RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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The Sky still want to make a playoff push, even as the odds approach impossible. The commitment is admirable. For coach Tyler Marsh, it might even feel personal. Coaches operate on short leashes in the WNBA, and he's nearing the end of his second losing season.
But the better move is to play the odds. The playoffs aren’t happening. That doesn’t mean there’s nothing left to accomplish.
The Sky have promising young talent beyond marquee names such as Rickea Jackson and Kamilla Cardoso and nine games to start figuring out how the pieces fit.
In that spirit, here are three things I’d like to see from Marsh and Co.
1. a Defined role for Jacy Sheldon
Why did the Sky trade a 2028 first-round pick for Sheldon?
It’s still not entirely clear. Sheldon is unselfish, has a high motor and is willing to do whatever coaches ask. But when you ask a player to do everything, sometimes you get nothing in particular.
The simplest way to start defining her role is as three-and-‘‘D’’ guard. In 18 games as a starter, Sheldon is shooting 40% from three-point range and is averaging 1.2 steals. And yet she has hesitated all season, taking two or fewer three-pointers in 14 games.
Marsh should make it a rule: Her minutes depend on taking at least three a game.
Then she can build from there. Sheldon has scorer’s tools — speed in transition, a nice finishing package and a pull-up jumper. She just needs the mindset to match.
She told the Sun-Times last week that she grew up idolizing Kelsey Mitchell, and counts Devin Booker and Tyrese Maxey among her favorites in the men’s game. Marsh needs to get her hunting shots the way they do.
2. More minutes for Gabriela Jaquez
Rookie Jaquez has had two different seasons.
She introduced herself with a bang, averaging 9.2 points and 4.3 rebounds while shooting 35% from three-point range in her first 15 games. Since then, she has faded from view.
In August, Jaquez is averaging about two points in 11 minutes per game.
So which came first: Did her confidence drop because her minutes waned, or did the minutes disappear because the confidence dropped?
The Sky might as well find out by giving her more minutes. There was a perfect opening with starting shooting guard Sydney Taylor sidelined by a groin injury, but most of the extra guard minutes have gone to veteran Rachel Banham.
To Banham’s credit, she has made the most of them, hitting 11 of 28 three-pointers in the last five games. But the Sky used the No. 5 pick on Jaquez because they think she can be part of their future. Banham’s contract expires after this season.
The long view should take precedence.
3. More outside shooting for Aicha Coulibaly
Marsh was asked recently for a player comparison for Coulibaly and pointed to former Sky forward Michaela Onyenwere. Both are athletic, high-motor wings with the strength and versatility to play small forward or power forward.
There is one big difference: Onyenwere has developed into a nearly 40% three-point shooter. Coulibaly has made one three-pointer all season.
So that’s the next step. Coulibaly is already one of the better development stories in the league, hustling her way to a standard contract and making her living with her strength and physicality on defense.
That same force translates offensively. She gets downhill, draws contact and attacks the glass. But teams leave her wide-open on the perimeter, so she should start letting it fly. She knows it, too, and regularly stays after practice to work on her shot.
‘‘My shot, I just gotta take it,’’ Coulibaly told the Sun-Times last week. ‘‘I don’t take enough to show that I can shoot it.’’
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