When Tyler Marsh took the throne as the new head coach of the Chicago Sky, he knew the weight of the responsibility he carried. So, he came in with a vision already in place. “We got some pieces that we’re going to add, and continue to build around the core that we already have intact, moving forward,” he shared — and he followed through with his offseason moves. Still, the results haven’t shown yet, as the Sky have now dropped their second consecutive game of the regular season. But, while the struggles are clear, there’s one piece among Marsh’s cards that fits in perfectly.
Yes, we’re talking about Hailey Van Lith. When the Sky selected Van Lith with the No. 11 overall pick, she was expected to contribute immediately at both point guard and shooting guard positions — a dual threat that could boost Chicago’s perimeter game. However, her opportunities have been limited.
Just consider her preseason debut against the Brazilian National Team: she came off the bench and played only 13 minutes, but still managed to post 7 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds. “She hasn’t let the pressure disrupt her,” said Coach Marsh after her initial outing. Still, when the regular season began, she was again brought off the bench — this time for just four minutes. And yet again, she delivered with four points in four minutes. Naturally, fans expected her to see more floor time in the second half. But surprisingly, Coach Marsh didn’t follow the same pattern.
When asked postgame about the decision to give her extended minutes, Marsh explained: “Yeah, I think just giving us another ball-handling threat and getting Rachel off the ball a little bit more so she can be more efficient at doing what she does — and that’s shoot the ball. So having someone else who can handle, get downhill, and create for others helps us.”
That’s exactly why the Sky brought Van Lith in. And like always, the rookie delivered when it mattered. She played 15 minutes against the Liberty— some early in the first quarter — and finished with four points, six assists, and went 4-for-6 from the free throw line. “I thought she did a really good job of leading her unit while she was in there and got some minutes with a couple of the starters as well. I was really pleased with Hailey’s effort tonight,” Marsh added.
No doubt, HVL impressed. But unfortunately, she was the lone bright spot on a struggling Sky roster.
Syndication: The Des Moines Register LSU Lady Tigers guard Flau jae Johnson 4 forward Angel Reese 10 and guard Hailey Van Lith 11 take questions from the media at MVP Arena, Sunday, March 31, 2024 in Albany, N.Y. Des Moines , EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xZachxBoyden-Holmes/ThexRegisterx USATSI_22910769
While the game was always expected to be a tough one, what made it worse was the Liberty’s dominant stars, who never gave Chicago a moment to breathe. Led by Natasha Cloud and Sabrina Ionescu, New York nailed a franchise-record 19 three-pointers en route to a 99–74 victory. Chicago, on the other hand, struggled mightily. They committed 23 turnovers, which led to 27 points for New York. So, does this mean Chicago might be on the verge of missing the playoffs again? Not necessarily — the team isn’t hitting the panic button just yet.
With a new coach in Tyler Marsh and a restructured roster, the Sky (0–2) knew coming into the season that it was going to be a “work in progress” start, especially opening against teams like the Indiana Fever and the Liberty. But a 35-point loss in Indiana followed by a 25-point blowout at home isn’t exactly what you’d call early progress. In fact, according to ESPN, no WNBA team had ever posted a minus-60 point differential in its first two games of a season — until now. Also, in just two games, the Sky have committed 40 turnovers, which have resulted in 51 points for opponents.
“We didn’t think that it was going to come all perfect together in the first two games,” said Courtney Vandersloot. “So, we’re not panicking. I think we’re still in a really good place mentally knowing that we have a good group. We just gotta make some adjustments and figure some things out.”
And she’s right. They shot 36.2 percent from the field Thursday — a slight improvement from 29.1 percent against the Fever. They also made five more threes this time around, thanks largely to Rachel Banham’s 5-for-7 performance from beyond the arc. Still, it’s far from a polished offensive product. So, makes sense they need to figure things out, especially since the vet with over 12 years of experience has already made some observations.
Courtney Vandersloot puts up an improvement plan for Angel Reese and co.
Still, there’s hope, as Vandersloot makes a pinpoint observation for the team: “We are trying to figure out spacing. We haven’t figured out how we can position our post players so it benefits us,” she shared. That’s a big problem when your post players are Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso, a young duo.
As a result, Reese, a relentless rebounder, went 0-for-8 from the floor and struggled to find any breathing room in the paint. Cardoso wasn’t much better, shooting 3-for-8 for six points. Both were swarmed by defenders who had no reason to respect the Sky’s perimeter shooting. And, the team ended up with just 22 points in the paint against New York, down from 26 against Indiana in the season opener. Clearly, this was never supposed to be the plan.
Remember the emphatic additions of Kia Nurse and Ariel Atkins? Nurse was the shooter, whereas Atkins was the three-level scorer ready to evolve. Together, they were supposed to stretch defenses, space the floor, and unlock Chicago’s interior game. But two games in, the vision hasn’t turned into reality.
Atkins scored just eight points against the Liberty, and four early fouls kept her off the floor when the Sky needed offense. Nurse, while more willing to shoot, struggled to hit consistently. And that’s the heart of the issue.
So, with that explained, the question is: Will the Sky be able to improve those areas?
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