‘BETTER GAME THAN CAITLIN CLARK,’ ‘4/15 Bricks’ — WNBA World Divided As Angel Reese Delivers Mixed Bag in Dream Playoff Debut

Angel Reese had a strong night on the glass but struggled with her shooting in her first playoff debut.

While the Atlanta Dream beat the Washington Mystics 92-77 after coming back from an 11-point deficit, Reese's 13 points and 12 rebounds on underwhelming shooting efficiency left some WNBA fans divided over her performance.

Angel Reese's Game 1 Performance vs. Mystics Draws Mixed Reviews

Reese's playoff debut had a little bit of everything. Washington started fast and led 26-21 after the first quarter before taking a 41-36 lead into halftime. Atlanta started to turn the tide in the third quarter by taking a 12-point lead and completed the turnaround in the fourth quarter.

The team recorded 16 steals, a franchise playoff record. Rhyne Howard led the way with 26 points and 5 steals, Allisha Gray added 22 points, and Jordin Canada chipped in with 10.

Reese's 12 boards were important for an Atlanta squad trying to rally back after the slow start, but her 4-for-15 shooting from the field (26.7%) became a talking point nonetheless.

One user focused on Reese's offensive struggles: "4 for 15 so offensively counterproductive… So the real line is 12 boards in the end lol"

Another fan was even more direct in urging Polymarket Hoops to highlight her shooting struggles: "FG%?"

Meanwhile, another user bluntly added , "4-15 bricks."

More criticism followed after House of Lowlights posted clips of the Dream forward's missed opportunities.

One WNBA observer questioned her movement and wrote : "Why does she always look like she's off balance and trying to catch herself?"

However, not everyone saw the performance negatively, as one user was happy with the result: "Ateee omg. Dream in 2"

Another reaction compared Reese's night with Caitlin Clark 's playoff performance in the Indiana Fever 's loss to the Las Vegas Aces .

"THEY WON AND SHE HAD A BETTER GAME THAN CAITLIN CLARK IN MY OPINION 💯💯… JUST MAD CAUSE AJA WILSON PUT A 38 BALL ON CAITLIN CLARK AND THEM FEVER GIRLS HATER!"

For context, Las Vegas won 102-85, with A'ja Wilson putting together a monstrous playoff performance, finishing with 38 points and 16 rebounds while shooting 15-for-19 from the field.

Clark had 15 points, 3 rebounds, and 10 assists, but shot 6-for-17 and committed 6 turnovers in what ended up being her third career WNBA playoff game without a win.

For Reese, Sunday was different, as she came away victorious in her WNBA playoff game. The Dream now leads their best-of-three series 1-0, with Game 2 tipping off on Wednesday in Washington.

Reese's efficiency will need to improve, but Atlanta has shown glimpses of brilliance, as its defense and ability to force mistakes turned a poor first half into a comfortable playoff win.

Meanwhile, Clark and the Fever will need to respond quickly after their Game 1 defeat to Las Vegas raised some glaring weaknesses.