Now holding a 4-8 record, the Chicago Sky have suffered a string of disappointments that have fueled frustration throughout the organization—but they might have what it takes to turn things around.
Let’s rewind a bit.
Rickea Jackson, being sidelined for the remainder of the season due to an ACL tear right as the team was 2-1, created a void in the chemistry she had begun developing with Kamilla Cardoso and Skylar Diggins. With DiJonai Carrington and Azurá Stevens starting the season out with injuries,
Chicago’s depth, or lack thereof, didn’t leave any room for error.
After losing Jackson, the Sky went on a five-game losing streak beginning May 20 against the Dallas Wings. Their first home victory against the Connecticut Sun finally snapped it, before they then fell to the Toronto Tempo, 85-68, marking their seventh loss in 11 games.
This was when Diggins’ postgame comments drew widespread attention as she expressed her frustrations and deferred to her head coach, Tyler Marsh, when asked about the team’s half-court offensive execution. Under her hood, she shook her head before the question could be finished and interrupted.
“That’s a Tyler question,” she said. “Ask, Tyler.”
Prior to the exchange, Diggins expressed the importance of maturity and leadership on and off the floor from both the players and staff. Following the Sky’s loss to the Atlanta Dream, both Marsh and Diggins separately clarified that they were on the same page and working toward a solution.
That solution was nearly visible against Atlanta. Leading for much of the game with a strong offensive performance, the Sky put pieces together that caused problems for the Dream’s defense early. They used that momentum to carry them deep into the fourth quarter.
It was then, however, when Atlanta woke up to get the stops they needed, using a 9-0 run to shift the momentum and secure an 82-75 victory.
Diggins finished with 17 points and three assists, while Natasha Cloud added 18 points off the bench with six rebounds and four assists of her own. Cardoso followed with 13 points and five assists.
Cloud expressed her outlook on the team’s performance against Atlanta, saying afterwards:
We’re not happy with the loss. I’ll never be happy with a loss… But what we all said in that locker room is, if we play this hard, this consistently, we can fix those seven minutes, those controllable factors for us.
She added that the Sky will need to bring the same fight and effort every night if they want to finish games the way they start them.
That performance against Atlanta may have offered the clearest glimpse yet of what a turnaround could look like.
The Sky’s problem isn’t a lack of talent. Rather, despite injuries to key players, their inability to consistently combine their strengths and execute late in games has become a recurring issue. They’ve shown flashes of improvement throughout the season and have posted strong offensive performances even in several significant losses.
If the Sky can go toe-to-toe with a defensive-heavy Dream team and sustain that level of intensity for most of the game, they’ve now seen what it looks like to play up to their potential and challenge quality opponents.
Diggins’s comments served as a wake-up call. The next step is pairing that sense of urgency with a consistent plan to finish the way they started, with a chip on their shoulder.
The pressure is on to turn things around, beginning with Thursday night’s road game against the Indiana Fever. After that, the Sky get a needed schedule reprieve before hosting (another) challenging opponent, the New York Liberty, on Wednesday, June 17.
