Rhyne

Howard

Howard was someone who was expected to step up especially after she scored just 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting against the Fever on Tuesday night. While her scoring total increased, she wasn’t very efficient and took questionable shots instead of trying to find the best shot for her team. With the Dream up just a point with 28.8 seconds remaining in regulation, Howard decided to take a three-pointer rather than trying to run off the clock before trying to extend the Dream’s lead. That Howard miss set up an Aliyah Boston rebound followed by Boston scoring at the rim on the other end, which was the score that won the Fever the game and the series.

Canada has put a lot of pressure on the rim and was incredibly efficient scoring the basketball. She couldn’t be stopped by the Fever’s perimeter defense as she scored often on Lexie Hull, Aeriel Powers and Kelsey Mitchell. Canada also made some incredibly difficult and shifty shots on her drives into the paint. But in addition to Canada’s scoring, she registered 10 assists and she distributed the ball to five different players in Allisha Gray, Rhyne Howard, Brionna Jones, Brittney Griner and Naz Hillmon. Between her scoring and assists, Canada was responsible for 41 of the Dream’s total 85 points, which over 48%.

Atlanta’s starters had a rough night in Indianapolis, especially from beyond the arc. Howard missed all four of her three-point attempts, with the Dream starters shooting a combined 1-of-13. While she produced a few assists and steals, Howard’s overall performance was not good enough. Even with the Fever being severely shorthanded on the perimeter, the Dream will struggle to win games when Howard and Allisha Gray struggle offensively. That happened on Tuesday, and they’re headed home to play a decisive Game 3 on Thursday.

Howard was one of four Dream players to score in double figures as it proved difficult for either team to accumulate points efficiently. The fourth-year guard left the game briefly during the first half after colliding with the Fever’s Lexie Hull, then re-entered the game later in the half and helped bring some structure to the offense. Howard was far from an efficient scorer on Sunday, but her eight fourth-quarter points and overall presence on the offensive end were valuable in helping the Dream secure a series-opening victory.

Canada is replacing Te-Hina Paopao in the starting lineup for the Dream ahead of their Game 1 matchup with the Fever. Canada started 26 of 28 regular-season games for Atlanta this season, posting averages of 11.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game. The veteran will join Rhyne Howard to make a strong starting backcourt for the Dream. Atlanta and Indiana split the regular-season series with two wins apiece.

Gray had a limited amount of shots on Wednesday night, but that probably is a result of the MVP candidate being on very top of the Sun’s scouting report. But also, head coach Karl Smesko was intentional about her minutes. She only played in 20 minutes, a minute total Gray probably will surpass in each playoff game she plays in beginning this Sunday. Gray didn’t get downhill as much as she usually does but rather just capitalized off of the Sun’s missed rotations on the perimeter. All of Gray’s field goals came on passes from either Rhyne Howard, Maya Caldwell or Te-Hina Paopao. Gray functioned much more as a facilitator on Wednesday night as she had five assists where she found Brionna Jones and Brittney Griner on lob passes in the post along with extra passes to Naz Hillmon and Howard who were more open than she was on the perimeter.

Howard was quite efficient on a less multitudinous shot diet. On Wednesday night she made shots at all three levels, mostly from behind the arc and in the mid-range. She became the fifth player in league history to hit 100 three-pointers in a single season, and she became the first in Dream franchise history to reach 100 threes. In addition to her shot making, Howard contributed four assists where she found Allisha Gray and Maya Caldwell in the corner pockets for three-pointers in addition to Te-Hina Paopao cutting to the basket. Howard finished the game with four stocks (one block and three steals) which included blocking one of Saniya Rivers’ three-point attempts from the perimeter right as the buzzer beat for halftime.

On the heels of a season-high 37 points against the Sparks, Howard had another effective scoring performance against the Sun. She notched a team-high in points in the victory while adding a pair of three-pointers along the way. The fourth-year guard has now totaled 24 made threes over Atlanta’s five-game winning streak, in which she’s averaging 24.2 points per game. Howard also logged her third consecutive game of at least four rebounds and five assists as she continues to close the regular season on a tear. She’ll face the Sun again on Wednesday in Atlanta’s regular-season finale.

Without Allisha Gray playing for a second straight game, the scoring came from Howard who tied two season highs in points scored and three-pointers made on Friday night. She hit four of her nine total three-pointers in the first quarter alone. All but one of Howard’s nine threes were assisted with passes coming from bigs Naz Hillmon and Brionna Jones and guards Jordin Canada and Te-Hina Paopao. Howard also had six assists herself to five different players including Jones, Brittney Griner, Maya Caldwell, Hillmon and Paopao. She kicked the ball to Hillmon and Caldwell for threes while finding Paopao cutting and Jones and Griner in their sweet spots less than ten feet from the basket.

Howard remained hot on Wednesday, notching her fourth straight game of at least 19 points and her third straight with at least three three-pointers. The fourth-year guard also made her usual contributions on the glass and finished second on the team in assists. Howard’s production against the Sparks was especially helpful for the Dream as the team played on Wednesday without its leading scorer, Allisha Gray (knee). Atlanta will face Los Angeles again on Friday, where Howard could be in a position to have another strong outing.