By: Stephen Garner

Sun vs Sky

The WNBA saw the odds-on favorites in each of its first four single-elimination playoff match-ups handle their business to advance to the semi-finals stage.

The Chicago Sky were victors over the Dallas Wings and Minnesota Lynx, skating by through the first two rounds of the playoffs with an average margin of victory of 15 in those two single-elimination games.

Having now transitioned from the single-game elimination portion of the postseason, here’s what to watch for in this heavyweight five-game semi-final series.

This series will see a litany of accolade-studded talents on the floor.

The regular-season series went in favor of the Sky 2-1.

It’s relevant to note that presumptive MVP Jonquel Jones did not play in any of these three match-ups, as the timing of these three games spanned the same dates that she was away in competition for the FIBA Women’s Basketball Championships.

Sans their defensive anchor and best player, the Sun found it hard to navigate offensively.

As with boxing, in the playoffs, styles make fights. Here, we have a contrast in styles that is sure to present some peak professional basketball.

For the Sky:

Led by the great Candace Parker, they have one of the best functioning offenses in the league as well as, arguably, the second-best offense remaining in the playoffs.

The best passing team in the W (21.8 APG), they have primary, secondary, and tertiary playmakers that can get the ball where it needs to be in a timely fashion regardless of the defense being thrown at them. 

In that, they boast four players who averaged 2+ assists in the regular season, including two of the W’s most elite playmakers in Candace Parker and, of course, the now six-time assist queen (leading the league in assists per game each of the last five seasons) Courtney Vandersloot.

In tandem, they also have multiple viable scorers (Copper, Quigley, Parker, Vandersloot, and DeShields all average 10+ PPG) making for a diverse attack as they were third in the league in scoring at 83.3 PPG.

Their leading scorer is Kahleah Copper, who is also their spark as her energy is never lacking.

Make that 12. Her perpetual motion opens up the entire offense. That dynamic only grows once Quigley comes in off the bench as the Sky up the pace https://t.co/CGnYbEobz6

— Stephen PridGeon ☯️🏁 (@StayTrueSDot3) September 24, 2021

She’s crafty as a slasher both with and without the ball, but can also get it done coming off screens as a ball-handler or shooter, and has a propensity for getting to the rack. 

Her change of pace and trips to the line is a staple in their offense as it allows for them to mitigate and dictate the pace, as well as set their defense.

Their offense is most effective, however, when Parker has the ball. Whether it’s a transition, secondary break set, or their halfcourt offense, she brings the calming veteran presence that allows them to run their sets thoroughly. 

Parker as the screener in traditional pick and roll, or even in dribble hand-off sets (DHO’s) has been a terror for defenses as it allows her full dynamic as a passer and scorer to be on display.

The Sky have scored on all but 1 possession where Candace has had either a touch at the top of the key (DHO ➡️ Pick & Roll), transition, or from the post. Her playmaking is going to be vital for them in this postseason, in tandem with Vandersloot #skytown

— Stephen PridGeon ☯️🏁 (@StayTrueSDot3) September 24, 2021

Even more, a dynamic the Sky has is that they deploy two perpetual motion players in Copper and Quigley.

They go about it in different ways as Copper is always on the go but more often to at the cup, whereas Quigley does so off of pin downs/staggers/double staggers as a three-point marksman. 

Quigley is the only player who made 2+ and shot 4+ from deep nightly to shoot north of 45% from deep.

The gravity that those two will have off of their motion alone will be a dynamic that must be ever-present against this vaunted defense this series.

As the series goes longer, the Sun will wear down on any opponent, but having off-ball movement of the most premium variety with those two will be the x-factor for the Sky in generating offense in this series.

They have their minute-long bouts in games where they struggle to generate offense and start to press, and that leaves the door open for their opponents to extend leads or make comebacks.

Vandersloot and Parker will have to mitigate said spells for them to advance past this juggernaut.

