New Writeup on Dream-Mystics Preseason Game

Marynell Meadors receives a proclamation from the Tennessee House of Representatives. Pic by Thomas Corhern.

Thomas Corhern of the Cookeville Herald-Citizen wrote about the Dream-Mystics pre-season game held in Cookeville. Some choice quotes:

"Most of that took place because we didn't take care of the basketball," said Meadors, who coached at Tennessee Tech from 1970-86. "That really hurt us. We got set back on our heels and never really recovered from it. We fought back within eight or nine points. I didn't think our chemistry was good on the court. We just didn't seem to play with an edge and we've got to get that back."

Dream star Iziane Castro Marques, who led the team with 13 points, added, "It may not have been the result we wanted, but it was a good teaching point for us."

...

"Those aren't good games for them," Meadors said. "They're usually much better scorers than they were. Izzy just got here on Thursday. She practiced with us once then we came down here. When you have players coming into camp at various times, it's really hard to get good chemistry. We'll get them in next week and work on those things."

McCoughtry added, "Fortunately it's still the preseason, but we're still trying to find our chemistry. We'll be fine, but we've still got some work to do."

For the rest, read the article. (I'm posting the pictures on the blog as to not eat the bandwidth of the Herald-Citizen.) The paper called the game a "success". We also got this cryptic sentence:

With a depleted roster thanks to the European championships overseas, and former Tennessee standout Chamique Holdsclaw unavailable for the contest, the Dream (0-2) was lacking a bit of its oomph.

Why unavailable?

Other pictures:

Lehning vs. Kobryn
Lehning vs. Currie

Post Exhibition Game Pic (Damned Small)

Another picture of the Dream, this time taken after practice. Someone got on the bus!

(Note: in order to see the picture full size, you have to quote the link. Yes, I hate these teeny-tiny pictures probably as much as you hate them, but that's how Twitter wants to work the system. Twitter wants the hits, so you have to click on the picture.)

E2/2010 - Mystics 77, Dream 58

Okay. The Dream have lost a lot of games in their history by 19 points or more. Hey, last year we lost games by 19 points or more. The last game that we lost that badly was...no, wait, we didn't lose by 19 points last year. The biggest losses we had were by 18 points. You have to go back to August of 2008 to find a loss of that magnitude, where the Dream lost to Connecticut 98-72 at Philips Arena.

But even that game had high points. Betty "Big Buckets" Lennox scored 19 points. Katie Mattera had 13 points and six rebounds. And we don't even have those players on the Dream anymore. Looking at the box score, high points are few and far between.

* The Dream shot 27.1 percent from the floor. First half shooting was 22.2 percent. Thank goodness this was the preseason. We still didn't have Sancho Lyttle, or Erika de Souza or Chamique Holdsclaw...and where on earth is The Claw? She's becoming harder to find around the Dream training camp than Waldo.
* Atlanta had 12 first quarter turnovers. Alison Bales turned the ball over four times in the first quarter.
* This was a Michael Price officiated game, and he must have purchased a brand new whistle. The Mystics were whistled for 36 personal fouls. The Dream were whistled for 28 personal fouls. The Dream had 37 foul line visits and the Mystics had 27. Price must have needed an oxygen tank after the game.

I've not seen a report on the game. Maybe everyone's trying to pretend that it never happened. I know I am. If there was a high point to this game, it can't be found anywhere in the box score. The "high point" is that it didn't happen during the regular season.

We'll take a look at the game flow a la Dean Oliver.

Pace:

Estimated possessions = [(69-15+23+0.4*27)+(59-10+21+0.4*37)]/2 = ...approximately 86.

The Dream's offensive rating was 58/60 = 67.4 and the Washington's offensive rating was 89.5. The Dream's offensive rating comes from the fact that the Dream couldn't hit the side of a barn offensively.

Game flow: The Dream's cold start put them behind early on in the game and they pretty much stayed behind by double-digits for most of the game. The Dream were never in it. In the second half of the third quarter the Dream closed Washington's lead to single-digits but the closest the Dream were able to come were eight points.

