Atlanta’s Dream or Nightmare? PDF Print E-mail
Sports
Written by Shayla Forrest   
Monday, 23 June 2008 13:36
Aside from the opening minutes of the game, the Dream had no fire in last night’s game. Just about everything they did was predictable and lackluster. For a fundamentally sound team, their performance was deficient in basketball basics.

This game the Dream boxed out, a problem they suffered from in previous games, but did not aggressively go after rebounds. They telegraphed many passes resulting in easy steals by Detroit Shock and they panicked when the Shock pressured them, throwing away possessions.

Within three and a half minutes of the 1st quarter, MVP of the game Ivory Latta hit a three pointer which was Dream’s first shot attempt. The next Dream’s possession brought more excitement as the star athlete hit another 3-pt shot. This momentum really got the crowd going. It appeared as if the team’s luck had overturned and they might be seizing their first win.

This fantasy was short-lived when the 2nd quarter rolled around. Simply put, the Shock out hustled the Dream for the full ten minutes. Although Jennifer Lacy was a stronger force in the center compared to Katie Feenstra, it still was not enough to give them a powerful presence in the paint. Of the Shock’s 26 pts that quarter, over 80% was in the paint. To top that off, the Dream only had two fast break points compared to Shock’s 17. The Shock also stole the ball on numerous occasions and outrebounded them really hurting the Dream’s chances of effectively competing in this game.

However, towards the end of the 3rd quarter the Dream started heating up again. Iziane Castro Marques hit a three pointer. Next Camille Little came back with an inside jumper. Then, Latta put the icing on the cake with another perfectly smooth three. Along with some other factors, these three events simultaneously closed the Shock’s 23 point lead making the score 60-68, Shock.

Once again the game was lost in the 4th quarter. The Shock conquered the Dream 97- 76.

So looking at the bigger picture, what’s going on? Is it the inability of the team to get full fledged practices because of back to back games? Is it because they are an expansion team and lack team chemistry? Coach Meadors felt that they were defeated by lack of rebounding. Will there be more issues the next game or will they finally get a win under their belt. With a 0-13 record, there is only room to improve. Only time will tell this perseverant team’s fate.
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