The Atlanta Dream have been taking on some of the best in the league over the past few weeks, and they've shown that they deserve to be in the mix with them as well. They lost their latest game against the Minnesota Lynx in overtime, but they had several chances to win the game. They also played the New York Liberty weeks ago and lost, even though they had a lead at some point during the game.

If it's anything that those two games have shown, it's that Dream can play with the best of the game, but they're still missing a few things to solidify themselves. Head coach Karl Smesko spoke to Clutch Points about what separates the Lynx and Liberty from other teams in the league.

“There’s a calm to them,” Smesko said. “When you play a great team, they’re always going to make a run. We have to learn how to handle that, how you get out of that. I like to see us have that same calmness and togetherness. Usually, that takes years, but I’d like to see it today.”

The players also see what makes the Liberty and Lynx different from the rest of the league.

“They’re the top teams for a reason,” Maya Caldwell said. “A lot less turnovers, very disciplined in their play on both ends. It’s about us having to step up our game, be consistent in what we know how to do. They’re good at what they do consistently every minute of the game.”

Nia Coffey noted that both teams have been together for some time, which gives them an advantage over other teams as well.

After the Dream's loss against the Lynx, Jordin Canada said she thinks the team is close to getting where they want to, and they have to fix the small things.

“We’re right there, and I feel like we can still grow as a team and still get better, and find areas that we can still grow in,” Canada said. “But I think we’re right there, it’s just us finishing games out. You’ve seen that in the last two games against New York and Minnesota. They’re the top two teams for a reason. I just think we’re right there; we’re just missing out on the little details we need to clean up.

“I feel like overall as a team, we’ve grown and we’re continuing to grow.”

Though the Dream have been playing some good basketball, Smesko and the other players know that it's going to take some more work for them to get to the cream of the crop. As the season continues, things are primed to get better for them, and their hard work will pay off.