Programming Note: The Sky Townies will be publishing every other week from now until things calm down in our lives. Our Lead Basketball Analyst is visiting old teammates in Ireland, the Voice of Gen Z just adopted two kittens, and I’m in the throes of trying to finish another writing project. Wish us luck.
Watch Party Update: Come through come through!!! Sunday August 6th @ 3pm @ Whiskey Girl Tavern in Edgewater, bring your friends! We created a Bingo game for fans to play while watching the game and we’ll have prizes for the winners, it’s going to be a blast.
This is going to be a mostly positive post so I’ll start by letting out some frustration about last week’s loss to the Phoenix Mercury, a 6-17 team at the bottom of the standings.
In the first game back from the All-Star break, Phoenix looked rejuvenated and we looked...not rejuvenated. The Sky attempted 21 three-pointers and made only two of them—a sad reminder of how we have decided to live and die by the three.
Here’s a provocative stat for you: the Sky are actually 8-5 when we shoot 33% or better from three, but we’re terrible when we don’t (1-9). We’ll dig into that more in a later post. Today, it’s all about the Aces game.
The Aces Only Beat us By Twelve
Many of us entered the sold-out Wintrust arena Tuesday night afraid of being wiped off the floor by the Aces (22-2). As an associate put it, the Las Vegas Aces are not just a basketball team, they’re an organism, while Sky (9-14) are still many different pieces being stitched together.
But the in-progress Sky actually played quite well. We only trailed by six after the first quarter, seven at the half, and ended up losing 107-95. If you’re still not impressed, keep in mind that more than 70% of the Aces’ wins this season have been by 13 points or more. Very few teams are able to challenge them, but we did!
For the first time all season, I got sense for what this Sky team is capable of, and what they should be aiming for. I think we’ve all had that nagging feeling this season that the Sky could be playing better than they are, without really knowing what “clicking” would even look like. Against the mighty mighty Aces, we finally found out.
What Sky Greatness Looks Like
We wrote in our KFC Buckets Analysis that even though Kahleah Copper’s offensive production is up from last year, she’s probably still not satisfied with her play. Tuesday night showed us what she’s capable of. She finished with a career-high 37 points (12-18 FG), while being guarded by some of the best players in the world.
Rather than sucking all the air out of our offense, I got the sense that Copper’s performance made her teammates more comfortable. Copper dropped 15 in the first quarter, but that quarter also featured a nice low-post finish from Elizabeth Williams, a second-chance three-pointer from Dana Evans, and a drive-and-kick three from Mabrey to Courtney Williams. All things that need to be staples of our offense.
So greatness for the Sky begins with Copper playing like a superstar (not just an All-Star!), but it doesn’t end there.
In the second quarter, the Sky cut an 11-point Aces lead to three with Copper on the bench. Courtney Williams looked commanding at the point, pushing the pace. Elizabeth Williams had one of her classic deflections that led to a fast break, Robyn Parks cashed one from downtown, and Alanna Smith hit one of her classic slightly chaotic transition threes.
In other words, the run was led by players who were either 1) cut from their team last year (Alanna), 2) didn’t make the WNBA until the age of 30 (Robyn), or have spent the last few years coming off the bench (Elizabeth).
Pretty remarkable when you’re up against a Vegas squad where four of their five starters made the All-Star team (lol sorry u got left Candace).
Some Aces Envy
Must be nice, Aces! To have had the same core group playing together for years now, to have every member of that group able to take over the game at any time.
The word that comes to mind for the Aces is rhythm. You see it in their individual movements—in Kelsey Plum’s step-through, in Chelsea Gray rocking back and forth with the dribble as she decides what to do, in A’Ja Wilson’s timing of her blocks. You also see it in the way they play together, feeding each other at the right times, positioning themselves exactly where their teammates expect them.
So I will now pose some questions to the Aces that are almost as annoying as their success. Chelsea Gray: were all three of your behind the back passes on Tuesday night completely necessary, or would a simple two-handed bounce pass for two of them actually have sufficed? And Becky Hammond: did you have to challenge the foul-call on Copper’s and-one, up 14 with a minute left in the game, or was that just pure, unforgivable pettiness?
Back to Glimpses of Sky Greatness
Now that we’ve seen what greatness looks like for the Sky, the question is: can we sustain it?
Is it realistic to expect Copper to drop 30+ on a regular basis, when that was the first time she’s done it in her eight-year career?
When it comes to the path forward for Copper, the Townies have wondered whether she’d prefer to focus on becoming more efficient rather than scoring more. (Think Chelsea Gray’s evolution rather than Jewell Loyd’s). If that was the case, the Sky would need another prolific scorer around Copper to be competitive with the league’s top teams. But the Vegas game made us wonder if Copper actually does want to put the team on her back.
Our next game is TODAY July 28th @ 7 p.m. against the Seattle Storm at Wintrust Arena.
Also! Come to Whiskey Girl Tavern in Edgewater to watch the Sky take on the Dallas Wings on Sunday August 6th @ 3pm!!! We’d love to see you there.