How Angel Reese and Naz Hillmon’s chemistry has led to Dream’s winning streak

The Atlanta Dream are on a four-game winning streak, and it feels like they’re hitting their stride at this point in the season. It was obvious that with the talent on the team, they would be dangerous on both sides of the ball, but they’re figuring out how to put it all together and dominate almost every night.

The frontcourt has grown stronger over the season, and with Brionna Jones still recovering from her meniscus injury, the Dream have leaned on Angel Reese and Naz Hillmon. Through 16 games, the chemistry between the two has grown, and Karl Smesko spoke about what he’s seen from them.

“Well, they work great together,” Smesko said. “They look for each other. They understand how to work together as bigs to make sure there’s space, and that if somebody you know drives, the other one can cut, look for opportunities, whether it be post-high-low or just post-ups.”

Reese has been steady for most of the season, and Hillmon has put together some solid games over the past few weeks.

“Naz [Hillmon] has been playing great,” Smesko said. “The only reason she struggled early is she was kind of coming off the shoulder thing and kind of messed up the release point of her shot and didn’t have a full training camp. But, you see how well she’s playing right now.”

Hillmon played a big part in the Dream’s success last season, which led her to win Sixth Player of the Year. The one thing that improved her game was her 3-point shooting, and in Smesko’s system, it was something she had to develop. She spoke about having to add the shot to her game in the Pull Up with Myles and Owen podcast.

“So it was like, okay, I’m doing something that I’ve never done in a system that I’m not used to,” Hillmon said. “First of all, it was finding the spots. Like I didn’t think I was open when coach [Smesko] was telling me to shoot the ball.

“And I think being able to get over that mental block was the first part of it, because I don’t think that I ever thought that I couldn’t shoot. It just wasn’t something that was repped a ton and that I was confident in. So, finding that confidence was huge, but also continuing the reps.”

Reese has been working on her 3-point shot this season, and as the year goes on, it should improve. That will only make the frontcourt stronger, and once Jones comes back, opposing teams will have a lot to deal with.

The post How Angel Reese and Naz Hillmon’s chemistry has led to Dream’s winning streak appeared first on ClutchPoints.