Let me tell you one thing - going to games can suck. I've started to try to lose weight and exercise yet again, and I was stiff all over when I went to the game on Sunday.
The good thing was that I met an old friend of mine who has covered the Dream before (and, obviously, is covering them now). He also covers the Hawks in Atlanta. It's tempting to think, "okay, I'll cover the Hawks - the other major writers are covering NBA teams, why not me?" but frankly I'm stretched from six days to Sunday. I don't know how people with children do this; it's enough for me to haul my bulk around.
We ended up losing this one in overtime, 82-77. The Dream have played 4 3/8 games on four days, and this was a back-to-back. Lin Dunn stated that she thought the Fever could take out the Dream due to back-to-back fatigue. The Fever had a whole day to rest, the Dream had come back from playing against a tough Chicago team (which might be a contender to repeat as regular season champs), and the Dream's throw-it-in-the-air-and-pray style of basketball might not be conducive to a quick recovery.
So some random observations.
* They have brought food back to Philips Arena. This is truly great. The last time members of the press got anything to eat was in the 2008 season. Ron Terwilliger's Dream provided nice meals, but there was a problem. Freeloading members of the print media (I'm looking at you, AJC) would go to Philips Arena basically for a free dinner, and then pretty much ignore the Dream. In 2009, Terwilliger closed the free chow wagon and it's been closed ever since.
Sunday's mean? Hot dogs. Which is better than nothing. The Dream currently have a secret plan in place to keep any freeloaders away. Namely, the assistant PR guy has the plates. I don't think this plan will work; print media will probably start bringing their own plates.
* Shoni Schimmel reverted to rookie form. I've heard a lot of chatter on Twitter about how Schimmel can't play defense and throws the ball away too often to be a successful point guard, but she makes things happen. Although on second thought, our perimeter defense was pretty much terrible. I'm supposing we're going to wait for Celine Dumerc to show up in June and show Shoni how it's done. If Dumerc can play better D, she has a shot at taking Shoni's spot.
* Angel McCoughtry looked a little weak handling/gripping the ball in the first half, but got better. I suspect that McCoughtry and Lyttle are both banged-up-till-doomsday. They basically play all year. My friend said that NBA players get about three months off, but even that much time really isn't enough to heal.
* Swin Cash is looking like a bust. The Fever went on an 8-0 run when she was on the floor while McCoughtry rested; Cooper put Cash back on the bench and she didn't appear again.
* Matee Ajavon looks like Matee Ajavon. As Cheryl Reeve said, "You can't change what you are." Why GMs/fans are high on Matee Ajavon, I'll never know. Although it would be embarrassing to think that the Sky got the better of the Swin Cash/Courtney Clements deal.
* Angel McCoughtry hit a three pointer during that interminable fourth quarter which briefly put the Dream ahead. I also saw a crossover dribble she made that - well, the last time I saw something like that it was Chamique Holdsclaw doing it. When your mind sees something amazing, it slows down. She's got handles, that McCoughtry.
Anyway, the three pointer. She had a look on her face that read, "Yeah! Take that bitches!"
* Talked to Lin Dunn real quick before the Fever ran to their plan. The last time I spoke to Dunn - last year, before a playoff game - she was in a "let's get this over with" mood. This time, she was positively buoyant. No wonder people love talking to her.
* The Michael Cooper interview took about two minutes. A lot shorter than either the Marynell Meadors or Fred Williams interviews. Cooper was bizarrely positive. I don't know if this is just an act he puts on. Something tells me he's not going to talk long when he comes out of the locker room.
Next time: Dream versus Seattle, on Friday. 6 pm. Ugh, means I have to leave work at 4 pm.
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