Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream came up just short in the WNBA Finals, falling to the Golden State Valkyries in seven games as Reese struggled in the final half of the series. On the latest episode of Sophie Cunningham’s podcast, Reese’s struggles were a big part of the conversation.
Cunningham and co-host Drew Hanlen broke down Game 7 on No Hesitation, and the pair broke down how Reese’s struggles to finish around the rim ultimately doomed the Fever.
Angel Reese’s Finals
Reese started the series strong. She put up 30 points and 16 rebounds in Game 2 and 21 points in Game 3 as the Dream took a 2-1 series lead.
But she struggled the rest of the way, scoring 8 points in Game 4, 7 points in Game 5, 15 points in Game 6, and 8 points in Game 7. The Valkyries won three of those four games, including a 68-63 win in Game 7.
Reese has faced plenty of criticism for her performance since then. Emmanuel Acho called her “objectively atrocious” during the series, and she had one of the worst performances of her career along the way.
Reese, meanwhile, took aim at the referees after the loss.
‘Non-Existent in Their Losses’
Hanlen, a well-known NBA skills trainer, said he was surprised the Dream didn’t lean on what worked in their wins.
“Atlanta, for me, the thing that was curious to me was like, why were they not analyzing, you know, the games that they did have success and just going to those? Like for Atlanta, I get it. You cannot say, ‘Hey, we just got to generate more turnovers,’ like that’s hard to do because they’re obviously trying to. But I did see, like, especially even in Game 7, like, I did not see the intensity that I saw throughout the rest of the playoffs, and you’re going, how do we not generate that in a Game 7? And then there were little things like Angel was dominant in their wins and was non-existent in their losses,” Hanlen said on the podcast.
Later in the episode, Hanlen broke down Reese’s numbers game by game.
“So and I think the biggest difference is Angel. Angel, like we talked about on last episode, because, you know, they had won two games in a row and she had been dominant. She had 30 points in Game 2, had 21 points in Game 3. We were like, she’s clearly going to be the Finals MVP if they end up winning. Game 4, six turnovers, two made field goals. Game 5, three turnovers, two made field goals. Game 6, six turnovers, five made field goals. Game 7, four turnovers, three made field goals. So every game she had more turnovers than made field goals. Four through seven. 19 total turnovers, 12 made field goals,” Hanlen said.
The turnovers were an issue, but the most damaging issue for Reese was simply the missed shots.
“Her going 12-for-42 – 28% in the last four games? That’s tough,” Hanlen added.
‘They’re all just layups’
After Hanlen brought up the stats, Cunningham wanted to know the context of her shooting struggles.
“Are they all in the paint, too? She’s not shooting threes. She maybe shoots one or two threes a game, if that,” Cunningham said.
“They’re just all layups,” Hanlen replied as he showed a cut-up reel of Reese missing many layups.
“Dude, Theo Von would have a freaking heyday with this clip right here,” Cunningham said, referencing her recent appearance on the comedian’s podcast.
Hanlen and Cunningham both pointed out that Reese was indeed dominant earlier in the series, but that dominance was because “she was making her layups.
“We’ve talked about this,” Cunningham said. “She was dominant because she was making these.”
Hanlen also pointed out that many times when Reese missed a layup, she was seen complaining to the referees and not getting back in transition.
“So, I think that’s something that has to fuel her this summer of like, I have to make these layups. Like, I know I’m working hard on my three. I know I’m working hard to improve my free throw, but it comes down to layups cuz I get them. I just got to make them. They’re right there. So, you know, improving her touch around the rim is ultimately what’s going to, you know, lead her to being the player that she can become, because she already Defensive Player of the Year, you know, been All-Star all these years,” Hanlen said.
Cunningham agreed, pointing out that Reese is able to get these looks often, and when she’s able to finish consistently, she looks like one of the best players in the league.
“We literally talked about this, that she was killing it and she was literally looking like the MVP because of the consistency of her making her layups. She gets these shots all the time. She is tall; she is strong. She gets these shots,” Cunningham said. “But it’s just that the focus is there to finish the shots. And so, that’s always been the name of the game for her. And I’m not saying anything no one has said.”
We’ll have to see how Reese bounces back from this.
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