Washington Mystics vs Atlanta Dream – Series 1-2
When: Sunday, September 2nd, at 3 p.m.
Where: Charles E. Smith Center, Washington D.C.
TV: ESPN 2
Injury
Mystics: Elena Delle Donne (Game Time Decision/ Knee)
Dream: Angel McCoughtry (Out/Knee)
Series Stats -
Mystics -
79.3 - points per game
81.0 - points against
38.2 - Field goal %
Dream -
81.0 - points per game
79.3 - points against
41.6 - field goal %
Leading Scorers –
ATL PTS
Tiffany Hayes
19.0
Alex Bentley
17.0
Elizabeth Williams
13.5
Brittney Sykes
12.0
Jessica Breland
8.3
WAS PTS
Elena Delle Donne
29.5
Ariel Atkins
12.3
Kristi Toliver
10.3
LaToya Sanders
10.3
Natasha Cloud
7
Keep an eye on:
Will Delle Donne Play and if so, be effective? The Mystics played as hard as a team could play without their superstar and nearly pulled off the win. Yet, you could obviously see the void left by the absence of Delle Donne, offensively AND defensively. The Mystics struggled at times securing key rebounds and keeping Dream guards out of the paint, no doubt Delle Donne’s length and rebounding would’ve been key in a close game. Like Thibault said post game, “Anytime you don’t have 20 and 10 in the line-up it hurts,” or in this case, 29.5 points and 13.5 rebounds for Delle Donne in this series. It’s a do or die a game four, will Delle Donne play? My guess would be yes. Will she be effective with her not being 100 percent and with possible rust? Time will tell.
Toliver and Cloud finding a rhythm: With Delle Donne out, the Dream swarmed the Mystics backcourt of Natasha Cloud and Kristi Toliver. The Dream sent countless defenders, traps and were physical if either one got into the paint. The end result was devastating as Cloud and Toliver combined for 10 points on 4 of 22 shooting from the field. In comparison, Tiffany Hayes outshot Washington’s backcourt by herself 7-13, scoring a game high 23 points. It’s especially been a rough series for Toliver who is shooting 25 percent from the field. If Washington is to survive, these two will have to find a rhythm scoring wise, doing that will keep Atlanta honest defensively and open up shots for teammates.
