8/2009 - Dream 96, Shock 86: Water Under the Bridge

It was a great game at Philips Arena with a lot of great entertainment. And now, it's time to pass out the kudos and okays:

For the Shock:

Katie Smith: 20 points, and 5-for-6 from 3-point range.
Taj McWilliams: 13 pointss, 9 rebounds.
Cheryl Ford: 11 points, 8 rebounds. However, she fouled out of the game.
Shavonte Zellous: 25 points. 17-19 from the free throw line, but 4-for-11 otherwise.
Deanna Nolan: 4 points on 2-for-14 shooting. Ugh.

For the Dream:

Chamique Holdsclaw: This isn't the best game from a Dream player all year, but it was clearly the best game played this year by Chamique Holdsclaw. The Claw had 28 points, shot 10-for-15 from the field and 7-for-9 from the free throw line. Four rebounds, and a +17 plus/minus. Holdsclaw was clearly the Dreamer of the Game.

Erika de Souza: 20 points and 13 rebounds. The 20 points for Erika is a career high, and she was named the Player of the Game by the Dream organization. Those five turnovers kept her from the top spot, in my opinion.

Nikki Teasley: Waiting for Teasley is looking like a smarter and smarter move by the Dream as time passes. She had 7 points and 11 assists, which is two off her career high for a game.

Iziane Castro Marques: Izi finally woke up and added some value. 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists. It only took 10 scoring attempts (FGA + FTA) to score 11 points, which is pretty efficient, and her +17 plus/minus matched Chamique's.

Sancho Lyttle: Foul trouble early on in the game kept her from making a greater impact. 12 points and 4 rebounds in 16 minutes of play. She was on her way to another of her amazing nights, but foul trouble topped her.

Jennifer Lacy: Lacy did remarkably better both in this game and in Game 7 against the Sky - could Lacy be turning her season around? She had 9 points for the Dream in only 14 minutes played, although the -11 plus minus is cause for concern - then again, her supporting cast while she was on the floor might have just sucked.

Michelle Snow: Even Snow woke up for this one, as the crowd was screaming "Let it Snow!" 6 points, 2 steals, +13 plus/minus.

Coco Miller: Meh. She had 3 points in 7 minutes of play. Nothing particularly exciting.

Shalee Lehning: Meadors put her out on the court for just six minutes, making her the player with the least time on the court. Zero points, zero point attempts, a lone defensive rebound, and two personal fouls. No assists. If she's adding value to the Deeam, you won't find it in a boxscore.

Angel McCoughtry: The real puzzler. How can you go from the best game of the year for a Dream player to the worst in your career? Angel played 10 minutes, and scored...nothing. Zip. Nada. Not a single point. She was really trying to force her way into the game, but she couldn't break through. She had nothing to show for it but a couple of rebounds and a turnover. Oh...and 4 personal fouls. Angel, just because you look like Izi is no reason to play like her. I have to mark Angel as Still Snoozing.