continue to fight … [and] have the same effort so once we get back from [the Olympic] break and we do have a full roster, that’ll be the identity of our team.”

Here are three takeaways from the Dream’s loss to the Aces.

Dream dominated points in the paint

It didn’t take long for Atlanta to show that points in the paint would be an advantage, even though it hadn’t been a major strength entering Friday’s game. Atlanta outscored Las Vegas in the paint 10-4 in the opening frame and 18-8 in the first half en route to a 42-16 advantage in the contest.

Wright said that Atlanta’s authority in the interior came from running in transition and pushing the pace offensively. “That’s something that has been an emphasis for us for the last month,” she said.

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Not enough defensive stops

Pushing pace offensively also comes from getting consistent stops defensively. Las Vegas led by as many as 17 points on three separate occasions during the third quarter. But Atlanta outscored Las Vegas 17-13 in the frame and stiffened its defense, forcing the Aces to miss their final seven shots of the quarter.

However, after Atlanta held Las Vegas scoreless for more than five minutes, Aces rookie Kate Martin connected on a pivotal corner three entering the fourth quarter. It gave Las Vegas a much-needed basket and opened a back-and-forth scoring flurry.

“[Haley Jones] closed out short to her,” Wright said about Martin’s 3-pointer. “[Martin] … does multiple things really well, but one thing that she does really well is shoot threes, and Haley just did not have the sense of urgency that she needed.”

The lack of urgency on that possession is an example of the overarching problems — lacking discipline and consistency on defense — in the final possessions of recent games for the Dream.

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Atlanta’s bench delivers

Despite the loss, bench production was a bright spot for the Dream. The Aces rely heavily on their starting rotation and entered Friday’s game with the league’s fourth-fewest bench points per game (13.9). Atlanta, which averaged the fourth-most at 20.0, took advantage: Its bench outscored Las Vegas’ 29-12.

Nearly 60% of Atlanta’s bench contributions came from forward Cheyenne Parker-Tyus (17 points, seven rebounds). Guard Destanni Henderson — who signed her second seven-day contract with the team on Friday — poured in eight, and forward Nia Coffey finished with four.

“I thought CP did a great job of not settling and getting points into the paint,” Wright said.

Starting guard Allisha Gray, the Dream’s leading scorer and a player who has been asked to wear many hats for Atlanta, led the team in minutes played (38). She finished with 11 points on 4-for-15 shooting from the floor, seven rebounds and four assists. Starting center Tina Charles and starting forward Maya Caldwell also finished with double-digit point totals, with 12 and 13, respectively.

“[Gray] really leads by example, staying aggressive on the offense and then talking on defense when we’re in the game,” Caldwell said. “She’s definitely a voice that we look for and that we hear often.”

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On the bright side for the Dream, the constant lineup changes due to injuries have presented opportunities for other players to gain valuable playing time. Wright believes that will help Atlanta as it prepares to enter the WNBA All-Star and Olympic break.

The Dream will open a two-game road trip on Sunday against the Seattle Storm and then face the Minnesota Lynx on Wednesday before the break. Both Seattle and Minnesota currently sit in the top five in the WNBA standings. However, Wright believes Atlanta is still a “good enough” team to end the first half of the season on a high note “if we take care of the ball down the stretch, if we execute offensively and defensively and continue to fight and tough those things out.”

However, when asked whether the break would be beneficial for the Dream, Wright embraced it fully.

“The break would be a welcome time for this team,” she said.