Shooting percentage: Mystics 37.7 percent, Dream 27.1 percent.
Effective shooting percentage: Mystics 39.9 percent, Dream 28.8 percent. Neither team had much of a range. The Mystics went 3-for-16 from 3-point range, the Dream went 2-for-18.

Turnovers: Dream 21, Mystics 23. Not the best game when it came to moving the ball around.
Offensive rebound percentage: Mystics 45.4 percent, Dream 24.3 percent. Having neither Lyttle nor de Souza hurts in these games.
Free throw visits: Dream 37, Mystics 27. However, the Dream's big advantage at the free throw line was negated when they shot 65 percent from the line. Atlanta only hit two more free throws than Washington.

All in all, it was easy for Washington to dominate. The Dream simply didn't show up.

And now, let's look at the Dream's individual performances.

Chanel Mokango: We'll get something straight right off. There were no great individual performances - the best performances were mediocre. Therefore, there was no "Dreamer of the Game"...there were merely survivors.

Mokango was one of the players who actually reached the level of mediocrity. Four points, one rebound. 1-for-4 shooting, and three personal fouls - but she did have a couple of steals and a blocked shot, so there you go.

Iziane Castro Marques: Castro Marques is back! And sure enough, she went 5-for-13 and missed every 3-point shot she made. (She tried six of them.) She went 3-for-6 from the free throw line. 13 points scored, but 19 scoring opportunities. She led in points, but gave the Mystics a lot of opportunities with what she missed. Bleah.

Armintie Price: Price got the start...and scored one point. She returned to her old free-throw shooting ways, going 1-for-4 at the free throw line. However, Price had three assists and a steal so it wasn't all bad.

Brittainey Raven: Raven scored 7 points - five of them at the free throw line. She went 1-for-5, including 0-for-3 at the 3-point line. Four rebounds helped, a -14 raw plus/minus did not.

Alison Bales: She managed to recover from the previous awful game into a mediocre one. She played 25 minutes and had the most time on the floor than any player. She scored 7 points, but had five turnovers to lead the team. Five turnovers to lead the team, with four in the first quarter. Three personal fouls. Not the kind of game you want to add on your resume.

Angel McCoughtry: 11 points and six rebounds. McCoughtry shot 3-for-12 to match the team's fortunes. She had four personal fouls, falling into the same kind of pattern that we saw in 2009. On the other hand, her +1 raw plus/minus led the team.

Shalee Lehning: 18 minutes played. Two points. Three assists. 1-for-3 shooting. Two personal fouls.

Erica White: She had the smallest amount of time on the court - 8 minutes, 52 seconds. She went 4-for-4 from the free throw line for four total points. She was 0-for-2 shooting from the court with one turnover.

Coco Miller: Coco Miller isn't going to help herself in camp with this kind of game. Miller went 0-for-3 and scored both of her 2 points at the free throw line. She had three rebounds and two assists, but scored three personal fouls - an average of one every four minutes.

Kelly Miller: She played 13 minutes and scored only three points. One rebounds, one assist, one personal foul. Her -17 in raw plus/minus was the worst on the team.

Brigitte Ardossi: Less than ten minutes played. Two points on 0-for-2 shooting. One rebounds, two fouls, two turnovers. "There's no emoticon for what I'm feeling."

Shawn Goff: 2 points. Believe it or not, it wasn't the worst offensive output of any of the starters - Price only scored one point. Two rebounds, two personal fouls...but four turnovers. Only Alison Bales had more turnovers than Goff did. Goff would have gotten the Bad Dream of the Game award, but it wouldn't be fair to give that award to her since she was helped by so many people.

(* * *)

Okay, between now and Friday evening, the Dream have to begin cutting players. It looks to me like Marynell Meadors will have some tough decisions to make.

The next game for the Dream will be on Saturday, in San Antonio as they open the 2010 regular season against the Silver Stars on the road. Afterward, they fly right back to Atlanta for the home opener against the defending Eastern Conference champions, the Indiana Fever. The new Dream is about to go on-line - we can only hope that we've finally worked some of the bugs out.

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.

Bus for Road Trip to Tennessee Tech Game on May 9th

As it turns out, it looks like the Atlanta Dream is going to get a bus together to take fans from Atlanta to the Tennessee Tech game.

