Sky faces another measuring stick against the Storm

The Sky’s bench production has allowed stars like Courtney Vandersloot to get some valuable rest.

Kamil Krzaczynski/AP

The first month of games in the WNBA make it hard to assess exactly how strong teams are and where they’ll be when the regular season ends in August.

The reason for that is most teams are still without key players who are finishing up overseas commitments. The Sky, for example, are still without Kahleah Copper, Julie Allemand and Li Yueru.

Throw in early injuries and COVID-19 protocols and you’ll get a team like the Seattle Storm, who have been without two-time WNBA Finals MVP Breanna Stewart and Epiphany Prince for their last two games.

Prince has been cleared to return from health and safety protocols, but Stewart’s availability in Wednesday’s game against the Sky is still questionable.

“We prepare like [Stewart] is going to be here,” Wade said. “It’s a good test for us if she is. We want to play against their [whole] team. We don’t like when players are out because it can subconsciously give you a false sense of security.”

Coming into the 2022 season, Seattle was pegged as a title contender but a 1-3 start has brought that into question.

They are clearly a different team with Stewart on the floor but her absence has exposed the team’s weaknesses, starting with the offensive production from their backcourt.

The Storm have explosive guards in Briann January and Jewell Loyd. Everyone knows what Sue Bird is capable of doing to teams, regardless of being in her 19th season. Through their first four games, Loyd has been carrying the team’s offensive load.

Loyd is second in the league in scoring averaging 22 points per game, with a three-point percentage of 43.3%. Meanwhile, January and Bird are shooting under 30% on the season.

With Copper still out, Rebekah Gardner and Dana Evans will have to show up big defensively. The Sky’s bench, averaging 19 points per game through the first three games, needs to continue that production allowing players like Courtney Vandersloot, Allie Quigley and Candace Parker to get valuable rest.

The New York Liberty got plenty of open looks from deep in their game last week against the Sky but only converted on 13% of them. Against the Storm, the Sky can’t afford to give up the same attempts regardless of the Storm’s shooting woes.

Wade’s frontcourt lineup of Azurá Stevens, Emma Meesseman and Parker has a size advantage against the Storm with Stewart sidelined. Still, the Storm are coming off three straight losses and will be hungry to get a tone-shifting win against the reigning champs.

For the Sky, the second two games of their three-game road trip will be a signal of how far Wade’s team still has to go to reach full steam. They’ve developed more continuity on the offensive end since their season-opening loss against the Sparks, but defensively there are still issues to be ironed out.

Again, it’s hard to accurately assess them or any team in the league without their full roster in place. Wednesday’s game against the Storm will be the Sky’s last without 2021 Finals MVP Copper, who will make her 2022 WNBA debut against the Mystics on Sunday.

“What’s more impressive than the depth is the combination of talent that we have and their willingness to play a different role,” Vandersloot said. “Finding a player like Rebekah [Gardner] who has shown she can play in this league, but she’s coming in with a mentality like ‘whatever you guys need.’ That type of sacrifice is what’s going to make us really special.”

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