Atlanta Dream wins the Eastern Conference

Coach Marynell Meadors holds the trophy

For the second straight season, the Atlanta Dream will be playing in the WNBA Finals when they take on the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday night. Atlanta continues their amazing journey from having one of the worst records in the WNBA in 2008 to winning two conference titles in 2010 and 2011. This season was an amazing turnaround for a franchise who started their first 12 games with a 3-9 record; however, once Angel Mccoughtry and her team formed a chemistry, Atlanta became one of the dominant teams in the second half of the season. Atlanta would put together an amazing 17-5 record to accomplish a franchise record (20) wins and advance to the WNBA Playoffs for the third straight season. Atlanta entered the Eastern Conference Semi Finals as the third seed and would sweep the second seed Connecticut Sun and their superstar Tina Charles to return to the Conference Finals. In the Eastern Conference Finals, Atlanta would take on WNBA MVP Tamika Catchings and her Indiana Fever. In Game 1 of the series, Indiana took a close 82-74 win against the Dream at home and for the first time since 2009, Atlanta faced elimination at home against the Fever. In order to win Game 2, the Dream would have to play without their star center Erika Desouza and Atlanta earned a 94-77 victory to force a decisive Game 3 for the first time in their franchise history. In Game 3, the Atlanta Dream took a commanding lead early in the second half and went on to earn a 83-67 victory and advance to the WNBA Finals for the second time in their four year history. Also, the Atlanta Dream became the first team since the Detroit Shock to repeat as the Eastern Conference champions. As the Dream prepares for the WNBA Finals, which starts on Sunday Night in Minnesota, there are some key players that must continue their playoff dominance in order to help Atlanta earn their first WNBA championship.


1. ANGEL MCCOUGHTRY

Throughout the 2011 WNBA playoffs, Mccoughtry's production was limited in the series against the Connecticut Sun and the Indiana Fever due to foul trouble; however, in the WNBA Finals, she must avoid earning early fouls because she is the superstar of the Atlanta Dream and her production will play a major part  in this series against the Minnesota Lynx. In the first two rounds, Angel averaged (18.4) points per game, (3.0) steals per game, (1.8) assists per game, and (6.2) rebounds per game. In her third season on the Atlanta Dream, Mccoughtry is determined to win a championship this year and the Minnesota Lynx will have a tough time containing the young superstar. In this series, Mccoughtry will face former opponent Maya Moore, who she faced a few times in the NCAA Final Four for women's basketball and never defeated Moore when she attended Louisville University and faced the University of Connecticut. Two years later, the Maya Moore vs. Angel Mccoughtry rivalry will be renewed in the WNBA Finals and Angel wants to earn sweet revenge by bringing the city of Atlanta their first professional basketball championship.


2. ERIKA DESOUZA

Heading into the WNBA Finals, Desouza will return from playing in the  Brazilian national team in Columbia for the 2011 FIBA America Championship for Women. The tournament took place from September 24 through October 1 and was a qualifier for the 2012 Olympics. It is a single-elimination tournament and Desouza will be back for the Finals against the Lynx. Desouza provides the inside presence for Atlanta on both offense and defense and she is emerging as one of the best centers around the league. Also, Desouza is a huge mismatch for many teams and will be a huge factor once the WNBA Finals begins on Sunday. Throughout the first two rounds of the playoffs, Desouza averaged (12.0) points per game, (10.7) rebounds per game, and also (1.0) blocks and steals per game. With the presence of Erika Desouza in the Atlanta lineup, the Dream as a team is one of the scariest offenses in the entire league. 


