Stepping in as a first-time head coach and taking control of an overhauled roster, the Sky’s Tyler Marsh is constantly learning. He’s figuring it out incrementally, and his most recent discovery might help.
The Sky closed their most recent game, a victory last Saturday against the Wings, with a small-ball lineup. Marsh played 6-2 wing Rebecca Allen at power forward and shifted Angel Reese to center. In his quest to spread the floor offensively with shooters and for versatility, this might be an answer.
When Reese was asked about it after practice Friday, she couldn’t wait to the end of the question before enthusiastically interjecting, ‘‘It’s fun,’’ and pointing out how it opens things up for her and the offense at large.
‘‘I have the clean [look] inside to go to work,’’ she said. ‘‘It’s super-versatile. I can come up and set a screen, and they have to guard all five positions. They can’t help anywhere, and that’s super-important.’’
The Sky still are likely to lean on their towering lineup with Reese and center Kamilla Cardoso in the post when they host the Fever on Saturday at the United Center, but the small-ball group gives Marsh another option when necessary. He can run it with Cardoso or Elizabeth Williams at center in place of Reese, too.
The Fever-Sky matchup has a chance to break the WNBA attendance record of 20,711, set last season when the Mystics hosted the Fever, and the Sky franchise record of 16,444 for a game in 2016 at Allstate Arena.
The United Center has the largest listed capacity in the NBA at 20,917, compared with around 10,000 at the Sky’s Wintrust Arena.
The game originally was pitched as another chapter in one of the WNBA’s most prominent matchups as the league tries to cash in on the rivalry between Reese and Fever star Caitlin Clark. It’s one of two home games the Sky are playing at the United Center — both against the Fever — and CBS is airing it, making it the first WNBA regular-season game on broadcast TV in prime time.
Clark, however, won’t be playing. She has been out since May 24 with a quad injury and confirmed Thursday she’ll miss the game. The Sky host the Fever again July 27.
Cardoso, by the way, has had injury trouble, as well, and missed significant practice time this week with shoulder soreness before being a full participant Friday. Marsh labeled her a game-time decision for the Fever but said she looked good and he anticipates she will play.
Marsh pivoted to his small-ball lineup against the Wings in part because Cardoso was in foul trouble. He liked it enough to run with it for the last six minutes of a 94-83 victory.
A quirk in the schedule gave the Sky nearly a week off between games. It also gave Marsh a chance to contemplate whether he can incorporate more of that into his game plan.
‘‘With the space it gives everybody, we really can dictate things,’’ point guard Courtney Vandersloot said. ‘‘It gives Angel or Kamilla a lot of space in the paint. It gives teams matchup hell when we can run Rebecca off screens, and it’s tough for a post player to do that. Just a different look for us.’’
Allen is a threat to drive and is one of the Sky’s best three-point shooters. If the Sky think they can manage defensively with a size disadvantage, she should be in line for more minutes. Allen played an average of 16.4 minutes in the first four games, then 23.7 in the last two.
Unlocking weapons like that is part of the process. It’s vital as Marsh tries to steer the Sky to the playoffs. And while Clark missing this game certainly takes some hype out of it, it’s no less important for a team looking to find its way.