Latest news with #KarlSmesko
Reuters
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Reuters
Dream face Mystics again, look to back up 33-point rout
June 19 - Meeting for the second time in a week, the Atlanta Dream will look for similar success against the visiting Washington Mystics on Friday in College Park, Ga. Atlanta (8-4) delivered a crushing 89-56 victory at Washington on Sunday before seeing its three-game winning streak come to an end on Tuesday in an 86-81 road setback against the New York Liberty. The Dream took an eight-point lead into the final quarter against the Eastern Conference-best Liberty before being outscored 26-13 over the last 10 minutes. "I'm proud of the way our team played and executed, especially for the first three quarters," Atlanta coach Karl Smesko said. "Got to give New York credit, they kept coming, they got the momentum, and we weren't able to hold them off. "For us, when you're playing a championship-level team on the road, you're not just trying to hold on, you've got to go at them and win the game. That's going to be a good learning experience for us." Coming off a career-high 32 points in the win against Washington, Allisha Gray was held to 14 in the loss, while reserve Te-Hina PaoPao led the way with a season-high 16 points. Gray leads the team -- and ranks sixth in the WNBA -- with 20.4 points per game, while Atlanta's Rhyne Howard averages 17.3. Washington (5-7) rebounded from its lopsided loss to Atlanta with a 79-72 road win over the Chicago Sky on Tuesday. After trailing by as many as 16 points in the first half, Washington outscored Chicago 47-28 after halftime. Brittney Sykes scored 20 points in the second half and 32 in the game, the most by a Mystics player this season. Washington will aim for consecutive wins for the first time since the first two games of the season, which included a 94-90 victory over Atlanta in the season opener. The Mystics also will look to avenge their worst loss since September 2021, when they lost by 34 points to the Seattle Storm. "There were a few moments here or there when we might not have played as hard as I'd like," Washington coach Sydney Johnson said of the loss on Sunday to Atlanta. "We just couldn't create our own luck and ran into a really good offensive team." Sykes leads the Mystics with 20.5 points per game, followed by rookies Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen, who each add 13.3 points. --Field Level Media
Hindustan Times
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Dream face Mystics again, look to back up 33-point rout
Meeting for the second time in a week, the Atlanta Dream will look for similar success against the visiting Washington Mystics on Friday in College Park, Ga. Atlanta delivered a crushing 89-56 victory at Washington on Sunday before seeing its three-game winning streak come to an end on Tuesday in an 86-81 road setback against the New York Liberty. The Dream took an eight-point lead into the final quarter against the Eastern Conference-best Liberty before being outscored 26-13 over the last 10 minutes. "I'm proud of the way our team played and executed, especially for the first three quarters," Atlanta coach Karl Smesko said. "Got to give New York credit, they kept coming, they got the momentum, and we weren't able to hold them off. "For us, when you're playing a championship-level team on the road, you're not just trying to hold on, you've got to go at them and win the game. That's going to be a good learning experience for us." Coming off a career-high 32 points in the win against Washington, Allisha Gray was held to 14 in the loss, while reserve Te-Hina PaoPao led the way with a season-high 16 points. Gray leads the team and ranks sixth in the WNBA with 20.4 points per game, while Atlanta's Rhyne Howard averages 17.3. Washington rebounded from its lopsided loss to Atlanta with a 79-72 road win over the Chicago Sky on Tuesday. After trailing by as many as 16 points in the first half, Washington outscored Chicago 47-28 after halftime. Brittney Sykes scored 20 points in the second half and 32 in the game, the most by a Mystics player this season. Washington will aim for consecutive wins for the first time since the first two games of the season, which included a 94-90 victory over Atlanta in the season opener. The Mystics also will look to avenge their worst loss since September 2021, when they lost by 34 points to the Seattle Storm. "There were a few moments here or there when we might not have played as hard as I'd like," Washington coach Sydney Johnson said of the loss on Sunday to Atlanta. "We just couldn't create our own luck and ran into a really good offensive team." Sykes leads the Mystics with 20.5 points per game, followed by rookies Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen, who each add 13.3 points. Field Level Media
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Don't count out Atlanta Dream, even after Commissioner's Cup loss to Liberty
