Chicago suffered its second defeat in as many games to the reigning WNBA champions, the New York Liberty, losing the matchup 99-74. However, it will be the manner of the defeat that will worry the loyal fans of the Sky the most. The 'Windy City' franchise registered another inefficient display as they finished the game with a worrying field-goal percentage of around 36 percent, scoring just 25 out of 69 field-goal attempts.
In addition, the Sky's sophomore star, Angel Reese, struggled to impose herself on the offensive end of the floor. She registered two points on the night and did not make any of her eight field-goal attempts. This raises the question: does Tyler Marsh have a responsibility to alter Reese's role in the game plan to allow her and the team to thrive?
How can Marsh help Reese rediscover her best form?
In Marsh's inaugural year as a professional head coach, it is clear that he has made it his priority to create a system that allows the 23-year-old star to shine the brightest when she is on the court. However, her new role as the team's 'point forward' appears to have had the opposite effect on the sophomore's performances.
Despite having Courtney Vandersloot, one of the greatest playmakers to have ever graced the WNBA on their roster, the newly appointed Sky head coach has allowed Reese to take the ball out of the 36-year-old's hands in an attempt to dictate the offense or aggressively drive into traffic and find her way into the paint.
This is not a tactic that has paid dividends during Chicago's campaign so far. The seventh overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft has converted just 18 percent of her field goal attempts during the Sky's two opening matchups. Not only this, but Reese is averaging five turnovers per game so far this season, highlighting that her new role in the offense may be a burden that the star is not ready to shoulder.
Marsh has an opportunity to revert Reese back to basic offensive actions that saw the former LSU legend thrive during her years in college. There is a perfect opening for the head coach to sanction a game plan that would prioritize heavy pick-and-roll actions, allowing the newly acquired Ariel Atkins and deadly sharpshooter Rachel Banham to create enough separation to showcase their scoring prowess.
In this age of a thriving WNBA, front offices will be desperate to have a star who can propel them to a championship and help establish the team as a legacy franchise. However, this should not come at the expense of a player's development. Due to the All-Star's gigantic 4.9 million Instagram followers and her business acumen that has already seen the intelligent star thrive in so many areas, it is easy to forget that Angel Reese is still only playing her second year of professional basketball.
The 23-year-old should be granted time to hone her craft as a physical scoring presence in the paint before being shoehorned into a role that impedes her ability to finish chances in the paint and inevitably brings the star more media scrutiny than she already receives. Marsh has a responsibility to protect his young player and allow Reese to iron out her inefficiency issues before trusting her as one of the Sky's primary ball handlers.