NFL
By: Nick Andre
Aari McDonald is back, which means good things for the Atlanta Dream. While the team recently has a seven-game winning streak, it’s great to have their starting point guard return from a shoulder injury. Since she arrived in Atlanta, McDonald has contributed in multiple ways that have resulted in success for the Dream.
McDonald played the first five games of the 2023 season before being sidelined with a torn labrum in her shoulder. Throughout the past month, she’s continued to rehab her injury to get back on the floor with her team. The Dream struggled to find their footing as a team but have had recent success over the past several weeks with McDonald back in the rotation, which allows the team to be back at full strength.
McDonald made her return in the Dream’s July 20 matchup against the Connecticut Sun. These are two teams who defeated one another on their home floor with Atlanta having a chance to steal one once again. As for McDonald, she did a terrific job of setting the tone defensively by picking up players 94 feet and making things uncomfortable for her opponents.
McDonald did a great job creating a feel for the game. In her return, she made a small contribution on the floor by setting the table for her teammates and also knocking down a few shots. McDonald scored seven points on 33 percent shooting in the Dream’s 82-71 loss on the road.
In the Dream’s home matchup against the Sun on Saturday, the team got off to a slow start. Connecticut scored the first nine points of the contest while getting out to a 17-4 lead midway through the first quarter. It was a great call by head coach Tanisha Wright to insert McDonald into the contest to stop the bleeding. With the energy she brought off the bench, the Dream eventually crawled their way back into the contest.
McDonald once again showed her value defensively. Despite finding her rhythm on the floor, she wasn’t afraid to get active and absorb physicality on that end of the floor. McDonald’s effort defensively was a driving force behind the Dream closing the first half on a 13-0 run. Offensively, she once again set the table for her teammates like Allisha Gray and Cheyanne Parker while attacking driving lanes herself.
Despite at times being winded because of her time off, McDonald finished her second game with 14 points on 45 percent shooting from the floor. In only her second game back, she became a game-changer and showed steady improvement after missing over a month and a half.
With McDonald healthy and back in the lineup, the Dream are officially healthy with no players on the injury list. However, the question is how does the rotation adjust with McDonald’s return. Coach Wright was asked how she was trying to figure out the rotation moving forward. “You’re trying to figure out the flow within the game and go with who’s working,” Wright explained. “We have to win games.”
“I’m happy to be back with the team and be able to contribute the way I can!” McDonald stated at the postgame presser. Before her injury, McDonald was a huge factor in the starting lineup for the Dream. Early in the season, Atlanta picked up big wins against teams like the Minnesota Lynx and Chicago Sky with McDonald as their starting guard. As she continues to work her way back into game shape, the question is will Coach Wright grant her to be a starting guard once again?
