COLLEGE PARK, GA – AUGUST 28: Rhyne Howard 10 and Angel Reese 5 of Atlanta react during the WNBA, Basketball Damen, USA game between the Portland Fire and the Atlanta Dream on August 28th, 2026 at the Gateway Center in College Park, GA. Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire WNBA: AUG 28 Portland Fire at Atlanta Dream EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon260828033 ©IMAGO/Icon Sportswire Nandjee Ranjan Sun, October 18, 2026 at 5:15 PM UTC · 4 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement About 26% shooting from the field. That's Rhyne Howard's field goal percentage in the last four games of this playoff. When one of the top-scoring options of the team continues to perform poorly, expecting them to keep winning is completely unrealistic, and the Atlanta Dream found out at the most crucial stage of the season.
Howard was a non-show in the semifinals against the New York Liberty. However, the Dream were able to sweep the 2024 champions, but against an elite defensive team like the Golden State Valkyries, the Dream needed Howard when the team struggled to get buckets. But she shot just 21.4% from the field, prompting SB Nation's basketball analyst Noa Dalzell to give a reality check to the Dream star.
"Rhyne Howard, I think she just needs to be better for this Dream team," Dalzell said on the WNBA Today podcast on YouTube . "She was the First-Team All-Defense. I thought that her defense had moments of lapses tonight. But really, just this is like the fourth consecutive game where she's just been really inefficient offensively."
Howard has an excellent first-round series against the Washington Mystics. In the series sweep, she averaged 20.5 points. But since then, she has yet to find her rhythm on either side of the floor. In the last four games, she has averaged 16.7 points while missing 55 of her 75 attempts.
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On Saturday, all the Dream stars struggled to put the ball in the basket, and yet they were able to lead the scoring for about 79% of the game. Game 1 at Chase Center was decided in the last three minutes of the contest. If Howard were able to have even a decent game, the outcome would have been different.
Howard scored 12 points in 38 minutes and shot just 3-of-14 from the field, including 2-of-9 from deep. She also recorded 7 rebounds, 1 steal, and 2 blocks while posting -3 in plus/minus.
"That's going to have to change. This is a franchise player. This is somebody that they are going to need to be able to rely on to get a bucket. She wasn't good enough," Dalzell added.
The Dream drafted Howard at No. 1 overall in 2022. The aim was to bring a title in Atlanta. In the last few years, the Dream have added crucial pieces. They added Angel Reese in 2026, which has finally led them here: in the final stage with a real shot at the title. Five years later, they are here, but Howard has to hold her side of the bargain.
On Saturday, Atlanta lost not only because they had bad shooting but also because they refused to change their game plan when their shots were not falling. During the postgame presser, Angel Reese shouldered the blame for the loss, but head coach Karl Smesko kept it real.
"I thought we had one really good look with Rhyne, and then when they were up floor, Lish got wide open for an open three, [down] to the last few seconds," Smesko told reporters . "They guarded some actions really well.
Overall, both teams had their moments as they led the scoring in two quarters each.
"I just think in the second half, in particular, we didn't move the ball well enough," Smesko added. "Like we did a little bit too much one-on-one instead of getting into actions. Angel had a great first half. We didn't get her the ball enough. Those will be some things that we talk about for Game 2."
As a team, the Dream shot 21-of-64 from the field, and 4-of-25 from beyond the arc. Angel Reese, Allisha Gray and Howard combined for 13-of-44 from the field. The Dream played a lot of iso basketball against an elite defensive team like the Valkyries. Their shot attempts from deep also seemed unnecessary, and they rushed their shots in the fourth quarter when they were held to just 8 points.
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The post "Really Inefficient": Angel Reese's Teammate Faces Blunt Reality Check After Dream's Game 1 Loss to Valkyries appeared first on EssentiallySports . Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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