Mystics vs. Dream Game 1: Two Things To Look For
After a fun, compelling WNBA regular season, it’s time for the part of the year when champions are truly crowned, and the young Mystics get their first real test of postseason basketball against the Atlanta Dream.
Washington is 2-1 against Atlanta this season, and while there are plenty of big matchups and names across the board, especially the battle in the paint involving the Mystics’ double-double duo of Shakira Austin and Kiki Iriafen vs. Angel Reese, my true keys to the series are on the perimeter star power.
Keep Canada and Gray out the paint
The Mystics have one of the best defenses in the league and one of the best perimeter defenders in Sonia Citron, but Atlanta offers a hyper-quick, athletic test in Jordin Canada and Allisha Gray.
While we know they both have the potential to score, a successful series for Washington depends on limiting how often they can get both feet in the paint.
One thing you could see in spurts this season is stretches where really athletic guards penetrate and force the Mystics' size into help-the-helper situations, where rotations have let some quality shooters get good looks from three.
The Dream did a really good job of getting quality looks during a late run in the last matchup as they generated some good shots for Rhyne Howard, who had 12 of her 19 points in the fourth quarter of that game.
Not every good look fell, but they created enough chances to get one of the best shooters in basketball going, and she was a catalyst for a late run in the most recent contest.
Overall, the Dream getting the Mystics to move more on defense opens up opportunities for Angel Reese to get more easily contested offensive boards, and letting Reese, who has been lighting it up as of late, get going, would be tough to come back from.
How Deep Does Sydney Johnson Go Into the Bench?
A huge catalyst in the last matchup between these two teams was Mystics Rookie Cass Prosper in a true exibition of just how deep the Washington’s bench is.
Prosper had 10 points and 4 rebounds on 50% shooting in 18 minutes and saw plenty of opportunity in a game where Washington went bigger and more athletic on the perimeter to match up with Atlanta.
Generally, playoff rotations shorten, but much of the Mystics' success this season relies on Sydney Johnson doing his best Batman impersonation and having a contingency plan for any and every lineup teams can put on the floor.
As a result of going taller, the Mystics still dominated the game, but we saw less of Georgia Amoore, who, in the last month of the season, has made the Mystics look unflappable with her command of the offense and has committed only four personal turnovers in four games after returning from the FIBA break.
Overall, I expect a tense best-of-three series, and I’m picking the Mystics in three games.
Check back in with DoB for post-game updates.
