The Atlanta Dream have played solid basketball this season, and it's helped them stay atop the top six in the standings. That's an obvious need at this point of the season, but things can change quickly. For the most part, they've been able to beat the teams that are below them, and when you're a competitive team, you have to beat teams you're supposed to.
What separates good teams from great teams is their ability to beat the others that are above them, and though the Dream haven't struggled with that as much, there is still some room for improvement in that area.
The top three teams in the league currently are the Minnesota Lynx, Las Vegas Aces, and Golden State Valkyries. So far this season, the Dream are 1-1 against the Lynx, 0-2 against the Aces, and 0-3 against the Valkyries. That's a combined 1-6 against the top 3, and it's something that should be taken into account as the team is in the second half of the season.
The good news is that they've played well against the other two teams above them, which are the Dallas Wings and Indiana Fever. The Dream could very well still lap them in the standings, but it may take extra work to get to the top 3.
Dream have to take care of business against the league's best
If the Dream happen to stay where they are in the standings, there's a good chance they'd have to face one of the Lynx, Aces, or Valkyries. When looking at how they've performed against them so far this season, it could turn out to be a bad matchup for them.
The Dream still have one matchup each against the Aces and Lynx, and if they can get both of those wins, it can go a long way with their confidence in possibly having to face either one in a playoff series. There's no doubt that the Dream have the talent on the roster to compete with the best, and it's the only way they'll be able to get over the hump.
Luckily for the Dream, there's still enough time in the season to keep getting better and every reason to believe the needed talent is in place to do just that.
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