During Sunday’s practice, the Atlanta Dream ran a drill where an offensive play sandwiched two defensive possessions. The unit got a stop and the theatrics began.
Courtney Williams found Cheyenne Parker with a nifty pocket pass in the paint. She pivoted to find fellow forward Elizabeth Williams with a smooth touch pass, which resulted in the layup. They sprinted toward the other end to play defense, and Atlanta experimented with a new defensive scheme. A steal followed the layup and every Dream player in training camp at Agnes Scott University went wild.
Atlanta paused after the drill and huddled. Crystal Bradford, who many hold in regard as the team’s comedian, had a message. It came “right off the dome,” Parker said.
“That’s some chemistry right there,” Bradford said. “Y’all are on a dinner date!”
Atlanta has experienced plenty of similar moments where players have realized the team’s potential, although interim head coach Mike Petersen seldom finds himself surprised. The Dream have a new-look roster after a free agency spree and adding Aari McDonald with the third-overall selection in the WNBA draft.
They’ve also, however, dealt with plenty of adversity. Former head coach Nicki Collen left the organization for the same role at Baylor, and said Petersen and assistant Darius Taylor will “keep it rolling” in their new roles. Her move came days after the Dream fired general manager Chris Sienko, a move made under the new ownership group of Larry Gottesdiener and former Dream guard Renee Montgomery.
Nonetheless, Atlanta underwent a smooth transition and believes it has the right pieces to succeed in the midst of an ongoing rebuild. The Dream feature a star-studded backcourt dictated by speed and it’s complemented by a veteran frontcourt led by Atlanta mainstay Elizabeth Williams.
“This isn’t going to happen overnight. This is going to be a process of those players learning how to play together,” Petersen said during Monday’s media day. “... If we play the right way, we can be a problem, I think. If we don’t play the right way, we’ve got a lot of problems. I’d rather be a problem than have problems.”
The Dream will get to show it starting Friday, when they debut in Gateway Center Arena against the Connecticut Sun (7:30 p.m., Twitter stream).
Atlanta’s aspiration is to return to the playoff mix, a place the organization hasn’t been since reaching the 2018 WNBA semifinals. The Dream finished with a 7-15 record last season.
“Everything flows the right way and we look really dangerous. We really do,” forward Kalani Brown said. “We’re the underdogs coming in this season, and we’ll take that as the chip on our shoulder.”
Petersen assumed his role with plenty of Division I coaching experience, and has been on Atlanta’s staff since 2017 as Collen’s first hire. He’s no stranger to the organization or the system in place, so he envisions some interesting possibilities for the Dream.
Ahead of Friday’s opener, the discussion centers around Atlanta’s guards. It has a four-deep group with McDonald joining second-year star Chennedy Carter, Courtney Williams and free agent addition and former WNBA All-Star Odyssey Sims. Petersen occasionally jokes about the team’s lack of size, but not to worry, Atlanta won’t be playing five backcourt pieces at once.
However, the backcourt could be Atlanta’s heartbeat as the season evolves. Each of the four guards possess blazing speed, ability to shoot and create. Carter said Atlanta’s ability to run in transition “can run teams out of the gym.”
Elizabeth Williams recalled the first occasion of seeing the Dream’s speed in real time, and it’s happened numerous times since. McDonald, known for speed and defense, blazed past the defenders. She found fellow guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough for a 3-pointer on a bang-bang sequence.
“Good luck to the other teams trying to keep up,” Sims said. “It’s going to be scary. I get chills thinking about the players we have. It feels like it’s almost unfair, so I’m excited.”
Added Courtney Williams: “We’ve got some crazy athletes.”
Petersen’s approach is meticulous in nature. He called himself a nerd, because he uses analytics and has put them in the center of his offensive philosophy for 40 years before “statistics,” he said, earned the fancy term. On the first day of training camp, Petersen gave each player an analytics report. It broke down each of their strengths and categorized results based on shot selection in type, range and action.
He has targets for each type of shot selection for the 2021 season in an effort to provide structure and guidance. Otherwise, the Dream are allowed to play freely under Petersen to meet expectations set by the team.
Petersen believes his roster fits the mold to achieve a free-flowing style of play. Along with the guards, the size in Atlanta’s frontcourt remains with Elizabeth Williams being surrounded with the likes of Parker, Brown, Monique Billings and Tianna Hawkins. The Dream see themselves with viable options at each spot on the floor.
“There are weapons at every single position. You can’t take a break or a play off, because you’re going to get burnt (by us),” Billings said. “This is a true professional team. Everyone has their strengths and they know how to use them. This can be a very special team.”
Atlanta hasn’t had the easiest road to opening the season on Friday evening. Nonetheless, its aspirations haven’t wavered.
The organization’s hopeful result might be another dinner date, but with 12 players and the coaching staff to celebrate success.
“Our additions can only make us better,” Carter said. “We’ll definitely be a playoff team this year.”
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