The 2008 Chicago Sky: Analysis At The Olympic Break

By Jim Niendorff: SPM IL Writer
Posted Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Grand Designs

For the Chicago Sky, the 2007 WNBA season went from bust to near-boom in a matter of weeks. After being out of the playoff hunt for much of the season, the Sky went out with a flurry, finishing two games behind the final Eastern Conference playoff team, the New York Liberty, and posting a 14-20 record.

And despite not making the playoffs, the Sky had plenty to be positive about in terms of individual performances in the 2007 season.

Sky forward Candice Dupree finished 12th in the league in scoring at 16.5 point per game, fifth in the league in rebounding at 7.7 rebounds per game, and sixth in the league in steals with 1.3 swipes per game.

Guard Jia Perkins shot 43 percent from behind the line, good for ninth in the league, and averaged 11.7 points per game.

Guard Armintie Price finished 18th in the league in rebounding with six per game and 27th in the league in assists with 2.8 assists per game. It was these numbers that would help propel the rookie from the University of Mississippi to 2007 WNBA Rookie of the Year.

But a shadow was cast over the team after the 2007 season with the resignation of Sky Coach Bo Overton. The second-year franchise turned in-house for Overton’s replacement, naming Assistant Coach Steve Key both Coach and General Manager of the team.

Fortune then turned for the better as the team learned it would have the second pick in the 2008 WNBA draft. With Chicago needing help in the middle, the draft pick was an obvious one, and the team selected LSU center Sylvia Fowles.

With the individual performances in 2007 of Dupree, Perkins, and Price, along with the addition of Fowles, Sky fans had high hopes for the team as it entered its third season in the league.

Standing the Strain

Those hopes were seemingly dashed at the 7:13 mark of the third quarter of the fifth game of the season against the L.A. Sparks when Fowles, in blocking a lay-up, injured her left knee. She was diagnosed with a left knee strain and missed the next six weeks.

Fowles’ play up until her injury had been impressive both statistically and emotionally. In her first WNBA regular season game she scored six points, grabbed six rebounds and had four blocked shots in a loss against the Seattle Storm. Her numbers gradually increased, culminating in a 17-point, 12-rebound effort against the Connecticut Sun in the game before she was injured.

Emotionally, too, it seemed that the Sky had found a leader on the court.

Duality

Since the Fowles’ injury, the Sky has become essentially a two-person team: Candice Dupree and Jia Perkins.

Dupree and Perkins have together scored 842 points this year to date. The next six highest-scoring Sky players have scored a combined total of 796 points.

Dupree has continued her strong play from her rookie year in 2006. She was named to the WNBA All-Star team in both 2006 and 2007. She has continued her All-Star performance this year by averaging 17.7 ppg and 8.4 rpg. The third-year player from Temple has averaged 15.7 ppg in her WNBA career.

The loss of Fowles has hurt the Sky not only defensively, but offensively as opponents have been able to double-team Dupree inside. Dupree has nonetheless continued to put up quality numbers.

Perkins, after coming to the Sky from Charlotte in 2006, has averaged 13.0 ppg during her time with the Sky. She is averaging 16.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg, and 3.0 apg this year and has shown to be a fearless and aggressive basketball player. .

Missing Persons

The retirement of Sky forward Stacey Dales at the end of the 2007 season has hurt the team. Dales averaged 10.3 ppg and 2.7 apg during the 2007 campaign. She also shot 84% from the free throw line. Dales’ numbers and her leadership have been missed.

The play of Armintie Price has slowly morphed into what could be considered the dreaded “sophomore slump.” Price is averaging 7.2 ppg, but her assists from 2007 have been cut in half to 1.4 apg. Since starting to come off the bench midway through 2008, she has shown glimpses of her 2007 brilliance. Price was an integral part of the success the team had last year, and the Sky needs her to continue to improve.

In The Mix

Over the past several games Key has experimented with different starting lineups. The most recent starting lineup of Dupree, Perkins, Chasity Melvin, Brooke Wyckoff, and K.B. Sharp has proven an effective one. Fowles and guard Dominque Canty, the latter currently out while recovering from minor knee surgery, are expected to return after the break, and Key will have to reintegrate these two critical players back into his lineup.

The emergence of rookie guard Quianna Chaney over the past few games has also been a major positive for the team. With Canty out, Chaney has stepped up with her scoring to help alleviate the inside pressure on Dupree.

By The Numbers

The Sky is scoring an average of 73.1 ppg and is giving up an average of 74.7 ppg, a differential of less than one field goal per game. The team is shooting 42% per game compared to 41% for its opponents. Chicago is also shooting 34% from behind the arc, opponents 33%.

Given these statistics, it is somewhat puzzling why the Sky has a record of 8-17 so far this season. A look at one more statistic may help solve this puzzle: free throw shooting.

So far in 2008, the Sky has shot just 70% from the stripe. And while Perkins’ average of 91% and Dupree’s average of 80% are solid, the numbers tail off dramatically from there.

The other three starters, Melvin, Wyckoff, and Sharp, are averaging 60% from the line. Price is shooting 50% from the line.

It is the Sky’s reserves who, ironically, have some of the best free throw shooting percentages on the team. Guard Cathy Joens shoots 83% from the line and Chaney is shooting 90% from the line.

The team was even worse at the line last year, shooting 67%, including a WNBA season-low 45% against Sacramento on June 29, 2007.

Beijing And Beyond

With Sylvia Fowles now back from her knee injury and having been named to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Women’s basketball team, her game should continue to improve as the Sky looks forward to the final nine games of the WNBA season. The depth that the U.S. women’s team has should allow Fowles to ease back into full strength and the quality of both her teammates and the competition should assist in getting her game up to speed.

The return of Canty from her surgery should also help the team.

The Sky, currently four games behind the Indiana Fever in the chase for the last Eastern Conference playoff spot, has a tough road in the remaining nine games of the regular season. Of those nine games, Chicago plays the second-place New York Liberty three times, the second-place Seattle Storm once, and the first-place Connecticut Sun once.

Chicago plays four of its final nine games on the road. The Sky is 2-11 on the road this year.

But with Fowles most likely back at full strength, the continued great play of Dupree and Perkins, continued contributions from the bench and some improved free throw shooting, boom times may very well return for the Chicago Sky in 2008.