Monday, May 3, 2010

Atlanta vs. Connecticut, Tuesday May 4



Who: The Atlanta Dream (0-0, preseason) take on the Connecticut Sun (0-0, preseason) in the very first preseason game of the year for both teams.

Both teams have a cast of new training camp invitees. The Dream can take a few people, but we have no idea who is going to Connecticut. We also have no idea who they'll meet.

What: The first of two preseason games, both outside of Atlanta. The last time the Dream played the Sun in the 2009 regular season they won 88-64 in Atlanta. The win secured a spot in the post-season as they clinched second place. It was also the final game that the Dream won in 2009, as they lost to Washington and then lost both playoff games to Detroit.

Where: The Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

When: Tipoff is 11 am on Tuesday, May 4th. The game will most likely not be available on TV, or on WNBA Live Access. Our fervent hope is that somehow, someway the fans will be provided with a box score.

Why: You have to ask? We've been starvin' for women's basketball around here, and the Dream will be back on the court. After several months of waiting, the season is back in full swing for Atlanta.

There are a lot of good plotlines here. The first is that this could be a matchup between the #1 WNBA Draft pick of 2009 - Angel McCoughtry - and the #1 WNBA Draft pick of 2010, Tina Charles. Furthermore, the win last year knocked the Sun out of the post-season, so you'd think that there would be the "revenge factor".

Unfortunately, this is a preseason game. It doesn't count. Nominally, the point of these games is to evaluate talent, and I have a list of 20 people who might or might not be on the Atlanta Dream's roster. So it could be Angel McCoughtry or Demetress Adams. Odds are de Souza and Lyttle won't be ready. Leuchanka is in Turkey. And you've got to give Chanel Mokango, Brigitte Ardossi and Brittainey Raven some time to play. It could be a real collection of spare parts on both sides of the roster.

Of course, WNBA fans will be poring over the box score intently, trying to divine the future from the results. If the Dream lose, don't take it too seriously. But if Angel McCoughtry is there, she's going to want to win.

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