However, you have to contact Lauren Brooks at 678-510-7469. Either that, or e-mail Lauren.Brooks@AtlantaDream.net. Offer expires March 19th...wait a second...that's tomorrow! If you're looking for a free ride, you need to give Lauren a call or drop her a line.

UPDATE: It doesn't look like the trip is free, tho. A fan had the following comment:


Season Ticket Holder Road Trip!
As the Dream kicks off its preseason this year at Tennessee Tech, we would like to organize a trip for our season ticket holders to travel to Cookeville to support the team! The game is scheduled for Sunday, May 9 at 3 pm CT. The package for this trip would include a round trip bus ride and ticket to the Dream-Mystics game. If you are interested in attending, please contact Lauren Brooks at 678-510-7469 or Lauren.Brooks@AtlantaDream.net. Please specify the anticipated number of people attending. The estimated price for this trip is $40, but please note that we must meet a minimum attendance requirement in order to move forward with the trip.

However, it is posted on the Atlanta Dream web site without reference to season ticket holders. I'd just call or send an e-mail if I had questions.

Complete WNBA Preseason Schedule

The 2010 WNBA preseason schedule has been released. Lots of interesting venues and teams. The full list of games is right here.

High points:

* The preseason will be 15 games long.
* Action starts on April 30th when the Chicago Sky take on the Minnesota Lynx in St. Paul.
* The China Women's National Team plays three games - against the Sparks, the Silver Stars and the defending WNBA champion Phoenix Mercury.
* The Polish Women's National Team will be visiting to play the Connecticut Sun.
* All in all, five games will be played in non-WNBA arenas, including a Dream-Mystics matchup on May 9th in Cookeville, TN.
* On May 6, Chicago and Minnesota have their pre-season rematch at AllState Arena in Chicago, the first game in the Sky's new home.
* On May 9, Tulsa hosts the Seattle Storm at the BOK Center in Tulsa for the first ever game played by the Tulsa Shock.

Damn. April 30th. I'm looking forward to it.

Complete Atlanta Dream Preseason Schedule

The Atlanta Dream will be playing two preseason games. The second one will be Sunday, May 9th, in Cookeville, TN as indicated in the post below this one.

The first will be played at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Tuesday, May 4th at 11 am against the Connecticut Sun.

I'm glad we get two preseason games this year. I might road trip that game against the Mystics in Tennessee; the game in Uncasville, Connecticut is a slightly longer trip and a little more out of our way.

Atlanta Dream Preseason Game to Be Played at Tennessee Tech

More has been revealed about the 2010 Atlanta Dream season. The Dream will be playing a preseason game on Sunday, May 9th at 3 pm. However, it will not take place at Philips Arena in Atlanta. Rather, it will take place at the Eblen Center in Cookeville, Tennessee - the home of Tennessee Tech basketball. The Dream will take on the Washington Mystics in their second pre-season game of 2010.

The Mother's Day game will be the first professional basketball game ever played at the Eblen Center.

Why there? Well, let the article tell you:

Meadors was a head coach at Tennessee Tech and Florida State for a combined 30 years. She was the first head coach in Tech history, establishing the women’s program and posting a .723 winning percentage. She was twice named OVC Coach of the Year, leading Tech to four Ohio Valley Conference championships and was the first major women’s college coach to win 350 games at one school.

Meadors wasn't just a head coach at Tenneseee Tech, she started the women's basketball program there, along with other sports programs. She's virtually the Founding Mother of Tennessee Tech women's sports.

The game does have some Dream fans riled up, particularly those who don't want to make the trip. Furthermore, with the threat of a relocation hanging over the Dream's head at the end of 2009, fans are undoubtedly hesitant about the Dream showing itself off to Tennessee.

However, you have to remember that fans from the University of Tennessee came out to fill Philips Arena during the Atlanta/Los Angeles game last year. The people of Tennessee showed interest and it makes sense for the Dream to cater to that interest. Coach Meadors gets to help out her former university. It all makes sense to me.

And of course, it also means...ROAD TRIP!