Sun @ Sky preview: Not the battle of who could care less to us

The race to stay out of the basement continues in the 2025 season’s final week, and for the Sun, this might be their last shot at victory with Atlanta twice and Phoenix remaining on the schedule.

We hope not, but Connecticut looks like it might be running out of gas with the games coming fast and furious at the end. But we should remember that the first three quarters Monday were not bad, and they in fact led the Dream at the start of the fourth quarter before things fell apart in a hurry.

But it’s been a brutal season in Chicago, who are 2-17 in their last 19 games and will probably be happy to call it a year and go home next week. Their remaining schedule is a little more palatable, but Las Vegas twice, Indiana, and New York is no cakewalk and they’ll be big underdogs in all of them.

Kamilla Cardoso has put up big numbers against
the Sun this season. (AP)

The odds of Tyler Marsh being back on the sidelines for Chicago are probably not great at the moment, and I’m not really sure a win over the Sun (who Marsh was one step away from calling dirty after the last Sun victory) is going to move the needle very far, but it couldn’t hurt. The Sky have been a little more feisty of late, their last five losses have come by 10 or less, which coincided with the return of Angel Reese, who did play in the second of the Sun’s victories over Chicago, but had a triple-double at Mohegan Sun Arena earlier in the season in the Sky's win.

All of that adds up to a meaningless game in front of a sparse crowd in Chicago for most, but no one wants to finish in last place, so you’d expect a competitive game. And these are the types of contests that we hope to see the young Sun grow and make some decisions about their future.

And I think the Sun deserve to be rewarded with one more win before this season finishes up, but Reese will obviously have other ideas and she looks to continue her daily double-double run.  

What else do we have to look for in a game that we hope won’t have any more shenanigans Wednesday night?:

 

SUN @ CHICAGO SKY

Time: Wednesday, 8 p.m. EDT

Place: Wintrust Arena; Chicago, Ill.

Records: Connecticut 10-30; Chicago 9-30

TV: NBC Sports Boston, WNBA League Pass

Line: Chicago -1.5

Absences: Connecticut- Bria Hartley (out, season ending knee), Olivia Nelson-Ododa (questionable, back).

Chicago - Hailey Van Lith (out, ankle); Courtney Vandersloot (out, season ending knee).

 

History between them: It’s the fourth meeting between the two teams this season, and the first time the Sun have a chance to win a season series. The Sun won the last two meetings, but Chicago won the first with Angel Reese getting a triple-double in Chicago’s 78-66 win on June 15. The Sun outlasted the Sky in a thrilling five-game series in the 2022 WNBA semifinals, winning Game 5 on the road with a defensive masterpiece. We talk a lot about the Sun’s complete rebuild, but amazingly not a single player that appeared for either team will be on the floor Sunday (Vandersloot would have been the only one on the roster). The Sky’s starting five? Vandersloot, Candace Parker, Allie Quigley, Kahleah Copper, and Emma Meesseman. The Sun swept the Sky in four games last season, with Marina Mabrey seeing both sides of the rivalry.

What to look for: It’s been a pretty simple gameplan for the Sun against the Sky since Courtney Vandersloot was lost for the season and that’s to pressure their guards into submission. They “only” forced 17 turnovers in the last meeting, but Chicago eventually put up 84 points thanks in part to 9-for-19 shooting from behind the arc. Unfortunately, the Sun’s pressure has been lacking in the last couple of games, but it’s going to be a lot of Rachel Banham and Sevgi Uzun playing point, so you’d like to think they can have some success.

At the other end, the Sun have passed the Sky in offensive efficiency, which isn’t much, but better than it looked for most of the season. They haven’t done it by shooting well (still dead last), but have rebounded better offensively (Aneesah Morrow has a lot to do with that) and gotten to the free throw line more often. I’m not sure who Chicago has to stay in front of Leila Lacan or run with her in the open court, so hopefully she can have a big game.

Key players:  Chicago: Kamilla Cardoso - The Sun didn’t match up with Cardoso when they had Olivia Nelson-Ododa, and without her, the best idea may be to keep the ball out of her hands. Connecticut did force six turnovers from her in the last meeting, so hopefully they can keep her in check that way.

Connecticut: Lindsay Allen - Allen didn’t even see the court in the last meeting with her former team, but without Bria Hartley, she has a bigger role now. Can she put the pressure on people like Banham and Uzun that the Sun are going to need to limit the Skyscrapers inside? We shall see.

Advanced stat:  54.7% - Combined usage rate for Tina Charles and Marina Mabrey. It will be interesting who takes those chances next season (it might be Charles and Mabrey again, who knows?), but we hope we’ll see the likes of Lacan, Morrow, and Saniya Rivers higher up on the list.

Tactical spotlight: The Sun had the last meeting in Chicago well in hand until Kia Nurse went on a heater to get the Sky back in it, largely because Bria Hartley couldn’t miss from anywhere. Repeating that seems difficult, although the Sky just don’t get out on shooters, like, ever. But that could play in Chicago’s hands if the Sun go cold, and as I said before, they’re the worst shooting team in the league, so that’s certainly possible.

Reese and Cardoso are obviously very physical and the Sun just can’t guard Cardoso in the pick-and-roll because of her size. Hopefully they worked on fixing those rotations, but without Nelson-Ododa, it’s going to be tough for Charles or Alliyah Edwards to get up high enough to grab those lobs, making it imperative to pressure the point guards.

Inside the numbers: 6 - Offensive rebounds for Angel Reese in her last meeting with the Sun. Reese leads the WNBA at 4.0 offensive rebounds per game, while Cardoso is third (Brionna Jones is second).

Prediction: 82-76 Connecticut