Sky's DiJonai Carrington finding her form faster than expected in return from injury — Chicago Sun-Times

RESOLVING THE LEDGER

Sky's DiJonai Carrington finding her form faster than expected in return from injury — Chicago Sun-Times | AIPROPX

DiJonai Carrington didn't want to put too much pressure on herself to instantly return to her old form — after all, it had been nearly a year since she'd played in a game.

Maybe that's partly why her comeback has gone so smoothly.

In her first three games back, she's averaging 11.7 points off the bench while bringing her usual defensive intensity.

She’s been pleasantly surprised.

"I feel like each game I've felt myself getting a little more comfortable trying something new or just being able to take bumps and contact and stay on balance a little bit more," Carrington told the Sun-Times at shootaround Wednesday.

Carrington waded in with her 3-point shot and pull-up in the first two games, then burst into the paint in her third. She shot a game-high 12 free throws against the Mercury, though she wasn't pleased about missing five of them.

"Getting to the line don't matter if you don't make them," she said. "So focusing on that as well."

Carrington wants to be an efficient scorer and keep adding to her game the rest of the season. But overall, she defined success as being able to play without thinking about her injured foot. She said she's been able to do that "in waves," though occasionally she'll catch herself thinking about it on a closeout.

That particular challenge hasn't slowed her drive to lead, however. She already feels responsible for the team's defensive coverages down the stretch, an area she noted has hurt the Sky in clutch games. She thinks being more attentive to body language can help.

"When [other teams] do go on the runs, I think we show it," Carrington said. "I'm not saying that we don't keep fighting on the court. I think just how we come to the bench, we might overreact, as opposed to just — basketball is a game of runs. They're gonna go on runs. We're gonna go on runs. We have to stay even."

Overall, returning to the fold has validated for Carrington what her teammates and coaches have been saying all season: This team has fight.

"We never feel like we're out of the game," she said.

Dual minds

With the Sky and Sparks both entering Wednesday's game holding only an outside shot at the playoffs, each team is approaching the rest of the season with a mix of pragmatism and presence.

The Sky sat down together after the All-Star break to map out what making the playoffs would require — likely winning 12 or 13 of their final 17 games. But they also want to take it a day at a time, trying to view every matchup as a "one-game season."

Sparks coach Lynne Roberts is threading the same needle. She said she hasn't done the math on how many games the Sparks need to win — but her players are "not dumb" and know the kind of run they'd need to go on to make up ground.

Stevens returns

Forward Azura Stevens is back with the team after missing four games for personal reasons. Coach Tyler Marsh said she'll be ramping up in the coming days. She did not play against the Sparks.