The Atlanta Dream hired former Florida Gulf Coast head coach Karl Smesko this offseason. Smesko employed a 3-point-oriented system at FGCU and was expected to bring that with him to the pro game.
That's been exactly the case so far, as the Dream have attempted a league-high 154 3-pointers already.
Rhyne Howard is currently leading the league in 3-point attempts per game, firing up 10.0 attempts from deep per contest so far this season.
But, uhh ... is that actually good for the Dream? Do they want Howard taking that many shots from deep?
Atlanta's system is relegating Rhyne Howard to a bit part
Here's the issue with bringing this system to this particular team: the Dream start two non-shooting bigs in Brittney Griner and Brionna Jones.
Now, that in and of itself hasn't necessarily been an issue. The two of them have worked together fairly well, despite concerns that they would hurt the team's spacing. The Dream have a plus-7.71 net rating when the two share the floor.
But because the team has Jones and Griner in the frontcourt, the other three players on the floor are being asked to shoot a lot of 3-pointers.
As mentioned above, Howard is the WNBA leader in 3-point attempts per game. However, Howard is shooting just 24.0 percent on those looks.
It's still early in the season, so there's time for that number to rise, but Howard's never been a particularly great shooter from deep. Her career-high mark came in 2023, when she shot 35.2 percent 3-point range, which only ranked 37th in the league. It's the only time she finished a season in the top 50 in 3-point percentage.
This new offensive system has Howard doing something that she's not particularly good at. She's a better shooter than she's shown, but she's not an elite scorer from outside.
Howard has taken just eight attempts in the restricted area so far this season. She hasn't really had many chances to be aggressive and attack the basket, with this offensive system playing a large role in that. Her 3-point attempt rate is up to 56.8 percent.
One interesting wrinkle: when Howard is on the floor with Jones while Griner is on the bench, the Dream have a plus-14.3 net rating. Could finding more ways to get Howard minutes with just one big on the floor help open things up and allow her to be more than just a spot-up option?
Because something's got to change. Howard has been reduced mostly to just an outside shooter, and her game should feature more than that. Maybe if she can start converting closer to 33 or 34 percent of the looks, the tide will shift, and we can have a different conversation about Howard's role in this system, but as long as her efficiency is in the tank, there's little upside for her in this Smesko system. Either Howard has to make a sudden leap as a shooter or the Dream need to find ways to get her the ball in situations where she's free to put it on the floor and drive.