NEW YORK — Unlike the WNBA's other 12 head coaches, Atlanta Dream coach Karl Smesko doesn't put together practice plans. He uses another phrase in referring to the Dream's workouts. He crafts what he calls 'progress plans.' The difference might be a matter of semantics to some, but it reflects the intentionality in Smesko's approach. Atlanta's first-year coach views workouts as an opportunity for Dream players to get better. So why not be specific in their purpose and name them accordingly? The goal is to progress after all. Each session has value. Advertisement But games are currently Atlanta's best teacher. No contest has provided more lessons than the one the Dream played Tuesday night against the New York Liberty. Atlanta led by 17 points with 3:58 remaining in the third quarter, silencing a Barclays Center crowd of more than 15,000 fans eager for anything to cheer about. With a win, the Dream (8-4) would have advanced to the Commissioner's Cup championship and gotten off to their best start to a season since 2014. But then? 'We just gave it away,' Dream star Rhyne Howard said. New York blitzed Atlanta to close the third quarter, and continued its push to open the fourth. After a 24-8 Liberty run, the Dream held just a one-point lead with 5:27 remaining. Their lead officially evaporated 91 seconds later. The Liberty pulled ahead with 1:56 left and wouldn't do what the Dream did, and give anything away. New York, instead, did what title-winning teams do. The final margin: Liberty 86, Dream 81. Advertisement 'When you're playing a championship-level team on the road, you just gotta keep going at them,' Smesko said. 'You're not trying to hold on. You got to go win the game.' Add that to the list of Tuesday's lessons for the Dream, who have a first-year WNBA coach, revamped roster (with offseason acquisitions Brittney Griner and Brionna Jones highlighting the group), and an overhauled style of play. Smesko said pregame Tuesday was his group's 'ultimate test,' at least so far. For a while, the Dream looked like they would pass with little drama involved. Yet, the result eventually reinforced that while Atlanta can compete with the WNBA's top teams, there is still much for it to learn to truly leap into the league's upper echelon. Advertisement 'I think we showed what we're capable of,' Smesko said. 'Now can we do it for four quarters and finish these games off?' Of course, there are still plenty of positives worth drawing from, coming out of Tuesday and Atlanta's first dozen games of the season more broadly. After finishing last season 12th in offensive rating, the Dream are much-improved on offense under Smesko — no surprise, considering his reputation as an offensive wizard over two-plus decades at Florida Gulf Coast — and are third in points per 100 possessions. Star guard Allisha Gray has been in career-best form and averaged 21.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists in May. For her efforts, she earned Eastern Conference Player of the Month, and on Tuesday became the first Atlanta player since 2018 to win multiple Eastern Conference Player of the Week awards. 'She's been aggressive. She's been smart. She's been very good on both ends of the floor,' Smesko said before Tuesday's loss. 'She's just been one of the best players in the league.' Advertisement It's hard to argue with his claim, even after Gray's 14-point, five-assist performance on 5-of-12 shooting from the field in Atlanta's defeat. Gray, a two-time All-Star guard, isn't alone as an impact player. Jones opened the season with four consecutive double-doubles, tying a franchise record. Her frontcourt partner Griner climbed to second on the WNBA's all-time blocks list. Howard has not only set a franchise record with nine 3s in a game, but she also became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 300 career 3s. After recording nine assists against the Liberty and playing all but 47 seconds against the Liberty, Howard already has more nine-plus assist games (two) this season than she had in her prior three years (one). Despite their second-half struggles against New York, the Dream have gotten used to pummeling opponents in the third quarter and held a plus-33.1 net rating in the period entering Tuesday's action. That's all why the sting of their most recent loss isn't cause for grave concern. Advertisement 'I think we have the potential to be one of the best teams in the league if we have the right attitude. These setbacks are gonna happen,' Smesko said. After three first-half turnovers, the Dream had 10 in the second half, which led to New York getting out in transition. Smesko said that Atlanta's ball movement got sticky in the final 14 minutes. The Dream's pace slowed and shots got tougher (they shot 29.4 percent in the fourth quarter compared to 45 percent for the Liberty). New York center Jonquel Jones scored all 10 of her points in the second half, and guard Sabrina Ionescu became the first player this season to score 30 points in consecutive games. She finished with a game-high 34 points. Smesko said New York was more aggressive in their ball-screen defense down the stretch. For that, he took responsibility for not coming up with better answers. Howard tossed out other lessons, too. Advertisement 'The little details and things (matter), crashing the boards and getting rebounds or running the plays correctly, just communication things,' said Howard, who finished with 13 points and four turnovers. 'Making sure that we're taking advantage of everything that they're giving us.' Some of those fixes might sound simple. But for the Dream, playing in high-leverage games is still a relatively new experience. Atlanta made the postseason in each of the past two years, but it hasn't won a playoff game since 2018. Winning has always been the goal, but hosting a playoff round in September hasn't looked as achievable in recent seasons as it does this June. Smesko is there to help change that. General manager Dan Padover calls him a 'teacher,' first and foremost. Forward Naz Hillmon said, 'All coaches think that they're really big on teaching but he breaks every single thing down, which I think is just so important.' Griner added: 'Instead of just telling us what to do, he's like, 'Wait, do you actually understand why we're doing it?' He makes sure the why is clear.' Advertisement That approach is partly why Tuesday was not a significant cause for concern and instead a reminder of what could be. 'We know what happened in the past, and we want to break that,' Griner said. The Dream will look to continue making strides. That's the plan, after all. 'We're gonna have to figure out a way to get better,' Smesko said. 'But at the same time, I recognize how much progress we've already made.' This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Atlanta Dream, WNBA 2025 The Athletic Media Company
