Quick Three: Sky 83 Wings 74
The first win of Chicago's new era comes as a result of a dominant fourth quarter performance in Dallas.
After two games, the Sky registered their first win of the Teresa Weatherspoon era, with Saturday’s victory in Dallas representing another solid building block for Chicago’s rookie head coach and her team. The 1-1 start, while not technically perfect, is about as good of an opening weekend as the Sky could’ve asked for—especially given the fact that process not result will ultimately be the focus of the 2024 season. If, at some point, the Sky start to stack wins and make a move towards the playoff positions, Weatherspoon and company can be very satisfied, but there’s no reason to worry about being ahead of schedule so early in the first year of the franchise’s re-tool either. After a few valuable practice days, the Sky will begin a brutal stretch of 8 games in 17 days Thursday at Barclays Center but, before looking ahead to that stretch, let’s look back at some key take-aways from tonight’s come from behind victory.
1. “Tactical” Energy
The buzzword from most after the Sky overcame an eight-point deficit after the third quarter will likely be energy. However, it’s important to note how the Sky expended their energy in the fourth quarter and why that made it possible for them to pull off a dominant (28-11) performance in the final frame. The most apparent difference for me was how the Sky sent numbers to the paint on both ends in all scenarios. Teresa Weatherspoon made it a point to emphasize team rebounding in her pre-game media availability, and it’s no secret that the Sky needed to send lots of bodies to the glass to hold their own against the league’s best rebounding team. However, Chicago also used a lot of bodies to defend the paint before shots went up in the fourth quarter, and the result was swarming defensive pressure on the Wings’ post players.
For that, the credit, first and foremost, should go to Angel Reese and Elizabeth Williams who—after so-so games—were dominant throughout the fourth quarter at both ends and inspired the victory. However, there was also plenty of plays where the perimeter players got down into the paint and double or even triple-teamed the Dallas bigs on the catch. Chennedy Carter and Diamond DeShields both blocked Kalani Brown in the fourth quarter while Marina Mabrey grabbed a steal from the Wings’ other center Teaira McCowan (one of three steals she had in the final five minutes). In other words, all five Sky players made a calculated effort to eliminate the dominant aspect of the Wings’ game—scoring in the paint. On the final stat sheet, the difference was glaring. Offensively, the Sky scored a similar number of points in the paint tonight (46) as they did Wednesday (42), but these targeted defensive efforts (and, in fairness, the absence of Natasha Howard) saw the Wings score 36 fewer paint points tonight than in game one.
The impact of this change on Arike Ogunbowale—who was fantastic in the fourth quarter once again—was also important. The crowded paint seemed to discourage the drive-and-kick opportunities that she had so much success with in the final minutes of Wednesday’s game, and the former Notre Dame guard had to take a lot of outside shots as a result. She still made plenty of those (35 p, 6/14 3PT), but the Sky allowed her just two shots (0/2) in the paint in the final quarter and kept her from getting to the line (at least on drives, she shot 5 FT from a pair of Chennedy Carter fouls outside the paint) where she excelled (11/11) all game long. Because Ogunbowale is such a multi-faceted offensive player, the best you can do is take away a part of her game, and the Sky’s team defense did just that tonight.
2. Diamond DeShields Swings the Game
Diamond DeShields didn’t finish Saturday’s game on the court, but that doesn't mean that Weatherspoon didn’t have her in for the game’s most important minutes. After another strong start that included valuable impact at both ends, DeShields was back on the court with the Sky’s starters at the beginning of the fourth quarter. With Chicago down 8, the game was dangling by a thread and a run in either direction was likely going to prove very decisive on the final result. While she didn’t score, DeShields’ impact was very very apparent as she added an offensive and defensive rebound, a steal and the aforementioned block to her stat line in the three fourth quarter minutes she did play. While she didn’t play deep in the fourth, the impact she had on turning the game during that stretch was what left the Sky in with a chance to take over when Reese and Williams started to dominate on the glass. Of the perimeter players, DeShields was also the most effective at dipping down into the paint and causing trouble for Brown and McCowan—thanks in large part to her length and athleticism.
All that said about the fourth, it’s also important to look back at the earlier stages of the game as well where, much like in game one, DeShields was key to keeping Chicago’s offense afloat. Through two games, DeShields is averaging 15 PPG on 14/24 FG, and her shot profile has been huge for giving the Sky both variety and impact. Her three-point shooting (1/5 total) isn’t off to a quick start, but her mid-range shot looks in fantastic rhythm and pairs nicely with her willingness to put the ball on the floor and attack the basket. Her length at the defensive end—in addition to causing trouble in the paint—was also valuable in forcing Arike into some tough shots early on, and we should expect to see her to continue to take on some of the league’s most difficult match-ups on the perimeter. If DeShields can continue to perform at anything close to this level as her minutes restriction is phased out, she figures to be one of the league’s most valuable players by season’s end given her budget contract.
3. The Sky’s Half-Court Offense is a Work in Progress
After two games with a new roster, a new coach and without a ton of outside shooters, it would be surprising if the Sky’s offense was humming. That said, it’s still important to take stock of why the offense—at least through three—looked a little bit out of sorts. Part of it was Dallas’ defense. While the shots they missed and turnovers they committed made it difficult for the Wings to get a lot of stops late, Latricia Trammell—one of the league’s premier defensive coaches—had things working masterfully for most of the opening three quarters. Neither of Reese or Williams was super impactful down low, and the Sky were unable to establish an inside scoring presence as a result. From the outside, Chicago shot just 4-21 from three on the night. When struggling in those two areas, any team will always face an uphill battle putting together a consistent offensive threat. In the last ten minutes, the Sky shot the ball better from everywhere, but a big part of their success was fueled by hitting the offensive glass and scoring on the break. Those, of course, figure to be two of the Sky’s most valuable sources of offense all season long, but they’ll have to find ways to score in the half-court to win regularly.
And beyond DeShields continuing to hit from the mid-range and Mabrey (5/18 3PT through two games) starting to heat up from three, the Sky’s best offense in the half-court after two games has come from their perimeter players being aggressive. Tonight, Lindsay Allen and Dana Evans both did a very good job of putting pressure on the defense with their drives in stretches (particularly late in the third quarter), but it probably wasn’t consistent enough for either player. Similarly, Michaela Onyenwere has clearly been looking, first and foremost, to put the ball on the floor when she catches on the perimeter. If the Sky want to start generating a lot of good looks in the half court, they’ll probably need every perimeter player to at least think about putting the ball on the floor when they get it—due to the team’s lack of shooting prowess and the holes the defensive rotations that follow these drives typically open up.
And in that respect, Evans, at least for me, looks like the player who can have the biggest impact. When she puts the ball on the floor, defenses have no choice but to respond. Some of the Sky’s most successful half-court offense tonight came after an initial Evans drive collapsed the defense and a secondary drive by another player, paired with great ball movement, led to an open look. In the long run, the Sky should also get great value from their bigs (especially Isabelle Harrison) fading away from the basket to find the open space in the mid-range that these drives create. If Chicago can piece together a consistent half-court offense built around an attack-first mindset, Weatherspoon will have to think her team’s solid second chance and transition scoring numbers (which could be even higher against others given Dallas’ rebounding prowess) will be enough to help Chicago win quite a few games this season.