{"id":144778,"date":"2025-09-15T04:06:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T04:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/144778\/"},"modified":"2025-09-15T04:06:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T04:06:08","slug":"atlanta-dreams-naz-hillmon-exposes-major-weakness-of-playoff-opponent-after-taking-1-0-playoff-lead-over-indiana-fever-nba-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/144778\/","title":{"rendered":"Atlanta Dream\u2019s Naz Hillmon exposes major weakness of playoff opponent after taking 1-0 playoff lead over Indiana Fever | NBA News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AtlantaNaz Hillmon. Image via: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images The Atlanta Dream made a statement on Sunday by grabbing their first playoff win since 2018, defeating the Indiana Fever 80-68 in Game 1 of their opening-round series. Behind a balanced attack and stifling defense, Atlanta jumped ahead in the best-of-three matchup and left Indiana facing elimination when the series shifts to Gainbridge Fieldhouse. While Kelsey Mitchell poured in 27 points for the Fever, it was Naz Hillmon\u2019s words after the game that revealed where Atlanta believes the battle will be decided.<\/p>\n

Naz Hillmon says defense is key against Indiana Fever<\/p>\n

Naz Hillmon delivered one of her best postseason performances with 16 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks. But it wasn\u2019t just her production that stood out, it was her clear assessment of how to finish the series. \u201cI think the biggest thing is our defense,\u201d Hillmon explained. \u201cOur defense is what I truly feel fuels our offense. Indiana’s a great offensive team, and if you let them get hot or let them get going, it can turn into a really ugly game. You have to key on to their key players. Of course, they’re going to go to them with their backs against the wall a little bit… We have to make everything hard on the defensive end.\u201dIndiana managed just 34.9 percent shooting overall and a dreadful 2-for-15 from deep. Outside of Mitchell\u2019s scoring, no Fever player cracked double digits, and the supporting cast combined for just 13 made field goals.<\/p>\n

Atlanta Dream lean on balanced scoring to seize control<\/p>\n

The Dream leaned heavily on Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard, who both scored 20 points, while Hillmon\u2019s energy off the bench gave them an extra edge. Atlanta also outperformed Indiana in second-chance points and controlled the paint, exposing the Fever\u2019s thin rotation caused by multiple season-ending injuries, including star guard Caitlin Clark.Indiana\u2019s early 15-6 lead evaporated quickly when Atlanta turned up its defensive intensity, dominating the second and fourth quarters. Hillmon\u2019s late three-point play all but sealed the outcome, keeping the Fever from mounting any realistic comeback.Also Read: Indiana Fever Star Caitlin Clark gets massive disappointment twice amid recovery from season-ending injury<\/a>Game 2 will be a must-win for Indiana, who host their first home playoff game since 2016. For Hillmon and the Dream, sticking to their defensive formula could be the difference between merely advancing and establishing themselves as legitimate title contenders. Regardless, the playoff battle between the teams would be interesting as Fever will face the Dream without their standouts, Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Naz Hillmon. Image via: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images The Atlanta Dream made a statement on Sunday by grabbing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":144779,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[732,49,735,4457,48,77430,2803,4650,39661,459,77431,82],"class_list":["post-144778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-atlanta-dream","tag-ca","tag-caitlin-clark","tag-caitlin-clark-injury","tag-canada","tag-game-1-recap","tag-indiana-fever","tag-kelsey-mitchell","tag-naz-hillmon","tag-nba","tag-offensive-strategy","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144778"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144778\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}