Quick Three: Sky 79 Mystics 71
Chicago returns to the win column with an impressive performance on the defensive end in the second-half against winless Washington.
The Sky picked up their first win in three games on Thursday by beating the league’s last winless team: the (now) 0-10 Mystics. But, in spite of their woeful record, Aaliyah Edwards and company put up a more than worthy fight and, on the offensive end, probably marginally outplayed the Sky throughout the course of the game. Yet, Chicago—once again—found a way to win by doing all of the little things better than their opponent. They won the paint scoring battle (48-38), forced more turnovers (24-13), were better at the line (82%-65%) and beat the Mystics at one of their biggest strengths by grabbing over 30% of the offensive rebounds available to them. Beyond those statistical advantages, let’s dive into how the Sky pulled out tonight’s victory.
1. Unexpected Line-up Fuels Defensive Turnaround
In the first 22 or so minutes of tonight’s game, Washington were simply the better team. The Mystics looked crisper at the offensive end, more coordinated at the defensive end and more engaged at both. Take this play, just after half, as an example of the Sky’s struggles.
Whatever the cause (communication is surely partly to blame), these type of plays were far too common in the first half and change. A Sky team that has repeatedly emphasized the pride they take in playing defense always looked a step behind and, in the process, made one of the league’s least efficient offenses look like a solid group. Then, somewhere in the midst of a third quarter that the Sky eventually won 25-10, that all changed. With Elizabeth Williams out of the game due to injury and Teresa Weatherspoon deciding to pull the plug early on Dana Evans’ night, the Sky’s rookie head coach relied on a selection of line-ups that were primarily centered around three players: Chennedy Carter, Lindsay Allen and Isabelle Harrison. While the offensive end was still far from polished (7-21 3Q FG), the energy that trio brought at the defensive end completely flipped the momentum in Chicago’s favor.
Harrison, as the defensive anchor in Williams’ absence, was disruptive in the passing lanes when the ball came into the post and effectively challenged the shots that Washington did manage to get up. Allen, as one of the Sky’s most intelligent defenders, made plays like the one above where her anticipation stops Ariel Atkins from getting an easy score at the rim. Meanwhile, Carter continued to bring the relentless energy that has made her, possibly, the Sky’s best player after 9 games. In total, that had two important impacts on the previously strong Mystics offense. First, the easy looks that Washington’s ball movement—led by Julie Vanloo—had generated in the first half were no longer so easy. Then, the plays that did slip through still resulted in challenged looks—as opposed to the easy lay-ins that Dolson and others got earlier in the game.
This all culminated at the end of the third quarter when Weatherspoon decided, unexpectedly, to go with Kysre Gondrezick alongside the aforementioned trio and Angel Reese—with that group triggering a 12-4 run that crossed the quarter break and gave Chicago a lead they could manage throughout the fourth. The disruptiveness that five created (13 steals between them) completely destroyed the final shreds of rhythm the Mystics offense had and likely served to dent the young team’s burgeoning confidence entering a fourth quarter that Chicago only narrowly edged. By recentering the team’s play around it’s desired identity, that group, and in particular the trio of Carter, Allen and Harrison, helped the Sky earn a win their offensive performance tonight didn’t justify.
And to that point, Chicago will know that tonight’s offense—even with a strong defensive game—probably doesn’t beat many other teams in the W. What Vanloo offered for the Mystics—consistent offensive organization and impetus—the Sky lacked, even during the strongest stretches. Carter has been impressive and deserves a world of credit for her ability to consistently attack the basket, but we’ve seen opposing defenses work to complete frame Marina Mabrey out of the last several games. The longer Carter stays hot, the more likely it is that she’ll get that treatment in the games ahead. If a team can effectively freeze out her and Mabrey at once, the Sky will need some of the great defensive performances in W history to pull out victories of any kind. Allen, Evans and Mabrey all can be the organizational force that this offense needs, and we’re getting close to the point where Weatherspoon will probably have to lean on one of them to do so almost exclusively in order to cure the long periods of offensive stagnation we’ve seen in the last three games.
2. Isabelle Harrison Finds Her Game
One player who can help the offense develop some more rhythm is Harrison. The skills she showed on offense tonight are things that we’ve only seen glimpses of from Chicago’s other post players as she hit from the mid-range, successfully got to the basket by attacking off of the dribble, scored from the offensive glass and got to the line at various different points tonight. The below stretch of five plays from a run of 10-12 trips where the Sky started to take over the game underlines just how much variety she can bring to Chicago’s offense:
Some of this, like the effort on the glass, is dependable but other aspects—the mid-range in particular—will need to be shown consistently before the defense starts to respect it. That said, everything we’ve seen from Harrison in her return from injury suggests she’s gained a lot of confidence in her shot (which was already solid) during her rehab process. If the Sky can count on her to hit those types of mid-range shots from the free-throw line extended at a clip anywhere near 40%, it takes away some of the (highly-effective) defensive strategies Eric Thibault used to stump the Sky’s offense in the first half. The box-and-one zone defense that, for a short stretch, completely shut down Mabrey and then the Sky is a look that plenty of other teams should try against Chicago until it’s proven that they can consistently beat it. These types of shots from Harrison don’t just beat that zone look—they make it a liability. On top of all this dynamism that Harrison sprinkles into the Sky’s offense, her defensive play, as touched on above, was fantastic. Her track record at that end is often lost in the potential she brings for the Sky offensively but Harrison is a serious presence in the paint and could quickly become even more critical if Williams misses time.
3. Chaotic Rotations a Blessing (But Can Become a Curse)
Tonight’s rotations were, in a word, interesting. Brianna Turner and Michaela Onyenwere got first quarter minutes after being DNP’d on Tuesday night, Evans got an early hook at the start of both halves, and the insertion of Gondrezick has to be the most surprising substitution of the season to this point. And while I’ve questioned some of the radical line-up shifts in previous games, I think Teresa Weatherspoon made all the right decisions when it came to winning tonight’s game. By continuing to experiment (especially after losing Williams) she found a line-up that worked and let that line-up breathe instead of rushing to get her starters back in. When she did eventually rest Harrison and Carter (Allen didn’t sit in the final 18 minutes), it was only for a short break—with both quickly back into the action. So many times, coaches at the NBA and WNBA level have a habit of rushing back to their starters once the game is close. And how may times has a coach plugged their starters back into a game the bench has played their way back into only to be quickly beaten? Far, far too many. Weatherspoon made a veteran move by sticking with the players who were (1) helping her team win the game and (2) playing the style of basketball she’s trying to build a long-term project around.
That being said, there’s still some inconsistencies with the rotations in the first 9 games that, if they continue, will only create issues. I think the attitudes of the players with inconsistent roles—like Onyenwere and Gondrezick—appear quite good, and that’s a testament to both the players (for staying ready) and to Weatherspoon (for getting the most out of everyone). However, that doesn’t mean this will continue forever. The injuries, of which Williams’ is the latest, have made building a consistent rotation nearly impossible, but I’m not sure there’s any context where a player who gets 3 first-quarter minutes will ever be productive. If it’s three minutes to prove you deserve to play more, the sample size is not big enough to make a thorough decision. And if it’s for any other reason, I don’t see those players developing the rhythm and feel for the game needed to consistently have a positive impact.
All that said, this is a learning process for Weatherspoon just as it is for her players. Irrespective of how the short shifts for Onyenwere and Turner helped them to perform at their best now or in the future, the larger assessment of Weatherspoon’s rotational decisions tonight should be that she got all of the game-altering ones spot on.