The Atlanta Dream are ready to play basketball.
With a one-week break between the semifinals and the start of the WNBA Finals – with both the Dream and the Golden State Valkyries sweeping their respective series – it left a lull in the schedule.
While it gave time for both sides to get some much-needed rest, it also shifted the conversation elsewhere.
Specifically, around where the Dream would host Game 3 and 4 of the WNBA Finals due to conflicts at State Farm Arena – the arena where they played all of their playoff games so far.
The IX Sports first reported that the Dream were planning on playing at Gateway Center Arena, their home arena that holds 3,500 fans, unless something changed.
Well, something did change, as the NBA, WNBA, TV partners, and more agreed to move Game 3 to up to Oct. 21 instead of the 22, and the Hawks agreed to move their home opener back to 8:30 for a doubleheader that day.
“I do love Gateway so much, and I love the intimacy of being here and all the fans coming out and supporting us,” Angel Reese told WBS-TV Tuesday during practice. “And even if we couldn’t go to State Farm, I was going to be grateful to just be able to be here and just have everybody here. We probably would’ve had a big TV outside, and everybody outside. It would be a whole cookout.
“But I am looking forward to everybody showing up and supporting us at State Farm, because every game has been a great turnout. Celebrities on the side… you don’t know who you’re going to see in Atlanta.”
As of publication, sources tell The IX Sports that it is still “TBD” as to where Game 6 will be played if it reaches that point, as the Hawks have a home game that day, too.
That’s something for the business operations team to figure out, though. What the Dream are focused on – and ready for – is taking to the court in Golden State on Saturday for Game 1 of the WNBA Finals.
“I said last year in my press conference after we lost to Indiana that we would be back, and I meant that,” point guard Jordin Canada told media member KK Hansbrough on Tuesday. “Obviously the job isn’t done yet, but I believed in this team. There’s a reason that the core group came back.”
Canada, who is averaging 19.2 points, 8.8 assists, and 2.2 steals during the playoffs, is making her third trip to the WNBA Finals, after winning it all with the Seattle Storm in 2018 and 2020. She’s been the engine all year on offense, but she, along with Rhyne Howard and Reese, have led the Dream defensively all season, setting up for what will be a real-life Spider-Man pointing meme matchup between two teams who are so similarly matched – especially on the defensive end.
“I think we got to be sound, and we have the two best defenses in the finals. There’s a reason why both teams are in the finals, and it’s because of our defense,” Canada told The IX Sports. “But I think what’s really going to be important for us is our rebounding effort. Golden State, they crash a lot. They get opportunities, second-chance opportunities for themselves. So we have to make sure we’re limiting them to just one opportunity. Rebounding effort is going to come down to us making sure that we come out with these wins, and it’s going to take a lot of effort, a lot of energy.”
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That energy is something that has been apparent all year. Even during the five-game losing streak that the Dream had in the first half of the season – three of those losses were to the Valkyries in a season sweep – they were cool, calm, and collected.
While the Valkyries went viral for their collected breathing moment in Round 1 of the playoffs against the Dallas Wings, the Dream have had their own inner-channeling moments this year, too.
While head coach Karl Smesko doesn’t participate in those cleansings, opting to turn to musicians like Beethoven and Mozart, he’s happy to see how calm his team is entering the biggest series of their collective careers.
“There’s no doubt that you get to this level, and things are elevated, emotions are heightened, and being able to manage your emotions is really important to being able to have success,” Smesko told The IX Sports. “Good and bad things are going to happen, and either way, you have to move on to the next play. I think our players have been really good about that.”
A big part of that is the leadership of Naz Hillmon.
Rhye Howard told The IX Sports in New York that Hillmon is, “Super vocal in the huddles on the court, and she’s making sure that we’re all really taking a deep breath and just focusing on what we can do.”
For Hillmon, it’s a credit to the players that she’s surrounded by.
“It’s been really special. Obviously, there’s been some players that I’ve been here for five years with, and there’s some that I’ve been here for just one year,” Hillmon told The IX Sports. “But everybody here is just really special. We’re bought in.
“We have the same goal in mind, but they’re just really enjoyable to be around. Like we come into the locker room, we’re laughing and joking. Sometimes we’re on the court and we’re laughing and joking, and it makes those serious moments like you release some of that tension, and it’s just really nice to have people around you that can pick you up at every single moment, and you know that you’re going to go to war.”
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The Dream players are good at turning it on when they need to, but also know when to turn it off. That balance is key, and it will be against the Valkyries.
The Valkyries didn’t just sweep the Dream during the regular season, but they held them to fewer than 75 points twice. It’s something that only happened four times during the regular season for the Dream.
In all three matchups, the Dream shot below 40 percent from the field, which is the calling card of the Valkyries. They held the opposition to a 41.4 field goal percentage during the regular season, as their defense is suffocating at all three levels, controlling the point of attack, and setting the tone on how the physicality will be handled by the referees.
Hillmon knows that for the Dream to have the best chance to win, they have to match that defensive intensity.
“I have a group of dogs on my team in terms of defense, and making sure that I’m raising myself to that level as well,” Hillmon said.
It’s a matchup of two evenly matched teams up and down the board. Even Smesko, who advocates for his players and team as much as any coach in the league, knows how close this series should be.
“I think these are two great teams. It should be a tremendous finals,” Smesko said. “I do think our players are really motivated. They’re not satisfied with where they’re at. Their goal is to win the championship, and they’re going to give everything they have to be as prepared as they can, and leave everything out on the floor to try to help the organization and the city of Atlanta win this WNBA championship.”