For the Sun:

They have the aforementioned presumptive MVP, but including her, they boast four all-WNBA defensive performers this season (Jones and Briann January shared first-team selections, while Brionna Jones and Jasmine Thomas earned second-team honors).

With these four, the Sun made for the first team to ever claim four all-defensive team performers.

In response to that, and needless to say, their league-best 93.7 defensive rating, and 69.9 points allowed per game, should come as no surprise. 

This level of defensive connectedness and tenacity was far from an anomaly, as it spanned the entire season as a sustained weapon deployed regardless of opponent. 

This team held opponents under 70 points in 17 games. That’s nearly half of the season they spent holding teams severely below their averages offensively.

Furthermore, the aforementioned 17 games featured games against top-five offenses in seven outings (Aces – 3, Sky – 1, Lynx – 1, Mercury – 2).

That murders row of defensive dominance includes all remaining playoff teams 😳.

To make matters seem even more daunting, this team was without the third member of their big three in Alyssa Thomas.

So in theory, the regular season’s best team got a late-season boost as their big three is finally intact and sharing on-court time for the first time since being assembled two seasons ago. 

Fresh off a semi-finals appearance from last season, they’re looking to make amends for their deemed “shortcomings” of last season’s Wubble playoffs. 

They come in riding a league-best 14-game win-streak that started even before the league’s Olympic hiatus. 

The latter end of their schedule was no cupcake slate either, as they faced eight playoff teams in that span.

As I spoke on and gave forewarning to last month, the dominance that I felt would ensue with the Sun was daunting. 

After a late-August matchup with the Ace, which was a battle for sole possession of first, they downright snatched this one from their high-powered counterparts.

It was all-impressive as they left the Aces looking like a shell of themselves and completed the season sweep.

They play great fundamental defense, do great with present-moment and situational approaches tactically, and force offenses to work for their baskets for the duration of games with unrelenting connectivity.

You almost have to plan for your initial actions to not be there, and oftentimes even your second action but won’t be there. So they test the willpower and patience of their opponents on a near-possession basis. 

Offensively though, they’re no slouch either.

Though just eighth in offense at 79.7 PPG, which in large part is due to their pace (the slowest in the W), they had the second-best offensive rating in the league of 106.9. 

Four of their five starters score in double figures with Jonquel Jones as the focal point of their offense. 

To be frank, she is a BUCKET!

Maybe the league’s most versatile scorer, she gets it done I’m so many ways that it’s indefensible. 

Whether it’s from the pinch post/low post/ or wing in isolation, as the initial screener in pick and roll, or even coming off of screens in the mid-range, veering off screens, or transition, u name it, Jonquel can score in it. 

Jonquel been backpacking the Sun all season on career-high numbers & they've been right at the top of the W all season. 2nd in scoring (20.6) & 1st in rebounding (11.4) as well

— Stephen PridGeon ☯️🏁 (@StayTrueSDot3) August 20, 2021

Aside from her, they sport Bonner who is ever-active and will get up attempts, Jones who gets it done consistently from the mid-range, and spark plug Thomas who shoots 40% from deep and has the quickness to navigate to the cup for momentum-garnering buckets.

The x-factor for them will be defending the Sky’s guards. 

The Sun doesn’t get much offensive production from their guards, but they all apply consistent pressure at the point of attack and will need to stifle the Sky from there to disrupt their attack.

Prediction: 

The Sky have been clicking on all cylinders offensively since the commencement of the regular season, but they now meet a buzzsaw defensively in the Sun and their unrelenting and sustained pressure. The Sky’s aforementioned spells where their offensive train falls off the tracks leaves me uneasy in whether they can provide the consistency there to beat the Sun three times, whereas I feel that the Sun will grab a hold of the pace as they do best starting with their defense and take advantage of homecourt to advance.

Sun in five

*All stats and information used come directly from basketball-reference.com or WNBA.com/stats unless stated otherwise and are accurate entering play on 9.28.21*