If things don’t improve quickly Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky are in for a long season. The Sky desperately wanted to return to the playoffs and made big moves in the offseason, like bringing back franchise legend Courtney Vandersloot and trading for Ariel Atkins.
So far, the Sky have been no match for some of the better teams in the league, suffering tough losses to the Indiana Fever and New York Liberty. The Sky don’t look like a playoff team yet and have a lot to work on before getting there. One major issue is Angel Reese’s scoring in the paint.
That issue was on full display against the Liberty.
Angel Reese struggled to make her layups
One of the biggest knocks against Angel Reese’s game has been her inefficiency as a scorer, particularly around the rim. Reese worked hard in the offseason, training with Lisa Leslie and showcasing some improvements while playing in Unrivaled, but her layup issues reared their ugly heads in her Sky’s second game of the season.
Reese obviously struggled with Breanna Stewart’s and Jonquel Jones’ defense. She got blocked several times, called for a few travels on drives to the basket, and missed contested layups against both players. With about five minutes left in the third quarter, Reese had not scored a single point yet, missing all of her attempts and baffling the broadcast team. Reese finished the game shooting 0-8 from the field and only converted two of her six free throws.
If Reese is not scoring, it will be tough for the Sky to win anything. She is, after all, one of their best players, and a lot of the offense revolves around her and Kamilla Cardoso.
Reese is still a young player and fans shouldn’t blame her too much for struggling to score against two former MVPs, but that is what the youngster will have to learn to do if she wants to reach her ceiling and be a top player in the WNBA. Reese must improve her scoring around the rim to find success individually and with her team, and new head coach Tyler Marsh must put her in a position to do that this season.
Angel Reese and the Sky still have time to figure things out
The Sky may not have had a pretty start to the season, but they had to go up against two of the best teams in the league while trying to incorporate new players and a new system. That’s not an easy thing to do. Turnovers and missed shots were a major issue in the loss against New York. Some more time on the court together should help with that.
While it may not be time to panic quite yet, Sky fans should be worried. Chicago can’t afford for Reese to take a step backward as a scorer. The front office gave up a lottery pick to accelerate the rebuild around her, so she has to be ready to help her team improve.