The ninth-place Atlanta Dream are facing off against the fourth-place Seattle Storm as the WNBA season nears its end.
The Storm lost their last game against the Washington Mystics 72-74. It was a tough one for the Storm, with Jewell Loyd leading in scoring with just 16 points and six rebounds. Sami Whitcomb followed with 11 points. Next, Skylar Diggins-Smith had 10 points and eight assists. No other player fell in double digits for scoring, which is why they only managed to rack up 72 points in that game.
The Dream also lost their last game against the Indiana Fever 79-84. Tina Charles was the leader in points with 28. She also had eight rebounds. Rhyne Howard had 16 points and seven rebounds. Lastly, Allisha Gray had 12 points. It's imperative that Atlanta win their next few games if they want a playoff spot.
Which of these teams will have a bounce-back game tonight?
Game Details
Fixture: Atlanta Dream @ Seattle Storm
Date and Time: August 28th, 2024 @ 10:00 pm EST
Location: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, WA
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video - Peachtree TV - Fox13+
Atlanta Dream Team Review
Rhyne Howard is the lead scorer for the Dream with 16.3 points per game. She also leads in assists with 3.2 per game and steals with 1.8 per game. Tina Charles is the leader in rebounds with 8.9 per game. Finally, Nia Coffey leads in blocks with 0.7 per game.
Allisha Gray has been a major factor in a lot of these games as the second-highest scorer on the team. She's averaging 15.8 points per game. She's had a few 20 pieces this season and a consistent string of 19-pointers as well. However, this team's eight-game losing streak last month is what led to being stuck in ninth place for so long. They were all low-scoring games that took away a lot of momentum.
Seattle Storm Team Review
Jewell Loyd is the lead scorer for the Storm with 20.1 points per game. Ezi Magbegor is the leader in rebounds with 8.7 per game and the leader in blocks with 2.3 per game. Skylar Diggins-Smith leads in assists with 6.4 per game, and Nneka Ogwumike leads in steals with 2.0 per game.
Their last game against the Mystics was very disappointing. The Mystics have one of the worst records in the league. For the Storm to stay steady, Loyd cannot have low-scoring nights. Ogwumike, the second-highest scorer, also didn't show up last game. The whole team fell asleep in this one. Technically, they haven't clinched a playoff spot yet, so these wins are still important.
Who to Watch
Atlanta Dream
Jordin Canada has had a decent season, averaging 10.1 points per game, 3.4 rebounds per game, and 6.2 assists per game. She's been consistent in the past week with scoring outside one game where she only had four points. Just 10 days ago she had a big 19-point game against a solid Connecticut Sun team. Canada also had steals and six assists in that same game. If she can show up like that again, the Dream could make a final push for the playoffs.
Seattle Storm
Diggins-Smith is a solid contributor for this team. As mentioned above, she is the assist leader for them. However, she also puts up some decent numbers in the scoring column. Her last four games include a 10-point game, a 17-point game, a 15-point game, and a 29-point game. She's a steady guard who will have to perform well this postseason. She's a huge asset when Lloyd and Ogwumike fall flat in scoring.