On the Beat With the Atlanta Dream 07/29/2021

The Atlanta Dream held their first media session after the break for the Olympics. It was also the first session for new interim Head Coach Darius Taylor. Monique Billings and Aari McDonald joined Coach Taylor. Obviously, a good portion of the session focused on the transition to Coach Taylor. 

Coach Taylor assumes the helm after nearly four seasons as an assistant with the Dream. Previously, he was an assistant under Coach Dawn Staley at South Carolina. While it is his first head coaching position, Coach Taylor's years with the Dream should make this a relatively smooth transition. Coach Taylor and the players all agreed their wouldn't be much change to the team, but little things would be refocused.

Talking about such a transition is always difficult, especially when it is midseason and the departing coach is staying in the organization in a different role. You don't want to insult the old coach, but you want to show excitement for a fresh start. All involved handled it well, citing the positive side of the new coach.

One of the main goals for the Dream is stability. Coach Taylor will be the third coach in the last two seasons. Add in the ownership issues and political issues and you have a team looking for peace and consistency.

Departing Coach Mike Petersen stated from the start he was not in it for the long haul, but I don't think anyone expected this quick end. Coach Taylor has not made his intentions known, but one would assume he is looking to remove the interim tag and take over the team completely. It's a grat opportunity for him and for the team. Hopefully, it is the first major step in getting the Dream back on track.

The Dream currently sit in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 6-13. They are tied with the Los Angeles Sparks for the 10th spot in overall league standings, ahead of only the Indiana Fever at 4-16. Indiana has won three straight going into the break, while Atlanta dropped six of their last seven.

The Dream have 13 games remaining as they try to climb back into playoff contention. They face Phoenix (9-12) in their first game back, followed by two with Los Angeles. Sweeping those three games would put Atlanta back into the playoff picture, but two of three seems to be the minimum. They cannot afford to lose ground to Los Angeles.

With the new coach in place, things are positive right now in Atlanta. The next 13 games will determine how positive things stay and possibly if Coach Taylor''s future.

You can find the video at On the Beat With the Atlanta Dream 07/29/2021. Check back here for my recurring coverage of the WNBA.

On the Beat With the Atlanta Dream 05/21/2021

On Friday morning, the Atlanta Dream held a press session featuring Elizabeth Williams and Monique Billings. This was my first time in a Dream media session and it brings my total WNBA teams to nine of the 12). .It was an unusually short session, because the team was preparing for their game against the Indiana Fever that night. The media session can be found at On the Beat With the Atlanta Dream 05/21/2021.

Both players discussed playing with and against Jessica Breland, who played for the Dream in 2018 and 2019. The well-traveled Breland started her WNBA career with the New York Liberty in 2011, but she was actually drafted by the Minnesota Lynx with the 13th overall pick in the 2011 WNBA Draft. Midway through the 2011 season, she joined the Connecticut Sun. She was out of the WNBA in 2012, but returned with the Indiana Fever in 2013. After just one season with the Fever, she signed with the Chicago Sky. She played four seasons with the Sky, before joining the Dream for two seasons. In 2020, she played for the Phoenix Mercury. This is her first season back with the Fever. Along the way, Breland made a lot of friends and is a very popular player.

Williams and Billings also talked about their roles on the team and the team's game plan in general. Billings gave a review of her team's performance in the previous game. Both players indicated the Dream has the potential, citing the excellent defensive showing. The team needs to play consistent throughout the game, not just a half.

The Dream went into Friday night's game 0-2, but Indiana was also looking for their first win against three losses. In the end, the Dream edged the Fever 83-79 in a game that went down to the wire.

Go to WNBA.com for more info on the Dream and the league. Also, check my recurring coverage here, on GlobalTravleerUSA.com, Patch.com and GlobalWomensSportsRadio.com.

On the Beat With the Dallas Wings 05/20/2021

The Dallas Wings held an off day press session featuring Charlie Collier and Kayla Thornton. The session was short but very interesting.

Overall No. one draft pick power forward Collier started the sessiontalking about the difference she has noted in pro ball. Surprisingly, Collier spoke of the amount of space in the WNBA. Often times, players will comment the floor seems more crowded, because players are bigger, stronger and faster, seemingly everywhere on the court. Collier went the opposite way, saying she had to get used to the extra space.

The discussion then moved on to how Collier has prepared for Breanna Stewart, her next opponent. Collier gave praise to Stewie, while giving insight into her preparation for the task in the upcoming game against Seattle.

Forward Thornton started her portion of the session talking about the team jelling with all of the young talent and new coach. That led to her talking about playing for new Head Coach (and former player) Vickie Johnson and her changing role within the team's system.

Dallas is 1-0, having beaten the Los Angeles Sparks in their season opener. On Saturday night, the Wings host the Storm (2-1) in their home opener. The line is not yet out on the game, but it is my guess the Storm will be favored by 3.5 points. Win or lose, this will be a good early season test for the young Wings. A strong showing will be a good sign going forward.

The media session can be found at On the Beat With the Dallas Wings 05/20/2021. Check here for my recurring WNBA coverage and also on GlobalTravelerUSA.com, GlobalSportsRadio.com and Patch.com. Also, check WNBA.com for more info on the Wings and the WNBA.

Monique Billings Loves Johngy's Beat

After a successful collegiate career at UCLA, forward Monique Billings was selected by the Atlanta Dream in the second round (15th overall( of the 2018 WNBA Draft. In three seasons with the Dream, Monique has played 83 games (starting 18). She has averaged 5.5 points, .7 steals, .7 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game.

Last year, Monique was kind enough to send a shout out to Johngy's Beat. Somehow, I missed posting this last year. I never want a fun shout out to go unseen and it is still timely.

Thank you to Monique for the support. I encourage all to go to WNBA.com for more info on her, the Dream and the WNBA.