Quick Three: Sky 87 Lynx 81
Chicago gets revenge at home after narrow loss to Minnesota last weekend at Target Center.
Despite the occasional victory against weaker opposition, there was a strong argument to be made that, entering play today, last Sunday’s loss away to the league-leading Lynx was Chicago’s best performance of the season. The Sky raised their competitive standard, had a chance to win the game late, and—at one point—looked like they might force OT in a back-and-forth contest. Yet, such a close call, while mentally motivating, can sometimes cause standards to drop when the same teams meet again in short order. The “top dog” (in this case, the Lynx) is typically more wary of the underdog’s threat, and the underdog—aware that they have a chance—sometimes gets a little too loose. The alternative, as we saw today, is that the underdog takes things one step further and gets the win their strong performance may have called for in the previous meeting. Let’s dive into how the Sky avoided the various pitfalls and delivered, perhaps, the most impressive win of the Reese/Cardoso era to date.
1. Stars Align (Literally) to Deliver Victory
On a statistical basis, it’s pretty plain to see that the Sky’s “big three” (an overused phrase these days, but I digress) performed as well as they have in any game tonight. Angel Reese (19 and 11) and Kamilla Cardoso (17 and 15) both had double-doubles—with this afternoon registering as perhaps the most dominant rebounding effort of Cardoso’s career. Ariel Atkins, meanwhile, generated as much offensive rhythm as she’s had in any game since joining the Sky—scoring 27, just shy of her season-high 29, and doing so with fantastic early efficiency (11/14 FG to start). The key, in truth, was that Atkins was as decisive as we’ve seen her since arriving from the Mystics—though she’s never a player who lacks conviction with the ball in hand.
And a big enabling factor to her decisiveness was the Sky’s offensive cohesion. Indeed, it wasn’t just that these three played well individually; they played one of their best games as a trio. Reese and Cardoso set screen after screen for Atkins at the point of attack, and she was able to carve apart the Lynx defense in those actions. If the defender made it over the screen, Atkins flashed her infamous ability to get up and into her shot—even when on the move with a defender on her hip. And if they didn’t, she typically had plenty of space to fire from the mid-range, as the Lynx were typically happy to offer space in favor of staying tight to Reese and Cardoso on the roll. Indeed, that fear the young frontcourt pair strikes into opposing defenses with their recent surge is making a noticeable difference in the way pick-and-roll actions are defended. Instead of the ball-handler having to absorb a ton of pressure and try to fit in a pass to a big in space (what looked likely with Courtney Vandersloot arriving this year), some defenses will now give the ball-handler space instead.
Of course, as long as Atkins starts games as hot as she did today, that defensive strategy may not last, but it’s becoming far more of a “pick your poison” for the opposition than it was for much of the early season. Toss in the fact that Cardoso actually missed a fair few easy layups (5/12 FG), and there’s space for even more scoring here. Regardless, all three should be very happy with their level of play and the chemistry they’ve gradually developed as this season approaches the midway point.
2. Sky Dominate Second-Chance Scoring
While Cardoso, indeed, missed some easy shots, she also played a pivotal role in generating points inside with her work on the offensive glass. Her six offensive boards match a career high, but it was the quality—not quantity—that was so critical. It felt like every one of Cardoso’s put-back scores came at a moment in the game when the Sky needed a bucket, there were three Lynx players trying to box her out, or both. In other words, her second-chance points (and those that the rest of the team scored) were often more damaging psychologically than just the two points they added to the scoreboard.
The end result? A 28–10 edge in second-chance scoring that was more than enough to be the difference in a game the Sky won by just six points. All of those inside scores, of course, also contributed to Chicago’s dominance in the paint—where they outscored Minnesota by a similarly hefty 44–28 margin. Whether it was the Sky creating chances with their force downhill, Reese and Cardoso positioning themselves well around the basket to receive dump-offs, or simply backing down one of the opposing post defenders, Chicago found lots of ways to score around the basket (often in very convincing fashion). The Lynx, mind you, are not an overly dominant defensive team in the paint (7th in the W entering play today [34.5]), but they’re a strong defensive team overall (1st in DRTG), and the Sky found ways to exploit that even without much outside threat (26.7% from three).
3. Tyler Marsh Finding Footing in His Rookie Year
First things first, let’s not get it twisted: the Chicago Sky are not a perfect team, and Tyler Marsh is not a perfect coach. Even in an impressive win like today’s, there’s still plenty to clean up. You can pinpoint the aforementioned lack of shooting (though more a roster construction issue than a coaching one), the continued problems with turnovers (19 today), the sometimes uninspiring defense, or a few other areas where there’s obvious room for improvement—but there are also counters to almost all of those arguments.
The turnovers, while far too frequent in the middle part of today’s game, cleaned up when it mattered most: Chicago didn’t commit a single giveaway in the final 5:35 of today’s game. The defense, too, was strong in the final frame—allowing just 14 points after shipping 67 in the first three. And while Minnesota—thanks to the talent on their roster—will always feel they could have made more shots, the Sky’s effort and togetherness at the defensive end have obviously improved markedly over the last month—a huge part of the equation for top defensive sides.
Meanwhile, in several other areas—like his rotations or the balance of offensive play-calling—Marsh has steadily found his way and, more often than not, is putting his team in a position to be successful. Again, there’s plenty more to learn, but the fact that there is visible progression after just 20 games in his first season (Cheryl Reeve, for contrast, coached her 532nd WNBA game today) is a very encouraging sign that Marsh will be able to settle into a rhythm long-term. Add in the fact that he’s dealt with the loss of Vandersloot, and there are even more plaudits owed to the Sky’s rookie coach, who’s shown that his problem-solving skills—though always capable of being sharpened—are worthy of the difficult task he’s been given as the head coach of a roster looking to take the next step.