New York Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Don't count out Atlanta Dream, even after Commissioner's Cup loss to Liberty
NEW YORK — Unlike the WNBA's other 12 head coaches, Atlanta Dream coach Karl Smesko doesn't put together practice plans. He uses another phrase in referring to the Dream's workouts. He crafts what he calls 'progress plans.' The difference might be a matter of semantics to some, but it reflects the intentionality in Smesko's approach. Atlanta's first-year coach views workouts as an opportunity for Dream players to get better. So why not be specific in their purpose and name them accordingly? The goal is to progress after all. Each session has value. Advertisement But games are currently Atlanta's best teacher. No contest has provided more lessons than the one the Dream played Tuesday night against the New York Liberty. Atlanta led by 17 points with 3:58 remaining in the third quarter, silencing a Barclays Center crowd of more than 15,000 fans eager for anything to cheer about. With a win, the Dream (8-4) would have advanced to the Commissioner's Cup championship and gotten off to their best start to a season since 2014. But then? 'We just gave it away,' Dream star Rhyne Howard said. New York blitzed Atlanta to close the third quarter, and continued its push to open the fourth. After a 24-8 Liberty run, the Dream held just a one-point lead with 5:27 remaining. Their lead officially evaporated 91 seconds later. The Liberty pulled ahead with 1:56 left and wouldn't do what the Dream did, and give anything away. New York, instead, did what title-winning teams do. The final margin: Liberty 86, Dream 81. 'When you're playing a championship-level team on the road, you just gotta keep going at them,' Smesko said. 'You're not trying to hold on. You got to go win the game.' Easy flow to the RIM!! 🔥@Graytness_15 to the WNBA All-Star Game! 🔗: #DoItForTheDream — Atlanta Dream (@AtlantaDream) June 17, 2025 Add that to the list of Tuesday's lessons for the Dream, who have a first-coach, revamped roster (with offseason acquisitions Brittney Griner and Brionna Jones highlighting the group), and an overhauled style of play. Smesko said pregame Tuesday was his group's 'ultimate test,' at least so far. For a while, the Dream looked like they would pass with little drama involved. Yet, the result eventually reinforced that while Atlanta can compete with the WNBA's top teams, there is still much for it to learn to truly leap into the league's upper echelon. Advertisement 'I think we showed what we're capable of,' Smesko said. 'Now can we do it for four quarters and finish these games off?' Of course, there remains plenty of positives worth drawing from, both coming out of Tuesday and Atlanta's first dozen games of the season more broadly. After finishing last season 12th in offensive rating, the Dream are much-improved on offense under Smesko — no surprise, considering his reputation as an offensive wizard over two-plus decades at Florida Gulf Coast — and are third in points per 100 possessions. Star guard Allisha Gray has been in career-best form and averaged 21.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists in May. For her efforts, she earned Eastern Conference Player of the Month, and on Tuesday became the first Atlanta player since 2018 to win multiple Eastern Conference Player of the Week awards. 'She's been aggressive. She's been smart. She's been very good on both ends of the floor,' Smesko said before Tuesday's loss. 'She's just been one of the best players in the league.' It's hard to argue with his claim, even after Gray's 14-point, five-assist performance on 5-of-12 shooting from the field in Atlanta's defeat. Gray, a two-time All-Star guard, isn't alone as an impact player. Jones opened the season with four consecutive double-doubles, tying a franchise record. Her frontcourt partner, Griner climbed to second on the WNBA's all-time blocks list. Howard has not only set a franchise record with nine 3s in a game, but she also became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 300 career 3s. After recording nine assists against the Liberty and playing all but 47 seconds against the Liberty, Howard already has more nine-plus assist games (two) this season than she had in her prior three years (one). Despite their second-half struggles against New York, the Dream have gotten used to pummeling opponents in the third quarter and held a plus-33.1 net rating in the period entering Tuesday's action. Advertisement That's all why the sting of their most recent loss isn't cause for grave concern. 