The thud and ensuing net swish of Atlanta’s first made field goal served as a statement months in the making. In the Dream’s first possession of their preseason debut at Washington on Wednesday, the first points came off the hands of Brittney Griner, not under the basket, but completely alone, 25 feet dead center from it.
That is how this is going to work.
It’s the question that’s dogged the Dream since signing Griner and Brionna Jones as their major free-agent additions. How exactly would first-year head coach Karl Smesko, whose college rosters famously featured players all listed as “shooters,” incorporate two All-Star centers not known for, well, being standout shooters?