Friday, August 29, 2008

Back to it

The Sun play the second half of their final back-to-back tonight, a 7:30 tip at the Atlanta Dream. And the first game of the double dip couldn't have gone any better. In addition to exacting a little revenge on the Fever -- and putting a dent in their playoff hopes -- Connecticut didn't have to play any starter major minutes, including Lindsay Whalen, who was scoreless in just 11. Whalen's bagel might not help her in her MVP case, but she, like her teammates, will be well rested against the WNBA's worst team.

Other things to know for tonight's game:

(1) Svetlana Abrosimova arrived in Atlanta Thursday night and will be on hand with the team. Whether she plays remains to be seen. But don't be surprised if the addition adds a little jump in her new teammates' step. Tamika Raymond and Asjha Jones looked genuinely excited when talking about playing with the former Husky again on Wednesday.

(2) The Sun can move to 8-7 on the road this season, putting them above .500 in that department for the first time since early July.

(3) Atlanta, which re-opens its season on a five-game losing streak, added to its backcourt over the Olympic break, signing former Washington guard Nikki Teasley on Aug. 15. After averaging 8.7 points and 5.0 assists a year ago, the three-time All-Star hasn't played in the WNBA this season following the birth of her daughter in June. It was kind of surprising to see Teasley sign with a last-place team, but considering she was coming off such an extended break, the thought process is Atlanta was offering the best deal. Hard to know what that is considering WNBA teams don't release the terms of their contracts.

(4)Tonight marks a homecoming for Georgia natives Amber Holt (Duluth) and Ketia Swanier (Columbus). Swanier was the 2004 AAAA Player of the Year for Columbus H.S. while Holt led Meadowcreek to the finals of the 2002 Class AAAAA state tournament. Both expect friends and family to be on hand at Philips Arena.

(5) Don't look past the Dream. This is their first game back from break (so they're rested), they've drawn good crowds all year and the last time these two teams met, the Sun needed overtime to hold off Betty Lennox (44 points) and Atlanta.

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