Te-Hina

Paopao

While her teammates had a rough night from beyond the arc, Paopao found her stroke in Tuesday’s Game 2 defeat. The rookie guard shot 3-of-5, with the other Dream players combining to make two of their 14 attempts. After scoring two points in six minutes on Sunday, Paopao’s playing time increased on Tuesday, but that was due to the score getting out of hand. Jordin Canada (four points, six assists and two steals) will continue to play the lion’s share of the minutes at point guard when the game is competitive. However, Paopao’s finish to Game 2 may get her an early look in Thursday’s Game 3, especially if the Dream needs a spark from deep.

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.

Like with Allisha Gray, Dream head coach Karl Smesko limited Jones’ minutes so that she’s fresh come playoffs. Even in 16 minutes played, Jones was super efficient. All but one of her scores were assisted by her teammates with Naz Hillmon, Te-Hina Paopao and Allisha Gray finding her being guarded by a smaller defender. Jones finished her 2025 regular season campaign as the league’s leader in offensive rebounds with 136. This was the fifth most in a season in WNBA history.

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.

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.

With Gray out for the second straight game and another one against the Sparks, rookie Te-Hina Paopao will play her natural position starting at the shooting guard spot alongside Jordin Canada back at point guard. Without the Dream’s MVP candidate in Gray available, the Dream will look for impactful minutes from Maya Caldwell, who in the Dream’s previous game on Wednesday night contributed 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting, along with eight rebounds and four assists in 27 minutes off the bench.

Injured during an August 10 game against the Mercury, Canada returned to action Monday afternoon. However, she was used in a reserve role as rookie Te-Hina Paopao remained in the starting lineup. Canada was on the floor when the Dream needed her most, with the veteran guard’s speed helping spark a 17-0 fourth-quarter run that put the game out of reach. Canada’s minutes restriction ensured Paopao of solid playing time, but she struggled against the Sun. In 19 minutes, the rookie shot 1-of-6 from the field and finished with three points, two rebounds, two assists and one three-pointer. Atlanta hosts Los Angeles on Wednesday, which may be the time for Canada to return to the starting five.

Paopao steadied the Dream’s offense in the first half. She hit a trio of threes and dished out half of her eight total assists. She led the Dream in assists for the fifth time this season, but in the first half she found Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard for a couple of kick out three-pointers and two driving layups from Gray within the paint. In the second half, she dished out assists to Brionna Jones, Nia Coffey and Howard once again. Paopao, as one of the smaller players on the Dream standing at 5'9,” also led the Dream rebounding the basketball. Friday night’s game was her second time leading the Dream in rebounding. By the fourth quarter, Paopao was on triple-double watch, which came as a result of her balanced performance in three major statistical categories.

Jones struggled to begin the game missing her limited shots at the basket. The Wings, especially with a head coach in Chris Koclanes who coached Jones for years as an assistant, clearly followed their scout to begin the game. The Wings held Jones to 1-for-3 from the field and 2 points in the first half. After a rough first half, however, Jones scored 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting. The Dream offense found her on the move and on more advantageous seals in the second. Rhyne Howard, Te-Hina Paopao and Maya Caldwell all found Jones in the right spots. Friday night’s game was Jones’ 15th game of the regular season with 15 or more points scored.