The Dallas Wings and Chicago Sky are set to face off, but the Sky will be without Rickea Jackson, who has suffered a torn ACL.
Wings Look to Capitalise
The Dallas Wings have had the past two WNBA Drafts. They were expected to be one of the most improved teams in the league coming into this year. The team added a defensive presence in Alanna Smith. This addressed one of their biggest issues from last year. The team also has a new coach.
The Wings’ record is 2-2. It takes time for things to click and adjustments to be made. Dallas still has Paige Bueckers and Arike Ogunbowale. Alanna Smith is only scoring 4.3 points per game. Azzi Fudd is shooting just 20% from three this season. Both numbers should improve as the year goes along.
Sky Adjust to Jackson’s Injury
The Chicago Sky have made some good offseason additions, and the team looks like they are clicking. Rickea Jackson tore her ACL and is done for the year. The team does have enough veterans to keep itself afloat. The question is mostly about who will take over the scoring load for the team. It seems it will be distributed to everyone on the roster. There does not seem to be one person that will make up the bulk of Jackson’s shots.
WNBA’s Broader Context
Barstool founder Dave Portnoy blasted the WNBA’s latest marketing move as the “most idiotic promo” in sports history. Dan Dakich is jumping into the fray. Dakich reacted to Portnoy’s viral rant before delivering his own unfiltered take on how the league is fumbling its biggest cash cow, Caitlin Clark. There is a question of whether the WNBA is actively sabotaging its own success, or if they are just clueless.
There are sporting events every night. Most countries have some sort of sport. America gets a ton of options almost every night. There are NHL and NBA Playoffs, baseball, soccer and the WNBA.
I’m man enough to admit when I’m wrong, and so far, I’ve been wrong about the Chicago Sky.
I wasn’t advocating that they keep Angel Reese, but they’ve traded away so many players from their team or released draft picks, so it made it hard to imagine that this team was going to have any success.
It takes time for things to click and adjustments to be made.