Dream say Thursday's WNBA Finals Game 6 is a sellout, despite much-criticized afternoon tipoff
There was concern about half-empty arena due to fans working and school obligations
Thursday’s Game 6 of the WNBA Finals between hometown Atlanta and Golden State is a sellout despite its much-criticized 12:30 p.m. ET tipoff, the Dream announced Wednesday.
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Dream → say → tipoff
The Valkyries lead the series 3-2 and can clinch their first WNBA title with a win in the matinee at State Farm Arena.
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Valkyries → lead → Arena
The Dream need a win to force a Game 7 on Saturday night in California.
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Dream → need → California
There were concerns the early tipoff would have the teams playing the potentially decisive Finals game in a half-empty arena because of fans having work and school obligations.
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fans → be → obligations
Instead, the sellout means another Atlanta turnout of approximately 17,000 is expected for the third time in the series.
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turnout → mean → series
“I think it’s good,” Dream head coach Karl Smesko said Wednesday.
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Smesko → think → ?
"I’m glad we’re at State Farm and they got everything worked out.
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everything → ’m → Farm
Everybody understands it’s going to be an early start time.
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it → understand → ?
Hopefully, the crowd gets there early and is ready to support us to a win.
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crowd → get → win
The Dream played most of their regular-season home games at Gateway Center Arena, which has a capacity of about 3,500.
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which → play → 3,500
On Oct. 6, the team announced it will play all its home games at State Farm Arena beginning next season after landing a multi-year agreement with the venue.
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it → announce → venue
For the Finals, however, the Dream and WNBA have had to negotiate scheduling conflicts because of a concert and NBA Hawks home games at State Farm Arena.
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Dream → have → Arena
Because the Hawks had a home game against Cleveland scheduled for Thursday night, the decision was made to schedule the early tipoff instead of holding a primetime game at the much smaller Gateway Center Arena.
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decision → have → Arena
The decision generated criticism of the Dream, the Hawks and the WNBA.
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decision → generate → Dream
The Dream ownership group of Robyn and Larry Gottesdiener, Suzanne Abair and Renee Montgomery responded with an open letter to fans on Tuesday.
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group → respond → Tuesday
The letter said the league was slow to respond to concerns about scheduling conflicts that were raised two months ago.
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that → say → conflicts
“As we moved through the playoffs, we reiterated those concerns,” the owners wrote.
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owners → move → concerns
“Our concerns did not receive the attention, nor the urgency that they deserved.
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they → receive → that
Perhaps it was assumed that the Dream would not make it this far.
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Dream → assume → it
Perhaps, our place in the Finals was not accounted for.
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place → account → Finals
We earned our place in the Finals, and our city deserves the opportunity to show up for its team.”
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city → earn → team
The decision to keep the game at State Farm Arena means a second court transformation of the Finals.
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decision → keep → Finals
The Hawks moved back the start of their game against the Cavaliers from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. so there will be sufficient time to remove the Dream's court and install the Hawks' court.
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Hawks → move → court
The Dream also had an early tipoff for Game 4 at State Farm Arena before the Hawks' night game against Houston.
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Dream → have → Houston
Winning with defence
The Valkyries vowed to address defensive breakdowns following a 97-71 loss to the Dream in Game 3 that left Atlanta with a 2-1 series lead.
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that → win → lead
Head coach Natalie Nakase, centre Kiah Stokes, and the Valkyries found a fix, holding Angel Reese and the Dream to their lowest-scoring games of the series in a 67-62 win in Game 4 and a 64-55 win in Game 5.
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Nakase → find → Game
Valkyries beat Dream to take 3-2 lead in WNBA Finals
Dream star forward Angel Reese voted WNBA defensive player of year
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Reese → beat → year
After opening the Finals with three consecutive double-doubles, Reese has made only two field goals in each of the last two games.
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Reese → open → games
“Just trying to match her minutes," Stokes said Wednesday when asked what changed after Game 3.
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what → try → Game
"I think I’ve done the best job on her compared to all of our bigs in the games, so that was just a personal thing.
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that → think → games
But I think just the increased pressure, especially around the perimeter, because she’s a great passer.
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she → think → perimeter
So, if we can try to limit her assists, too, it’s good for us.”
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it → try → us
The Dream ranked third in the league in scoring with 90.8 points per game.
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Dream → rank → game
The Valkyries allowed a league-low 75.1 points per game.
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Valkyries → allow → game
Reese promises points will come
Reese said she remains confident in the offence.
“It’s just knowing who we are,” she said.
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she → promise → offence
"We watched a lot of film, and the mistakes that we made have really just been us.
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we → watch → that
Kudos to Golden State for their defense for sure, but we’ve gotten a lot of great looks.
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we → get → looks
We just haven’t hit the shot yet.
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We → hit → shot
It’s coming.
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It → come → ?
I don’t believe it’s not coming.
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it → believe → ?
…and 2 more, not listed.
The Aporia
