Dream 93, Sun 76: Winning was a lot more fun

Well, we always need to sit down and be humbled at some points in our lives and that has been the last two games for the Connecticut Sun, as they dropped a 93-76 decision to Atlanta Monday afternoon, their second straight fairly lopsided home defeat to one of the top teams in the WNBA.

But while many of the games at the beginning of the season were laughers before the third quarter even got going, there was plenty of fight in the Sun, who actually took a 68-67 lead on a Saniya Rivers layup with 9:30 to go, but then got outscored 26-8 the rest of the way.


I mentioned in the preview that Atlanta was billed as an offensive juggernaut when the season started, but they have morphed into the second-best defensive team in the WNBA, and that was very evident in the second half, forcing numerous shot clock violations and just not allowing anything easy to an offense that does not normally do well in the half-court anyway (more on that below).


It’s abundantly clear that the Sun have improved as the season has progressed, but the last two games have shown just how far they have to go to just get back to the playoffs, let alone to become a contender again. Regardless of what happens off the court, there will be some important decisions about the team’s future to be made when the season concludes (and it will for the Sun in nine days)?


Some are obvious, none of the rookies are going anywhere, but can the Sun keep both Aaliyah Edwards and Olivia Nelson-Ododa? What to do with the veterans? Can they bring in a high-level free agent with the promise of a max salary and an imminent move to a better market (for an exciting young team that could contend down the line)?


There will be time for those questions down the road, but for now they have a likely angry Chicago team on Wednesday (although Bria Hartley won’t be playing) followed by three games against teams that want to challenge for a title. And that's all for 2025, folks.   


What else did we learn Monday afternoon in front of another good crowd at Mohegan Sun Arena?:



 

  1. Same old, same old with Mabrey and Charles - Plain and simple, Marina Mabrey’s shooting has really hurt the Sun this season. On Monday, she was 5-for-14 from the field and 1-for-7 from three-point range. For the season, she’s at 28% from the behind the arc and 36.3% overall, which wouldn’t be so bad if she didn’t take so many shots and wasn’t a below average defender. Charles scored 22 points, but took 20 shots and played 36 minutes. We keep hoping Rachid Meziane will go with the kids (and they’ve looked decent when together), but it just hasn’t happened. Maybe Mabrey will be around in 2026 because there aren’t many good landing spots for her at the moment, but we shall see. 

  2. Injury lottery finally catching up to Sun - Bria Hartley and Olivia Nelson-Ododa did not play, with Hartley now out for the season. Lindsay Allen had her moments, but what really hurt the Sun was Atlanta point guard Jordin Canada unexpectedly returning a little early from a hamstring injury. Karl Smesko brought her back slowly in the first half, but in the second half she was everywhere on both ends of the floor, possibly the difference in the game, scoring 15 points and posting a +24 in 20 minutes. The Sun won’t be there, but the playoffs look like they’re going to be a lot of fun. 

  3. Where did the turnovers go? -  Atlanta posted 1.26 points per possession, the worst the Sun defense has looked in a while, and the Sun only forced six turnovers, while allowed Atlanta to do what it pleased, especially in the second half. This should be a big focus for the Sun front office in the offseason, in general it’s just been too easy to get to the rim against Connecticut, and whether it’s personnel or coaching, it’s going to hold the team back until they figure it out.


Player of the game:  Leila Lacan - You get a bit tired of giving this to Lacan every game, but she had 17 points, 4 assists, and 2 steals in 31 minutes, and seemed to be one of the only ones that Atlanta feared on the defensive end. It wasn’t her best performance, but it was certainly a good one.


Inside the numbers : 2 - Number of three-pointers hit by the Sun in the contest, going just 2-for-15. Aneesah Morrow had some good looks early, but they didn’t fall, and - as was previously mentioned - Mabrey has struggled for most of the season. 


Under the radar: Smesko won’t win Coach of the Year because of the season Natalie Nakase has had, but he deserves a lot of credit for playing to his team’s strengths. Brittany Griner played only 10 minutes Monday, but the game belonged to Naz Hillmon, who was 5-for-7 from behind the arc and stretched Connecticut’s defense. If they are hitting on all cylinders (and healthy), they will be a tough out for anyone.


Lindsay Allen running the point worked well in the first half, but the Sun missed Hartley in the second when they got stuck and couldn’t create their own shot. Allen deserves a lot of credit for hanging in there, though, she surely expected to play more this season, but has been a professional throughout.


Quotable: “That group, that core, you know, Naz (Hillmon), Allisha (Gray), and Rhyne (Howard), they're all best friends, they're always there for each other, but they hold each other accountable and they take constructive criticism really well, and they all just want to be great, and they're very unselfish.” - Tina Charles (who played in Atlanta last season)


Next up: Wednesday at Chicago, 8 p.m. EDT



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