On the Beat With the Chicago Sky: 5/31/17

The Chicago Sky are 1-5 and in 6th (last) place in the Eastern Conference of the WNBA. They are 11th overall, ahead of only the San Antonio Stars, who are 0-5 in the young season. As I wrote last week in “Getting 'On the Beat' With the Chicago Sky” here on the Patch, the Sky are in a transition and a rough ride might be in the near future.

The Sky are in 2nd place in field goal attempted, but unfortunately, they are in last place in field goal percentage. Stats like these paint the picture for why the Sky are struggling right now. There is some good news though. They do lead the league in defensive rebounds, total rebounds per game and blocks.

It is still early in the season. While contention for the WNBA title might be a bit of a stretch this season, there is still plenty of time to turn it around and be a playoff contender.

New General Manager and Head Coach Amber Stocks is confident the Sky will improve on their disappointing start. Even at 1-5, the Sky aren’t woefully behind most of the teams. The Minnesota Lynx are 6-0, the Seattle Storm are 4-1 and the Atlanta Dream are 3-1. Nobody else is better than 3-2.

A dismal start can be turned around, but it can also crush a season. I think the Sky have the talent to turn in the positive direction going forward. That change of direction could start tomorrow night, as the Sky host the Phoenix Mercury, who at 3-2 are right in the middle of the pack in the WNBA. A win over the Sun would be a great sign.

In other WNBA news, it was announced that for the first time ever, WNBA players and media will join fans in selecting the starters for Verizon 2017 WNBA All-Star game in Seattle, WA. Starting at 2 p.m. on June 13, WNBA fans may submit one full ballot each day through WNBA.com and may also vote for up to 10 players per day on Twitter and Facebook. Individual players and media members will be able to vote for one full ballot.