Dream are favorite in the East
— -- At some point, we might start wondering if the Atlanta Dream have "Alydar" syndrome. For you youngsters, that's the horse that finished second to Affirmed in all three Triple Crown races in 1978.
Alydar was a very talented colt, good enough that he could have won the Triple Crown himself. It was just his bad luck he happened to be 3 years old at the same time as Affirmed.
The Dream have been a very good team the past few years, but have run into even better teams in the WNBA Finals. In 2010, it was Seattle. In 2011 and '13, it was Minnesota. Atlanta was swept in all of those series.
This year, former Los Angeles Sparks coach Michael Cooper has taken over the Dream, and he has championship experience. So does Swin Cash, obtained from Chicago in a trade that cost Atlanta virtually nothing and brought in a player who has won three WNBA titles.
The Dream appear to be the favorite in the Eastern Conference this season, and that will be their focus for the next three months. Then, if that goes well, they can take another postseason shot at winning their first WNBA title.
Here's a quick look at the Eastern Conference for 2014, with teams listed in their projected order of finish.
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