In keeping with the most exhausting of Chicago sports traditions, the Sky are asking for patience. Among the Bears, White Sox and others, it’s hard to believe anyone has any left.
The Sky were at it again last week, with coach Tyler Marsh saying, ‘‘People don’t like to hear it, but it takes time to develop and time to jell.’’ Forward Angel Reese fell back on a line she used last month about the team not needing to be in September shape in May, just updating it now that it’s June.
‘‘I’m not really a patient person; I like to perfect things right away,’’ Reese said. ‘‘But we have great coaches and great players that have been on great teams and know that’s not going to happen right away.’’
Patience is a virtue in life and a necessity in any rebuild, but it has a limit. Those answers can be recycled for only so long. The Sky (2-5) are at risk of free-falling as they go into a road game Tuesday against the defending WNBA champion Liberty. And even in a league in which eight of 13 teams make the playoffs, their path could become steep in a hurry.
After an 0-4 start that included the Liberty and Fever completely dismantling them, the Sky made some headway with two victories. Both of those, however, were against the 1-9 Wings, and No. 1 overall draft pick Paige Bueckers didn’t play in the second one. The Sky have yet to produce proof they can take down a solid opponent.
As if that wasn’t a rough enough start for a first-time head coach, Marsh’s situation got even worse Saturday. Less than five minutes into the Sky’s game against the Fever, veteran point guard Courtney Vandersloot went down with a torn ACL in her right knee.
Marsh has spoken reverently about Vandersloot’s impact and has been grateful to have her helping him implement his system. The two are nearly the same age, and he valued her as an extension of his coaching staff.
Now she’s out for the season.
It would be unfair to gauge the Sky’s chances without Vandersloot solely off their nightmarish offensive performance in their 79-52 loss Saturday. The injury was completely unexpected, and it would be difficult for any team to adapt to losing such a key player. Nonetheless, it offered a snapshot about how hard it’s going to be to replace her.
Marsh noted Vandersloot’s absence as he looked at the Sky’s 52 points — matching the lowest-scoring game in the WNBA this season — on 32.1% shooting. It wasn’t a case of simply having a bad shooting night; it was reflective of the Sky missing a player he credited for ‘‘organizing’’ their offense.
‘‘It looked at times like we were unable to get into a consistent rhythm,’’ Marsh said. ‘‘We couldn’t get the looks that we wanted to generate.’’
So now what?
The Sky are about to find out how good rookie Hailey Van Lith is. They drafted her No. 11 overall less than two months ago and planned to take their time developing her to give her all the behind-the-scenes work she needed before putting pressure on her to contribute.
Forget that.
Van Lith already had progressed to running the second unit and was showing improvement, but Vandersloot still was playing 31 minutes a game. Van Lith had maxed out at 15 before getting 26 when Vandersloot got hurt.
‘‘She was solid,’’ Marsh said of Van Lith’s performance Saturday. ‘‘She was put in a tough position, [and] she handled it as well as she could.’’
Now Marsh must do the same. He knows that sympathy for the Vandersloot injury — ‘‘No one’s feeling sorry for us,’’ he said — and intangible growth don’t count in the standings. Coaches are paid to be problem solvers, and the one he’s facing is enormous.
