{"id":104376,"date":"2025-08-23T13:54:06","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T13:54:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/104376\/"},"modified":"2025-08-23T13:54:06","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T13:54:06","slug":"ny-liberty-vs-atlanta-dream-preview-a-big-time-showdown-in-the-atl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/104376\/","title":{"rendered":"NY Liberty vs. Atlanta Dream preview: A big time showdown in the ATL"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ATLANTA,<\/a><\/p>\n

ATLANTA, GA – AUGUST 21: Allisha Gray #15 of the Atlanta Dream drives to the basket during the game against the Minnesota Lynx on August 21, 2025 at Gateway Center Arena at College Park in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Adam Hagy\/NBAE via Getty Images) NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

The trap game comes for everybody. Unfortunately for the New York Liberty, it came at an especially bad time. The champs suffered a frustrating home defeat <\/a>at the hands of the Chicago Sky on Thursday night. Aside from the disappointment of losing at home, the L had ramifications on the playoffs standings. More on that in a few.<\/p>\n

The opponent tonight is making a big push to the top of the standings. The Atlanta Dream have excelled under first year head coach Karl Smesko and have a great chance to secure a top two seed. They helped the cause with a win <\/a>against the Minnesota Lynx on Thursday night.<\/p>\n

CBS is the place to be. Tip after 2 PM.<\/p>\n

No Breanna Stewart, Nyara Sabally, or Isabelle Harrison. Kamilla Cardoso landed on Sabrina Ionescu\u2019s foot late on Thursday. As a result, she\u2019s officially listed as questionable with a left foot injury.<\/p>\n

Jordin Canada is out with a hamstring injury.<\/p>\n

New York won the first and third meetings while Atlanta took game two. This is the last regular season matchup between the two teams.<\/p>\n

The playoff standings are jam packed beyond belief. Entering action, here\u2019s where the race for the two seed stands:<\/p>\n

So I\u2019m still trying to process how I feel about Rhyne Howard\u2019s game. When I watch her, I\u2019m impressed by her skills and tee highlight plays. But when I go back and see the box score, it\u2019s as if I watched something completely different. The numbers paint a similar picture as she\u2019s at career lows in field goal percentage and three point percentage. The volume of threes is up but the percentages are down, which is deeply concerning. She\u2019ll have Leonie Fiebich chasing her around today. Leo has continued to fight through the fatigue, but she\u2019s hanging tough<\/a>. Leo will look to chase Howard off the line and force her into contested midrange jumpers.<\/p>\n

As Liberty fans know, if this game is close late, they can come back against this Atlanta team. The Dream have an uncomfortable tendency to let leads melt away, and it\u2019s cost them games they had under full control. Over at Peachtree Hoops<\/a>, Collin Jones wrote about their struggles:<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the fourth quarter of games, however, Atlanta has a negative net rating of -0.1. This drop of 7.4 points from their overall rating to their fourth quarter rating is the second-largest decrease in the league, behind only that of the Las Vegas Aces (from 0.3 to -7.5). Atlanta\u2019s drop is entirely from defensive struggles, as their defensive rating increases from an overall 99.6 rating to 106.1 in the fourth quarter.\u201c<\/p>\n

If Atlanta wants to go far in the playoffs, they\u2019ve got to fix that.<\/p>\n

We got to see a taste of Jonquel Jones\u2019 full arsenal on Thursday. JJ cashed in a season high five three pointers in the way to a game high 25 points. When Jones can space the floor and free up room for drives and other paint opportunities, the Liberty become even more difficult to deal with. JJ will present unique challenges to the Atlanta duo of Brionna Jones and Brtitney Griner. JJ can draw them away from the rim and force them to defend in space. If she can get off to a great start, it\u2019ll force Karl Smesko into some tough choices.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for New York, they\u2019re going to need to work extra hard to keep Jones and Griner off the glass. Atlanta is the number one rebounding team in the WNBA, while the Liberty are 11th. As we\u2019ve seen countless times this season, when the Liberty don\u2019t rebound, they don\u2019t win. Their failures on the glass have been a consistent concern and even though they keep talking about needing to be better on the boards, they haven\u2019t taken those words and made them into reality. No time better than the present.<\/p>\n

Three point shooting will be the name of the game today. These teams are tied for second in three point attempts, but New York is second in efficiency while Atlanta is seventh. The Liberty got themselves in trouble by not getting enough rim attempts against the Sky, so they\u2019re gonna try to find the right blend of quality threes and drives to the cup.<\/p>\n

Player to watch: Allisha Gray<\/p>\n

Gray has carried <\/a>the Dream all season long and has all but locked up an All-WNBA first team spot. She\u2019s second in the WNBA in minutes per game (first in total minutes) and has maintained her efficiency even with increased volume. As it happens, she\u2019s one of the only three Dream players to shoot over 35 percent from three point range. A lot has been asked of Gray, and she\u2019s delivered every time. For New York, if they\u2019re able to slow her down enough, their chances of winning this game and the season series will increase tremendously.<\/p>\n

Assuming Sabrina Ionescu is either limited or out, it will take a total group effort to make up for it. Marine Johann\u00e8s figures to move up the responsibility chart, and she can heat up at a moment\u2019s notice. MJ has stepped in when Ionescu was banged up and the team will need something similar today. Natasha Cloud will take on even more importance and one (of many) great things about Tash is she always bounces back after the team has a subpar game. Look for her to drive early and often so she<\/p>\n

More reading: Peachtree Hoops<\/a>, Swish Appeal<\/a>, Breakaway<\/a>, SB Nation<\/a>, Women\u2019s Basketball Roundup<\/a>, The Local W<\/a>, New York Daily News<\/a>, Newsday<\/a>, New York Post<\/a>, NY Liberty Fan TV<\/a>, No Cap Space<\/a>, The Athletic<\/a>, Fansided<\/a>, Just Women\u2019s Sports,<\/a> Winsidr<\/a>, Her Hoop Stats<\/a>, Yahoo Sports<\/a>, ESPN<\/a>, CBS Sports<\/a>, and The Next<\/a><\/p>\n

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