Every performance against the Connecticut Sun needs to be taken with a grain of salt. They have one of the worst defensive ratings in the WNBA and are tanking for JuJu Watkins. Nevertheless, Angel Reese’s 30-point, 10-rebound double-double in just 25 minutes was very impressive. She also added three assists and two blocks. 

Reese went 11-for-14 from the field, continuing her streak of hot shooting that started after a missed game-winning layup against the Indiana Fever. She has now shot over 46% from the field in five of her last seven games—and led Team USA in field-goal percentage in the World Cup. That’s a massive step in the right direction for a player who has struggled with inefficient scoring around the basket for most of her pro career. 

Reese is playing her best basketball at the perfect time. She’s just three games away from making her WNBA playoff debut after two disappointing seasons with the Chicago Sky. With Brionna Jones out for the rest of the season and a tough first-round matchup waiting, the Atlanta Dream will need Reese to play very well in the playoffs. So, it’s a good thing that the playoffs are right around the corner when Reese has all the momentum and confidence she could hope for. 

Reese herself also can’t wait for her playoff debut. 

“I want to play the first round right now,” Reese said after the win against Connecticut, per a video by The Ballers Magazine. 

Angel Reese and the Dream have a lot to prove in the playoffs

Reese spent two years in Chicago lamenting the franchise’s inability to build a winning team around her. Now that she has a much better team around her and two All-Star teammates, it’s time for her to prove that she is ready for that next level she’s so desperate to reach. 

The fact that the Dream viewed her as a difference-maker after three consecutive first-round exits only adds to that pressure. 

Last year’s early exit was especially frustrating. The Indiana Fever were the lower seed and had to play without several key contributors, most notably Caitlin Clark. Nevertheless, they managed to upset the Dream. The pressure to finally move past the first round with Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray is high. 

To make matters worse, they may have to do it against a healthy Fever team. The two teams are currently locked into the four-five matchup and might very well finish the season in those spots. Both teams have a shot to climb into third place, but they are most likely to finish fourth and fifth in any order behind the Minnesota Lynx, Golden State Valkyries, and Las Vegas Aces. 

Since Jones is out, Reese and her defense will be huge if Atlanta has to play the Fever and Aliyah Boston in the postseason.