'I think we have the potential to be one of the best teams in the league if we have the right attitude. These setbacks are gonna happen,' Smesko said. After three first-half turnovers, the Dream had 10 in the second half, which led to New York getting out in transition. Smesko said that Atlanta's ball-movement got sticky in the final 14 minutes. The Dream's pace slowed and shots got tougher (they shot 29.4 percent in the fourth quarter compared to 45 percent for the Liberty.) New York center Jonquel Jones scored all 10 of her points in the second half, and guard Sabrina Ionescu became the first player this season to score 30 points in consecutive games. She finished with a game-high 34 points. Smesko said New York was more aggressive in their ball-screen defense down the stretch. For that, he took responsibility for not coming up with better answers. Howard tossed out other lessons, too. 'The little details and things (matter), crashing the boards and getting rebounds or running the plays correctly, just communication things,' said Howard, who finished with 13 points and four turnovers. 'Making sure that we're taking advantage of everything that they're giving us.' Some of those fixes might sound simple. But for the Dream, playing in high-leverage games is still a relatively new experience. Atlanta made the postseason in each of the past two years, but it hasn't won a playoff game since 2018. Winning has always been the goal, but hosting a playoff round in September hasn't looked as achievable in recent seasons as it does this June. Smesko is there to help change that. General manager Dan Padover calls him a 'teacher,' first and foremost. Forward Naz Hillmon said: 'All coaches think that they're really big on teaching but he breaks every single thing down, which I think is just so important.' Advertisement Griner added: 'Instead of just telling us what to do, he's like, 'Wait, do you actually understand why we're doing it?' He makes sure the why is clear.' That approach is partly why Tuesday was not a significant cause for concern and instead a reminder of what could be. 'We know what happened in the past, and we want to break that,' Griner said. The Dream will look to continue making strides. That's the plan, after all. 'We're gonna have to figure out a way to get better,' Smesko said. 'But at the same time, I recognize how much progress we've already made.'
NBC Sports
2 days ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Atlanta Dream off to hot start under new coach Karl Smesko and play of Allisha Gray
NEW YORK — The Atlanta Dream made a lot of moves in the offseason, hiring Karl Smesko from Florida Gulf Coast and bringing in Brittney Griner and Brionna Jones to complement Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray. So far the moves have paid off as the Dream have the third best record in the league behind Minnesota and New York. Atlanta (8-3) is off to one of the franchise's best marks through 11 games since coming into the league as an expansion team in 2008. The 2016 team also won eight of its first 11 games but then went on to drop its next six games. Gray has flourished in Smesko's system, shooting a career-high 51% from the field including 42% from behind the 3-point line. She earned the league's Eastern Conference Player of the Month for May. 'I think it's the offense and just finding my shots,' Gray said. 'I feel like Karl puts in an offense and the way he pays attention to the details and really helps me. Tells me if I'm open shoot the ball. Instills that confidence in me, that's been a big part of my success.' Griner came to the team as a free agent after spending the first 11 seasons with Phoenix after the Mercury drafted her No. 1 in 2013. With so much talent around her she doesn't feel like she has to shoulder the load every night for the Dream to win. In a 33-point victory over Washington, she took just four shots. The game before, a rout of Chicago, the 6-foot-8 star took only three shot attempts. 'Before you know if I only took three shots in the game it's a loss. Here you look up and we're beating a team by 25,' she said at practice. 'It just takes so much pressure off of me.' Power poll rankings New York and Minnesota both suffered their first losses of the season and the Lynx passed the Liberty for the top spot in the poll. Atlanta moved up to third with Phoenix and Seattle the next two. Indiana was sixth with Golden State behind them. Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Washington were next. Chicago, Connecticut and Dallas rounded out the poll. Paint the line orange The WNBA launched a new initiative aiming to bring the women's professional game closer to communities by painting the official WNBA 3-point line on park basketball courts across the country. It was debuted in New York at a park in Brooklyn. 'I'm excited about what this initiative means in terms of access and representation,' said WNBA Head of League Operations Bethany Donaphin, who grew up in New York. 'I think it's just further evidence of the way that we want to be able to connect with young girls who are inspired by the WNBA.' Player of the week Gray earned Player of the Week honors for the second time this season. The Dream wing averaged 23.3 points, six rebounds and 4.3 assists to help the team go 3-0 on the week. Other players receiving consideration were Napheesa Collier of Minnesota, Sabrina Ionescu of New York, Caitlin Clark of Indiana and Satou Sabally of Phoenix. Game of the week Indiana at Las Vegas. With Clark back in the lineup, the Fever continue a western trip in Las Vegas. It's unclear if A'ja Wilson will be back for the game as the Aces' star is in concussion protocol.
