The Sky’s guards aren’t scoring much.
Entering Tuesday night’s game against the Sparks, the starting group was averaging a WNBA-worst 26.3 points per game — well below the league average of 39.0 and far from the high mark of 46.8.
Part of it is shooting slumps. Kia Nurse and Rebecca Allen haven’t been hitting from deep.
And, as is the case with many of the Sky’s issues, it also traces back to losing Courtney Vandersloot to a season-ending knee injury earlier this month. She was the one who found the “floor spacers,” as head coach Tyler Marsh put it, feeding guards off cuts and pick-and-rolls. Those looks have gotten a lot harder without her.
“When you’re Sloot-dependent as a team, you’ve got to find different ways to generate those types of shots,” Marsh said. “That’s the transition we’re going through.”
Marsh offered a few solutions, including forward Angel Reese attacking the paint more aggressively and kicking out, or scoring in transition.
But even with Vandersloot and the right schemes, it was always going to be tough to get major production from this group of guards. Nurse, Allen and Rachel Banham have career scoring averages in the single digits. With so little perimeter threat, defenses can focus on the Sky’s biggest strength — their frontcourt— which puts them in the same bind as last season.
Cardoso says goodbye for now
Center Kamilla Cardoso is heading abroad to represent Brazil in the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup in Chile. The tournament, held every two years, runs from June 28 to July 6 and features 10 teams from across the Americas. Brazil won the title in 2023, with Cardoso earning MVP honors.
She’ll miss the Sky’s next two games, but if Brazil doesn’t reach the finals or the third-place game, she could return in time for a game against the Lynx on July 6.
The Brazil national team is coached by former Sky coach Pokey Chatman, now an assistant with the Storm.
Asked which teammate she’ll miss the most while she’s gone, Cardoso smiled and said, “All of them.”
Response to Marsh’s pep talk
Usually calm and soft-spoken, Marsh gave the Sky a talking-to after last week’s blowout loss to the Mercury. The message? Playing in the WNBA is a privilege, and that privilege demands consistent effort.
“The coaches really held a mirror to our faces,” Allen said. “I feel like we needed to step up as a group.”
Surgery for Sloot
Vandersloot underwent surgery for her torn anterior cruciate ligament Tuesday at Rush University Medical Center. She was hurt June 7 at the United Center, and the Sky haven’t been the same since. Marsh said that he has been in touch with Vandersloot and that she’s doing well.