Dream guard Rhyne Howard’s massive recreation vs. Liberty attracts fiery Trae Younger response

The Atlanta Dream had been all the time going to seek out their first-round matchup towards the New York Liberty within the 2024 WNBA playoffs to be a tough one. Merely qualifying for the playoffs by the pores and skin of their tooth with a slightly poor 15-25 file, the Dream’s hopes of mounting a deep playoff run had been slightly slim from the get-go. Regardless, the Dream aren’t taking place with no combat, as they saved Sport 2 shut towards the Liberty earlier than they misplaced steam ultimately in a 91-82 defeat.

Particularly, Rhyne Howard was doing her finest to elevate the Dream in the direction of a possible upset. She was a warrior on the market, enjoying all 40 minutes of Atlanta’s heartbreaking defeat that sees their season come to an finish, and she or he even captured the eye of one other Atlanta sports activities star, Trae Younger. The Hawks star gave Howard her flowers regardless that they fell wanting the last word purpose.

“Rhyne Howard y’all🔥🔥 recreation is sweet!” Younger wrote on his official account on X, previously often known as Twitter.

Howard completed the sport with 19 factors, 5 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks — a well-rounded stat-line — as she did her finest in being the Dream’s rock. It was simply approach too tough for the Dream to mount a lot of a problem for the Liberty ultimately. Not solely have they got two of the best gamers in WNBA historical past in Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones, in addition they have the providers of top-of-the-line guards within the league in Sabrina Ionescu.

On Tuesday night time, Ionescu carved up the Dream’s protection to the tune of 36 factors on 12-23 capturing from the sphere. When Ionescu’s shot is falling like that, it is not simple for any group to beat the Liberty.

However identical to the Hawks, it has been tough for the Dream to crack the upper-echelon of playoff groups over the previous few years. Trae Younger and Rhyne Howard appear to be in a really related boat, and the Dream might need to observe their NBA counterpart’s lead in embracing the youth in preparation for constructing a sustainable contending group.

Rhyne Howard’s Dream, Trae Younger Hawks’ are in an identical boat

The previous few seasons have not precisely been smooth-sailing for the Atlanta skilled sports activities groups. Their basketball groups, specifically, have been caught in an internet of mediocrity they usually have discovered it tough to return to severe rivalry.

In 2018, the Dream had been nonetheless a severe contender. The next yr was when their decline started. Declines to their three finest gamers, in addition to an damage to Angel McCoughtry, made the 2019 season one straight out of their nightmares. Since then, the Dream haven’t completed above .500. Actually, their file this yr is worse than final yr — not precisely an excellent signal.

Rhyne Howard was the primary total choose of the 2022 WNBA Draft, and she or he seems to be to be the one long-term keeper the Dream have alongside Allisha Grey. (Former MVP Tina Charles is as stable as ever, however she’s 35 years of age — not precisely a long-term keeper. Their first-round picks in 2023 have not panned out but, though a minimum of they’ve time on their fingers.

In the meantime, Trae Younger and the Hawks have been on a sluggish downfall ever since making it to the Japanese Convention Finals in 2021. They had been first-round fodder in 2022 and 2023, they usually missed the playoffs solely in 2024 after falling quick within the play-in match. However on the very least, they’ve high quality younger gamers at their disposal, which makes their future outlook look promising.