The Sky’s Candace Parker signs basketballs for fans after Wednesday’s win over the Connecticut Sun at Wintrust Arena.
NBAE via Getty Images
Candace Parker began June in a shooting slump.
In back-to-back games from May 31 to June 3 she shot a combined 5-for-15, scoring in single digits in consecutive games for the first time since 2020.
Over the course of the last eight games, Parker has made league history, becoming the first WNBA player to record three career triple-doubles. She notched four double-doubles and reached 1,500 career assists.
Parker is the only player in the WNBA with 6,000 career points, 3,000 rebounds and 1,500 assists.
As a team, the Sky (13-5) opened the month last in the league in three-point shooting percentage and are closing it third, shooting 35.9% from deep and leading the league in field-goal percentage (47%). Wednesday afternoon they set a new league record, shooting 83.3% in the first half of their 91-83 win over the Connecticut Sun, the highest field-goal percentage in a half in WNBA history.
“It’s amazing to play this style of basketball,” Parker said. “I love playing fast, playing reads, playing off of different plays and being able to have multiple players to feed the ball to. It’s fun. That’s why I came here. We expected this last year, to gel in the regular season.”
The Sky went 11-2 this month, propelling them to second in league standings, a game behind the Las Vegas Aces.
Parker led the Sky in scoring Wednesday, with a new season-high 25 points on 64% shooting and added 11 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks. She’s 74 assists behind Cappie Pondexter for seventh on the league’s all-time assist leaderboard.
Wednesday’s win extends the Sky’s streak to four games, their longest of the season but also their most impressive. After losing to the last-place Indiana Fever last Sunday, the Sky bounced back beating the top-ranked Aces, Los Angeles Sparks, Minnesota Lynx and now the third-ranked Sun.
Five Sky players finished scoring in double figures. Kahleah Copper put up 15 points and six rebounds in her first game back after sitting out one game with a back injury. Allie Quigley added 13 and Azurá Stevens and Rebekah Gardner had 10 points a piece off the bench.
Emma Meesseman, the Sky’s second-leading scorer, had four points shooting 1-for-4. What has this team in second place is the fact that they aren’t relying on one player’s offensive production.
“This team is a very veteran team,” Parker said. “We realize, stats are stats but there are weighted stats. Even though the stats say this is what a player averages we know they are capable of stepping on the court and carrying the load offensively.”
The Sky are establishing a solid rhythm offensively, but there are a lot of issues they have left to iron out. The Sky once again gave up a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter off of a slew of turnovers and empty offensive possessions.
They are last in the league in second-chance points and sixth in points allowed off of turnovers. They gave up 22 points off of 24 turnovers and 16 second-chance points to the Sun. Jonquel Jones led her team in scoring with 24 points and Alyssa Thomas added 23.
Limiting their turnovers will be a key in the Sky unlocking a new level offensively.
Sky general manager/coach James Wade remains in health and safety protocols. Assistant coach Emre Vatansever, who has taken over in his absence, said before Wednesday’s game that Wade is still positive. He will need to produce two negative tests at least 24 hours apart before he can return to the team.
Assistant Tonya Edwards was also placed in health and safety protocols this week. When asked if the team is worried about any kind of outbreak, Vatansever said he’s just focused on basketball right now.
from Chicago Sun-Times - All https://ift.tt/Kzor50b
No comments:
Post a Comment