The Atlanta Dream find themselves in an unfamiliar position.
Well, at least within the Karl Smesko era.
For the first time since Smesko took over as the head coach of the Dream last season, the team is in the midst of a five-game losing streak.
But it actually goes deeper than that when it comes to Smesko.
He started coaching in 1997 at Walsh University, and across stops at Walsh, Purdue Fort Wayne, Florida Gulf Coast University, and the Dream, Smesko has never lost five games in a row.
Until now.
“He looked different after the second Golden State loss. It seemed like that got to him a bit,” a source outside of the organization told The IX Sports who wished to remain anonymous.
That game against the Valkyries that the person was referring to was the second of three games in five days on a west coast trip for the Dream.
Losing two of those games – especially against the Valkyries – was understandable.
Hell, even the loss against the Seattle Storm was understandable since the Dream were made aware at around 11 a.m. that morning that they’d be without Naz Hillmon who has been dealing with nagging injuries all season.
But even after a loss to the Mystics on the road and a third loss to the Valkyries – giving them the season sweep against the Dream – the team and coach are in good spirits.
“I think we’ve had a good attitude about it. I think we still believe in the process wholeheartedly,” Smesko said following the Dream’s July 4 loss to the Valkyries. “I think we’re trying to learn, trying to get better, taking what we see in film and trying to apply it on the floor, and now having a few days in between games, I think even gives us more of an opportunity to really break down some things and get better.”
One area that the Dream need to improve on is their shooting.
Yes, is broad for a reason, because the team has struggled with shooting over the five-game losing streak in all areas:
- 71.8 percent from the charity stripe
- 38.4 percent from the floor
- 25.9 percent from beyond the three-point line
“No excuse. Absolutely no excuse,” Angel Reese said about the team’s free-throw shooting. “We just have to be better if it’s shooting 100 free throws after practice, 50 free throws after practice, that’s what it is. But we haven’t shot great from the free throw line or our field goals too, so we just have to get back to the drawing board and figure out what works. We know how good we are when we’re able to make those easy free throws, when we’re able to make our easy shots, but we’re going to continue to put our head down and work.”
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Smesko has said that the team is still getting good looks from the field, but they just aren’t able to hit their shots during their losing streak.
“Unfortunately, we’re not shooting it very well, and you know, I think that’s taken its toll a little bit, but you know, I think we’ve got a good chance here,” Smesko said. “We have five games until the All-Star break. As soon as we have one game where we shoot it the way we normally shoot it, I think then we’ll be through basically the struggles that we’re seeing right now.”
Five games left before the break.
That’s what the team is focused on.
Smesko said it.
Reese said it.
Allisha Gray said it.
They are taking it one game at a time and using that five-game stretch until the All-Star Game as a focus for now.
“We have five games before the All-Star break, so it’s time for us to really lock in and come out with wins,” Gray said after the team’s loss to the Valkyries. “But overall, I mean, everybody’s spirit and morale is still up.”
You can sense that, too.
The team hosted a season-ticket holder event on Monday evening in midtown Atlanta, and everyone was all smiles.
The team celebrated together after practice when Reese, Gray, and Rhyne Howard were named All-Stars.
There’s no panic button being pushed.
“I think the biggest thing is just remaining positive,” Gray said. “Losing five games in a row, it sucks, but I mean, like I said, like the morale and the locker room is great, we’re all sticking together, we just got to figure out and get over this hump.”
In fact, Reese said that she’s turning to players like Gray and Howard during this stretch. During her two years in Chicago, the Sky had four losing streaks of at least five games, including a seven- and eight-game streak.
“Adversity builds character in the locker room, having tough conversations, taking accountability for things, and figuring it out. But we have a lot of time until our next game, so spending some time together, being at home, enjoying each other is something that we’re going to do,” Reese said. “But we’re not down, and this team is used to winning. I’ve been through these streaks in my career, and I kind of don’t know what it feels like to come out on top, so they’re guiding me through this moment. So I’m leaning on them, and they’re leaning on me, and we’re going to figure this out together.”
One lift that the team may get soon is the return of All-Star center Brionna Jones. Jones, who has missed the entire season to this point while recovering from an offseason knee surgery, has been a participant at the Dream’s practices.
During Tuesday’s practice, Jones was playing the role of Ezi Magbegor for the scout team ahead of the Dream’s matchup against the Storm.
There’s no timetable set in stone for her return, but sources tell The IX Basketball that the plan is for Jones to return to the court before the All-Star Game.
That’s within the next five games.
“This was a great thing to happen in the beginning of our season, so that we fix it early, and then down the line we don’t have to run into those problems again,” Hillmon told reporters before the Dream’s last game. “And I think that we’re a team who’s going to just flip it and learn from it and get better from it. It always sucks in the moment, but when you can look at the light at the end of the tunnel, like it’s always going to help you and propel you for whatever’s to come next.”
What’s next is the game against the Storm before taking on the Fire and the Sparks.
It’s a good stretch for the Dream to have some get-right games, as they are 1-6 against the Lynx, Aces, Liberty, and Valkyries this season.
“We’ll review the film, and we’ll have a couple days of practice for some preparation, and I think that’ll be good for everybody. I think everybody on our team still has a pretty high level of confidence,” Smesko told The IX Basketball after the Dream’s last game. “I think we understand that we’ve gone through a little bit of a shooting dip, and that we’re more than capable of hitting some of the higher percentage of the shots that we’re getting. So, having a couple days where we can just knock down some shots and build up the confidence again, I think will go a long way.”
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The Dream are aware of the conversation about their bench and how much they are playing their starters. They did make a move on Tuesday by bringing in veteran Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, who played for the Dream last year, and waived Indya Nivar.
No matter who is on the roster, they are keeping a cool head knowing that reaching their ultimate goal – winning a championship – doesn’t come without ups and downs.
“The second quarter of the season is like the hardest, right before you go into All-Star, because it leaves you a feel of what it’s going to feel like after that, because a lot of teams relax, they get comfortable, but we’re figuring it out, and we’re going to figure it out,” Reese said. “It’s not supposed to be easy. Championship culture is not supposed to be easy.”
Reese mentioned that the team is “pouring into each other,” and one way that they are doing it is with something new: they started a book club.
Amy Okonkwo, who is a developmental player for the Dream, mentioned a book called “Little Rot,” and the team decided that they are going to do a Dream book club.
“We started it in July, and midway through July, we’ll have a brief one, and then once we finish the book, we’ll have another,” Hillmon said of the book club. “Half of our team are our readers and half of our team are not readers, and so it’s just a huge contrast on that, but you know, we found our book, we’re excited to talk about it, read about it, learn about each other through what we see from the book, and you know all the things that come with the book club, so we’re excited about that.”
The author of the book, Akwaeke Emezi, heard about the book and shouted the Dream out on her Instagram page.
“We’re reading that together now. Amy is our book club leader, and we have a group chat, and everybody was supposed to get the book,” Reese said. “I think, by July 18, we have to have 191 pages for it, so good luck to us.”
Whether it’s the 191 pages standing in the way, the shots that aren’t falling standing in the way, or the teams standing in the way, the Dream have a clear message: don’t quit on them. They aren’t panicking, and there’s no reason for the fans to panic, either.
“Any team in front of us should be scared because we’re ready and we’re going to continue to put our foot forward every day, watch film, get together, and figure ourselves out,” Reese said.
