If the quality of a true leader is to distribute the credit and take the blame, then call Angel Reese the North Star of the Chicago Sky. We know that the Sky’s six-point win over the league-leading Lynx in front of a roaring home crowd is still fresh in your minds. No thirteen-point loss can erase that. But just to remind you what Angel Reese said after that win: “Everybody came alive, from top to bottom,” she said. “Everybody fought. Everybody came in and did their job, came in off the bench with a lot of energy.”
She made that humble statement after dropping 19 points and 11 rebounds. That marked her eighth straight double-double, and 14th of the season. But she did not lead the team alone. That night, even Rachel Banham hit three 3-pointers and finished with 12 points for the Sky while Ariel Atkins led the charge with 27. It was a full-team effort, led by stars who don’t need to shout to be seen. In fact, after tonight’s 91-78 loss, both the stars took great responsibility in the absence of Atkins, who faced a leg injury in the first half of the game.
When an interviewer asked Angel Reese post-game, “Do you feel like that (the loss) had anything to do with the loss of Ariel Atkins and her playmaking? And just how did you guys manage without her after she went out?” Reese did not shy away for even a moment as he said, “I think we just needed to defensively step up. They’re going to maximize our turnovers. For me, five turnovers, got to get that down, got to get that together. It’s unacceptable. And I just really have to be better because they maximize off everything.”
If that’s not an MVP dialect, what is? Especially after she scored her ninth straight double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Well, turns out, accountability is contagious on this squad. Even Rachel Banham, who dropped 15 points (the second-highest after Reese), was quick to own her part. When the interviewer asked her how the offense stagnated against Minnesota’s increased switching? “Coming from the helm, what does it look like when the offense flattens out. Like the ball isn’t moving as much?”
Rachel Banham quickly admitted: “I got to do a better job of just getting us into better offense and getting the ball moving side to side. It got stuck a lot. And they did a good job. They pressured and, like you said, they switched up. But we got to be able to expose those switches as well. So, it’ll be a good lesson for us when we play them next. And when we play other teams that do that.” It wasn’t empty acceptance, though. Her words rang especially true in the fourth quarter.
After Chicago had managed to bring the gap to 76–69, their wheels came off. Banham’s bad pass with 5:36 left led to a Kayla McBride jumper on the other end. Just a minute later, another rushed pass from Banham became a Bridget Carleton steal and bucket, plus a foul. Suddenly, it was 85–74, and the door slammed shut on Sky. Even Angel Reese accepted something true. The Lynx punished every opportunity.
Just look at the final stretch of the third quarter, when Chicago was clawing back into it. Angel Reese got blocked at the rim by Napheesa Collier, then picked up an offensive foul. Less than a minute later, she lost the ball again, this time, Collier flat-out ripped it from her. That’s three empty possessions right there. However, the better news is that they are a self-aware squad, and it shouldn’t be difficult for them to reflect upon these mistakes and bounce back stronger vs. the Dream tomorrow, because they have the potential…
Angel Reese shows unmatched FG potential
Going up against the league’s best defensively ranked team is no walk in the park. But Angel Reese didn’t back down. She put up 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting and pulled down 10 rebounds, all on the defensive end, no “mebounds” here. At this point, though, it’s just another day for Reese. She has turned double-doubles into a regular thing.
Injuries to Ariel Atkins and Michaela Onyenwere were the only thing that kept the Sky from pulling off another upset. And journalist Karli Bell quickly highlighted Angel Reese’s huge improvement. Earlier this season, she was shooting just 37.5% in the restricted area, but now she’s up to 56.5%. That’s not luck, it’s the sign of a real star putting in the work.
Need more proof? Look at her first six games this year. She took 44 of her 61 shots in the restricted area but made only 31.8% of them. That is the worst efficiency among the top 10 players averaging five or more attempts per game in that zone, according to CBS Sports. People mocked her for it. But Reese didn’t crumble; instead, she fixed it. That’s the potential to lead right there.
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