INDIANAPOLIS – Angel Reese is ever conspicuous, so the early evening action at Gainbridge Fieldhouse was no surprise. As she finished warmups and video review, bodies scurried to the railings, holding items they prayed she’d sign on her way off the floor. The people booed her during lineup introductions. They cheered after an airballed jumper. Not another soul on the visitors’ side generated anything close to that energy on Thursday.It’s kind of the point of her for this WNBA season, in a way, as the most seismic player addition of the offseason. Basketball-centric attention is warranted, for better or worse. Many people keep saying the 24-year-old All-Star is the missing piece for an Atlanta Dream club on the cusp, a cohort that includes the Atlanta Dream, who have literally said that.“I keep saying it,” guard Rhyne Howard declared after a recent win over Dallas. “I think she’s the missing piece.”Except the most important person brought aboard by the Dream for 2026 can also be beside the most important points, as a matchup against the defending Commissioner’s Cup champions demonstrated in full. Atlanta was out-everythinged in an 83-71 loss to the Indiana Fever, botching a chance at a statement game. A belly flop making the wrong kind of splash. And for a team talking championships, something that Angel Reese isn’t supposed to fix is a thing that needs fixing.After only nine games, it is probably still a stretch to say the Dream aren’t good enough or sharp enough on offense to win a title. But they started Thursday with the ninth-best offensive rating in the WNBA, and they didn’t do that metric any favors before the calendar flipped to Friday, with stagnant ball movement, at times baffling shot decisions that led to 34.3 percent efficiency overall and a relative no-show from stars who can’t afford to no-show.