If there was a silver lining for the Chicago Sky on Sunday afternoon, it was Chi-Town Barbie’s performance. After posting zero field goals for the first time in her career in the previous game, Angel Reese made sure that didn’t happen again against the Los Angeles Sparks. The 2024 WNBA All-Star bounced back by posting a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds in Sunday’s game. “I’m just trying to focus on what I need to do for the team,” she shared. But even then, her performance wasn’t enough to convince the Chicago Sky head coach.

That’s because the Sky added yet another loss to their growing losing streak, which now reads 0-3. This time, it came at the hands of Kelsey Plum and company, who used the three-point ball to full effect in their 91–78 win. To be fair, the Sky did show improvement. While they had opened the season with two losses by a combined 60 points, against L.A. they were trailing by just one point midway through the third quarter.

However, that’s when the Sparks caught fire—knocking down threes and going on a 20–6 run that the Sky simply couldn’t recover from. And that’s how the Sky lost their third straight game by double digits. So, while the focus coming into the season was securing a playoff spot, they’ve found themselves as one of the worst teams in the league during the first week.

Still, there’s hope for a comeback. Coach Marsh is making note of all the shortcomings over the past 3 games.“So yes, turnovers, again, continue to be something that we struggle with and will continue to be something that we work on moving forward,” he shared in a post game press conference. 

And the frustration is warranted—especially since the Sky committed 17 turnovers against the Sparks, which L.A. converted into 17 points. Despite outscoring the Sparks in the paint (50–28) and winning the rebound battle (34–32), the Sky simply couldn’t capitalize. Worse, this wasn’t a one-off. It’s been a consistent pattern.

In their first game against the Fever, the Sky committed 19 turnovers compared to Indiana’s 11. That led to the Fever scoring 21 points. Against the Liberty, they committed 24 turnovers that resulted in 27 points for New York. In contrast, the Liberty gave up just 15 points off their 20 turnovers. All of this is deeply concerning for a team with as much potential as the Sky. They currently rank 13th—dead last in the WNBA—in turnovers per game, averaging 20. So it makes sense why Coach Marsh isn’t sugarcoating anything and has got one demand.

“It’s another game where we have more possessions than our opponent and come out on the wrong side of it,” Marsh noted. “So those possessions are valuable.”

And with a dismal 20% shooting from beyond the arc and just 17 assists compared to L.A.’s 24, the Sky’s lack of ball security and execution once again proved costly. That’s why, even when it looked like the Sky were keeping the game close, the Sparks widened the lead when it mattered most. But was this part of Marsh’s original vision?

The Chicago Sky fails to follow the HC’s blueprint

From the moment he took the throne, Tyler Marsh’s blueprint was clear— a modern offensive strategy. He aimed to develop young stars like Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso into more complete players—expanding Reese’s shooting range and turning Cardoso into a more effective facilitator from the post. But it didn’t stop there. He sought to diversify the Sky’s attack by prioritizing perimeter shooting.

But despite all of it, the Sky have repeatedly stumbled in execution. Just consider their game versus the Liberty, they shot just 52% from the free-throw line—a glaring weakness for a team hoping to compete in close games. Even against the Sparks, they shot just 20% from three-point range (4-of-20).

While they dominated points in the paint (50 vs. 28), their inability to stretch the floor and protect the ball neutralized any advantage. And that’s not it. Even defensively the team has been failing as they’re currently ranking last with their 24.0 defensive rebounds per game.

And if you’re thinking it’s about the players, it’s not. They’ve got Angel Reese—who became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 450 points and 450 rebounds in just 35 games. And this season, Courtney Vandersloot returned to the team, bringing much-needed leadership and shooting.

So will the Sky, with all that talent, finally be able to work according to Marsh’s blueprint in their upcoming game?