3. IZIANE CASTRO MARQUEZ

During the Conference Finals, Angel Mccoughtry needed someone to help her carry the Atlanta Dream's offensive attack against Tamika Catchings, Katie Douglas, and the well-experienced Indiana Fever defense and she provided a huge spark for Atlanta. During the season, Marquez, one of three members from the original Atlanta Dream roster was the starter on the team for the first three seasons; however, when Atlanta struggled during the first half of the season, Izi was benched for Armintie Price and she was coming off the bench from time to time during Atlanta's magical run back to the postseason. In the past two games, she provided some of the key components for Atlanta to push them past the Indiana Fever by providing speed to compliment the Dream's transition offense and a outside shooting threat that was missing for the entire season. In the Eastern Conference Finals, Marquez averaged (20.3) points per game, (1.2) assists per game, and shot over (50%) from outside and was also the leading scorer in both of Atlanta's playoff wins. During the season, Atlanta was the worst team in three point percentage and with the help of Izi, their fortunes have changed for the better and they will have Marquez ready for the WNBA Finals.


4. LINDSEY HARDING

Before the season started, Atlanta traded Kelly Miller to the Washington Mystics for pro guard Lindsey Harding to address their point guard issue that was a huge issue from the 2010 WNBA Finals and this move would be a huge benefit during the 2011 season. At the beginning of the season, Harding and the Dream struggled to form the chemistry needed in order to make another run at a conference championship; but, when the Dream started their run towards the playoffs, Harding used her veteran experience to help put Atlanta back into the postseason for the third straight season. In the playoffs, Harding was a huge factor in all of the playoff games as star Angel Mccoughtry's minutes were limited due to the foul trouble she faced in the Semi-Finals and the Eastern Conference Finals. During the playoffs, Lindsey Harding averaged (15.2) points per game, (5.6) assists per game, (2.7) steals per game, and (4.2) rebounds per game. Those stats were critical in Atlanta's successful 4-1 record in the Eastern Conference playoffs and she provided the extra offensive threat for the Dream and her veteran experience will help Atlanta in the WNBA Finals. Lindsey will help the Dream become an outside threat in the upcoming series against the Lynx and she is playing her best basketball in her career as a WNBA player and will be a huge factor in the Finals. Harding, the former standout point guard from Duke, will make her first appearance in the WNBA Finals and wants to win a championship.


5. ARMINTIE PRICE

Price, the former 6th woman for the Atlanta Dream was inserted to the starting lineup back when Atlanta dropped to 3-9 and since the lineup change was adjusted by Marynell Meadors, the Dream have been one of the most successful teams in the WNBA and Price put together her best campaign in her career as she averaged (8.5) points per game, (2.8) assists per game, (3.0) rebounds per game, and (1.5) steals per game which were some career numbers for Armintie and they helped turn the Dream's season around and make the postseason. In the playoffs, Price continued to be effective for Atlanta and has averaged (9.8) points per game, (5.6) rebounds per game, and (4.2) assists per game. Armintie Price is a defensive mismatch for most teams around the WNBA and the Indiana Fever could not contain her from establishing her impact on the series. In the WNBA Finals, Price will be a huge factor for Atlanta to win their first championship.  Armintie Price is one of the fastest athletes in the WNBA today and her ability to come up with key steals and blocks on defense makes her difficult to defend during games and on offense, her speed and play making qualities allow her to make big offensive plays through any circumstances that the Atlanta Dream face on game day. 


FINAL THOUGHTS:

As the Atlanta Dream prepares for the WNBA Finals, this team will take their playoff experience and look to bring home a championship to the city of Atlanta and the fans of women basketball in the Southeast. It's amazing that in only four seasons of existence, the Dream have two Eastern Conference championships and three consecutive playoff appearances and this could not have been accomplished without a great coaching staff lead by Marynell Meadors. Meadors, who is the general manager and head coach of the Atlanta Dream is one of the only WNBA coaches who are able to connect with their players on a personal level and really help them excel as a player in this league. The WNBA Finals will start on Sunday at 8:30 in Minnesota on ESPN 2 and will return to Atlanta on October 7th and when they return, the city of Atlanta should show this franchise some support by selling out Philips Arena. Many people do not support women's basketball because they feel that the excitement that the NBA offers (dunks, highlight plays,etc.) is missing in the WNBA; however, the city of Atlanta have never experienced a consistent basketball team that made it to the championship series in their professional sports history. Atlanta fans should really support the Dream and give them the respect that these young women and the organization have worked to earn. Until next time, LET'S GO DREAM!!!!