Saturday, June 5, 2010

Atlanta vs. Washington, Saturday June 5



Who: The Atlanta Dream (6-2) take on the Washington Mystics (4-3) in an Eastern Conference Game.

The Dream are led by Angel McCoughtry, who is scoring 21.4 points per game. Sancho Lyttle (14.5 ppg/9.3 rpg) is an All-Star post, and Iziane Castro Marques (14.4 ppg) has really stepped up. Monique Currie (18.1 ppg) leads the Mystics in scoring and Crystal Langhorne (15.0 ppg/9.4 rpg) provides the rebounding punch.

What
: The first of four regular season games against the Washington Mystics. In 2009, the Dream split the series with the Mystics 2-2, winning both games at home and losing both games on the road. The last time these teams met was an 82-64 loss in Washington in the final game of the 2009 regular season.

Where: The Verizon Center in Washington, DC.

When: Tipoff is at at 7 pm Eastern time, Saturday, June 5th. The game will be available on WNBA Live Access.

Why: The Dream have lost two straight games, and the gut-check might turn into a case of full-fledged nausea. After a tough 80-70 loss to the Sky last night, the Dream head immediately to Washington to take on the Mystics. A third loss in a row will lead to questions as to whether or not the Dream's 6-0 start was simply a hot streak that has now cooled down.

The Eastern Conference will be tough. Washington will not be a "gimme" game. The Mystics are 4-3 and they went to the playoffs last year, and they know a win will bring them to within 1/2 of a game of the Eastern Conference lead.

Right now, the Dream have four principal scorers: McCoughtry, Lyttle, De Souza, and Iziane. Two of those players didn't show up on Friday and it showed. As for Washington, they broke a losing streak against Connecticut last Sunday and have had six days to prepare for this game. Four Washington players scored in double figures and Crystal Langhorne had 17 points and 16 rebounds. The Dream need to find Langhorne's "off" switch or it might be a long day today for the Dream.

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