Missed Trade Deadline Opportunity Could Haunt Dream for the Rest of the Season
One of the Atlanta Dream’s biggest weaknesses this season is their lack of depth. Karl Smesko doesn’t trust his reserves to play big minutes in most games. As a result, Rhyne Howard, Allisha Gray, Jordin Canada, and Angel Reese all average over 30 minutes per game. Howard leads the W in minutes per game, Gray ranks ninth, and Canada and Reese are both in the top 20.
Atlanta only averages 8.6 minutes from bench players per game—the fewest in the W—and it’s clear that Smesko doesn’t believe most of his reserves are ready to be key contributors for a playoff team quite yet.
The trade deadline was an opportunity to bring in some quality depth Smesko could trust even in high-pressure situations and to ease the burden on the starters. However, Atlanta didn’t make a move, which keeps the pressure on the starters extremely high, particularly on Canada, Howard, and Gray.
Maybe no players who could have helped the Dream were available, or maybe they couldn’t make the money work. Either way, the Dream will have to brave the rest of the season and the playoffs with a lack of depth.
Karl Smesko has to ask a lot from his stars
The Dream’s roster features a great top-six now that Brionna Jones is back from injury. Those players can win the team a lot of games. However, Atlanta is just one backcourt injury away from some serious issues. With Jones back, the frontcourt depth is much improved, but the Dream don’t have a ton behind Canada, Gray, and Howard.
Paopao is out with an injury, but even before, she struggled to have the same impact as a 3-point shooter and backup playmaker she had in her rookie season. Veteran Shatori Walker-Kimbrough has only appeared in three games, and Aaliyah Nye averages just 1.5 minutes per game.
Isobel Borlase is really the only perimeter player who can regularly get 10+ minutes of playing time and fill up the stat sheet a bit. She scored ten points in three games during the Dream’s five-game win streak. Borlase was named WNBL MVP this year, and there’s no doubt about her ability to score. Still, it took her some time to adjust to the WNBA, and there is no guarantee that she will be able to contribute much in the playoffs.
Due to that lack of depth, the Dream’s success depends heavily on big efforts from Canada, Gray, and Howard, and the team rises and falls with their ability to make shots. That was on full display in the Dream’s 109-87 loss to the Las Vegas Aces. Reese finished with a 23-point, 16-rebound double-double, and Howard scored 19 points. But Gray finished with seven points on 2-10 shooting from the field, and Canada went 2-7 on her way to seven points. The Dream just cannot make up for a bad shooting night from one or two of their starting guards, and games like that could easily lead to another early playoff exit.
With no further opportunities to shake up the roster before the playoffs start, the stars will have to continue to carry a heavy burden, and the Dream can only hope that they are not too worn out to deliver postseason success.
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Elaine Blum covers women’s basketball for On SI from Europe. She has been writing about women's hoops since 2023 and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism and a master’s degree in American Studies with a focus on women’s and gender studies. She started playing basketball when she was 10 years old and won several league and state championships at the youth and senior level.