August is statistically the worst month for the stock market. However, someone might be giving Wall Street a tough competition when it comes to chaos: the Chicago Sky. Over there, it’s not stocks crashing – it’s ankles, rotations, and carefully laid playoff plans, one injury report at a time. After just seven games into the season, the Sky were already without Courtney Vandersloot. Their veteran guard, their floor general, had a torn ACL in her right knee. “She’s our engine,” Coach Tyler Marsh said. “She’s our captain and our leader out there, so obviously, it’s a huge blow.” It all began there, and just hasn’t stopped.
To their credit, the Sky didn’t collapse. Second-year forward from LSU, Angel Reese, stepped up, and fast. She was leading the squad with 14.2 PPG, 12.6 RPG, and 3.7 APG. Stability finally seemed within reach, but somehow, it wasn’t in the Sky’s stars. Just as Angel Reese was holding down the fort, she was ruled out of two key games (vs the Fever and Storm) with a back injury. Both went down as losses, and with that, the Sky’s losing streak extended to five. However, even when she returned against the Mystics, nothing really changed (103-86 loss). Still, there is something else that matters more when you look at things in the long term.
Coach Marsh had said pregame: “Chicago will be smart with Angel Reese and her minutes tonight.” But the minute tracker said otherwise. Angel Reese played full 32 minutes. To put that into perspective, her season average is 31.7 minutes. Load management? Not really. And what came next was an expected, disappointing outcome. Yes, Angel Reese has been officially ruled out for Friday’s matchup vs the Valkyries, according to Karli Bell’s update on her X account. That brings us to the bigger issue that people in the comments raised. “Why did they bring Reese back so early if she wasn’t ready?” Was Chicago being selfish and careless with its franchise cornerstone? So, unlike Indiana or Liberty, who have been unbothered about resting Caitlin Clark and Breanna Stewart with no timeline, did the Sky gamble too soon? But Karli Bell stepped in there and cleared the air.
She used her own example and explained, “As someone who suffers from chronic back pain because of a basketball injury 10+ years ago, this is something that just has flare ups. You could sleep wrong, turn a weird way, overstretch, etc. All you can do is rest, stretch, attack with heat & test how you feel each day.” Bell even pointed out that this is common in tall women, especially those who experienced sudden growth spurts during youth. And that tracks.
As someone who suffers from chronic back pain because of a basketball injury 10+ years ago, this is something that just has flare ups. You could sleep wrong, turn a weird way, overstretch, etc.
All you can do is rest, stretch, attack with heat & test how you feel each day https://t.co/iLym15TmDS
— Karli Bell (@KarliBell33) July 31, 2025
Angel Reese began her basketball journey as a point guard, but a growth spurt during high school shifted her to the frontcourt. And it didn’t stop there; she experienced a second spurt in her freshman year, which further reshaped her game and position. But Bell also made it clear that “Back injuries are no joke.” They can swing from manageable to miserable in 24 hours. So, maybe, the Sky should have been more careful. After all, there are pages and pages of studies on that. According to research, women’s hormonal changes, poor posture, osteoporosis, pregnancy, high heels, or just daily lifestyle, any of them can trigger and worsen back injuries.
One thing’s clear, hence: Chicago needs to protect its most reliable two-way force, who has recorded 11 straight double-doubles, scoring 15+ in nine of them. Meanwhile, here’s the Sky’s injury report to point out the urgency:
Hailey Van Lith (ankle) – Day-to-Day
Michaela Onyenwere (knee) – Day-to-Day
Ariel Atkins (leg) – Out
Angel Reese (back) – Out
Sevgi Uzun (undisclosed) – Day-to-Day
Courtney Vandersloot (knee) – Out
Angel Reese, the Reason Behind Sky’s Fall?
It’s true that not even Angel Reese’s return to the lineup could save the Chicago Sky from embarrassment on Tuesday night. Eventually, Chicago suffered its sixth straight loss. This time, they got blown out 103–86 by the Washington Mystics. This marked their 19th defeat in 26 games. Naturally, the head coach, Tyler Marsh, could not hold back in his postgame assessment. “I wasn’t too upset at our offense tonight,” he said, via Karli Bell. “It was our defense that told the story of the game.”
The whole story: “We didn’t do a great job at protecting the paint today, and that was the difference.” Now, after reading these statements, you might probably think he was pointing fingers at Angel Reese. Because this isn’t the first time he has criticized the paint protection. Now, Reese has been the WNBA’s defensive leader this season. She is pulling down 12.6 boards per game, tops in the league. For context, even A’ja Wilson trails long behind her. Angel Reese is also averaging 1.5 steals and 0.7 blocks per game. Those are strong numbers for a sophomore anchoring the paint. But let’s break down her performance in this game:
13 rebounds (above her average)
3 steals (double her 1.5 season avg)
2 blocks (way above her 0.7 season mark)
Statistically speaking, Angel Reese did her job. In fact, she exceeded both her regular-season (22 points) and career averages in almost every defensive category. So if the interior defense collapsed, it’s tough to point fingers at the one player actually holding it together. Especially one just returning from a back injury….
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