Chicago Sky’s head coach Tyler Marsh is very disappointed with the team’s recent performances, and he has strong reasons to feel that way. They are going through major struggles in the WNBA, and it does not look like that will change anytime soon.
After their massive loss against the Indiana Fever (52-79) on June 8th, the Chicago girls need to change their mindset and style of play if they want to remain top-tier in the league. That loss to the Fever marked their worst scoring performance since 2011.
Head coach advise for Reese and company
Tyler Marsh showed his unhappiness by openly criticizing the way the team has been playing, especially pointing out that they are “beating themselves” with careless mistakes like turnovers. His frustration lies in the fact that it looks like the team is not giving itself a real chance to compete because of poor execution, not just because opponents are better.
The fact that they also lost their veteran leader Courtney Vandersloot to a season-ending ACL injury deeply affected both the roster and the mood of the team. We could say they are nearly broken, as they also failed to win the next game against the New York Liberty, where Sky was defeated again, this time 85-66.
Angel Reese, the X factor
Despite these unfortunate performances, they still have a key factor on their side, and it is no other than the magnificent Angel Reese. She had a really good game, where she scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. The bad part starts when we focus on the turnovers. As highlighted by Tyler Marsh, they are the main issue for Sky, who average 17.1 per game, giving their opponents easy scoring chances.
He declared that the problem remains the beating they give themselves after mistakes, and they should give themselves a fair chance to compete.
In elite sports, the mental factor can determine whether a player will perform well or the complete opposite, letting their intrusive thoughts win the battle.
Unwanted fights outside the court
Angel Reese is continuously facing a lot of pressure and criticism, not just for her performance, but in general terms. Some people do not like when players have another life outside the court.
One of her teammates, Ariel Atkins, publicly defended her by saying that Angel is dealing with more than most players her age and yet she keeps on showing up and playing great.
And she is 100% right. Angel keeps performing, she keeps putting the team on her back… it’s just the results that are not going her way. In an emerging sport and competition like the WNBA, we have never seen players dealing with this kind of thing until now, with Angel Reese and Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark being pioneers of this unwanted pressure.
Like the Indiana Fever, the Chicago Sky are going through a very tough season. They have had to deal with severe injuries, on-court issues, and last but not least, outside criticism. Players must remain united and ready to fight through the upcoming challenges and travel through adversity.
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