by Fever-Dream Preview
By ALAN FERGUSON
2015-06-15T13:57:30
The Atlanta Dream finished first in the Eastern Conference for the first time in 2014, but will have to overcome a slow start and a temporarily short-handed roster to get back to the top.
The Indiana Fever have fared even worse in the early stages but will likely have Tamika Catchings back on the floor for Tuesday night’s visit to Atlanta.
The Dream were the only team to finish with a winning record in the East last season but have yet to get over .500 this year since dropping their opening two games. Atlanta had a chance at surpassing the break-even mark Sunday in Connecticut but fell 82-64.
The Dream (2-3) were outscored 25-9 in the final quarter, and Angel McCoughtry was the only Atlanta player to score more than 10 points with 24. Tiffany Hayes had 10, but the Dream’s second-leading scorer and reserve forward/center Aneika Henry will miss the next five games.
The two will compete in a 3-on-3 basketball tournament in Azerbaijan after acquiring citizenship there and will be suspended during their absences. Hayes is averaging 12.2 points while Henry was chipping in 3.4 per game along with a team-leading 1.2 blocks per contest.
The Fever are set to get their leading scorer back on the court following a one-game suspension for making contact with an official in Friday’s 77-74 win over Phoenix. Catchings, averaging 20.0 points, also sat out the first two games because of a knee injury.
Without the nine-time All-Star, Indiana (1-4) was blown out 98-72 by visiting Chicago on Sunday and trailed by 32 points at halftime. Catchings had 27 points and 13 rebounds in the win against Phoenix.
“It was an embarrassment,” Fever first-year coach Stephanie White said. “We didn’t play with pride and that’s not acceptable. We were lackluster from the start. Fortunately we came out harder to start the third quarter, but you can’t do that in this league. You can’t choose when to play hard and when not to.”
Shavonte Zellous also missed the second half because of a lower back issue, and her status is unknown for this game. Natasha Howard will reportedly miss at least the next three games with an injured hand, and Erlana Larkins is dealing with an ailing knee.
Indiana won in each of its two trips to Atlanta last season and lost its three home meetings.
Following this game, the Fever and Dream won’t meet again until Aug. 7 in Indianapolis.
