Quick Three: Liberty 99 Sky 74
Chicago struggles again in home opener as defending champions New York flex their muscles in blowout victory.
After a disappointing opening loss on the road against Indiana on Saturday, the Sky returned home tonight to face the Liberty. While last season’s team secured a famous early-season victory over New York at Barclays Center, things looked very different this time around. Let’s dive into the Sky’s second consecutive heavy loss and what their struggles tonight—on both ends of the floor—mean moving forward.
1. Offense Falters on Several Fronts
Make no mistake: the Sky's offense tonight was not good. Yes, they cruised past the 58 points they scored Saturday against Indiana, but outside of an improved three-point percentage (41% tonight vs. 22% in Game 1)—somewhat inflated by a trio of garbage-time makes from Rachel Banham—the overall productivity wasn’t much better. Let’s dive into three specific areas that hurt Chicago tonight and how they can be addressed moving forward:
Turnovers, Turnovers, and More Turnovers
The Sky’s game total of 23 turnovers was high, but the 18 they coughed up in the first half were particularly damaging. New York scored 27 of their 99 points off those turnovers, while Chicago struggled to build any offensive rhythm amid so many lost possessions. Because there were so many, there’s no one size fits all approach to correcting this, but the Sky weren’t overly careless—just sloppy—so I wouldn’t worry about this as much as other factors.
Missing Open Teammates
This was a recurring issue for the Sky—particularly noticeable in a few second-quarter sequences (clipped below)—but it’s one that should improve with time. A new offense combined with new personnel is a recipe for missed opportunities, but these are the kinds of mistakes Chicago will look to clean up quickly with more on-court time together.
Easy Misses
The first two points are less concerning because they’re so easily correctable, but this one is a bit more of a red flag. It should be an easy fix—as professional players don’t usually miss so often in the paint—but the Sky were an inefficient paint team a season ago and followed on from those struggles with an 11/35 (31.4%) mark in the paint tonight. The Liberty, and especially Jonquel Jones, were extremely impressive with their rim protection efforts, but it’s hard to win games shooting that poorly in the paint. Chicago’s young frontcourt is still learning, yes, but this was an area of weakness a season ago and tonight shows there’s still work to do. The efficiency in the paint is definitely something to watch moving forward as there’s huge knock-on effects for the rest of the offense.
In total, the Sky aren’t that far off a competent offense if they can clean up the turnovers and easy misses around the basket. However, there’s still a lot of work to do to become a great—or even good—offense, with some continued growing pains a practical expectation for the next few weeks (at least).
2. Defensive Ebbs & Flows Largely Self-Inflicted
The Sky’s defense against Indiana was far from stellar, but after Saturday’s game, I was unsure how to assess their defensive performance because it had both highs and lows. Tonight was much the same. For stretches—especially early in the second quarter—Chicago’s defense was disruptive enough to keep its sputtering offense within striking distance of the reigning champions. Yet, before the quarter ended, the Sky completely lost their defensive discipline, allowing what had been a tight contest to balloon into a Liberty runaway by halftime. These plays perfectly illustrate just how badly things deteriorated defensively late in the second quarter:
As an outside observer, it's impossible to fully place blame for these types of defensive lapses. It could be a lack of communication, a miscommunication on assignments, or simply one or two individuals falling asleep. Regardless, the end result is the same—easy looks for a team that doesn't need those to knock down shots. Even an individual known for her defensive output and intensity, Michaela Onyenwere, appears out of place in one of these clips—which goes against everything we saw from her as a defender last season. Again, it's impossible (and pointless) to place blame without knowing the specifics of the Sky's coverages and assignments, but it's no secret that this is not the level of defensive intensity Marsh is seeking.
For now, finding a consistent level of defensive discipline that mirrors the strong stretches from the first two games is a big first step toward winning games for this group. Until they find that, expect more opponents—especially of this caliber—to hang big numbers against the Sky.
3. Rebecca Allen’s Full Offensive Game on Display
A few individuals—Banham and Courtney Vandersloot, for instance—had bright moments tonight, but Allen was probably the Sky’s most impressive player. Her offensive performance showcased not only flashes of the three-point skill she was brought to Chicago to provide, but also crucial versatility. From soon after entering the game in the first quarter, Allen started attacking the center of the court and continued to penetrate into the mid-range and paint whenever the Liberty defense gave her the opportunity.
While it might not be the skill that Sky fans raved about most this offseason, it’s clear why Allen’s ability to find her spots in the mid-range and consistently score or draw fouls there is so critical for this team. A major criticism of Teresa Weatherspoon’s offense last season was its predictability, and adding a player like Allen—who brings a feel for scoring in the mid-range—adds valuable variety to Marsh’s offensive gameplan. Allen’s instincts as a WNBA veteran are top-notch, and that intangible “feel for the game” is incredibly useful for an offense with two young focal points. Her final line (11 points, 4/8 FG) may not jump off the box score, but contributions of this caliber from Allen, on both ends of the floor, will feel much more meaningful once the starters reach their expected level of play.