The Chicago Sky is one win away from making history in the WNBA. They will head into Game 4 looking to close out the No. 1 overall seed, the Connecticut Sun. If Chicago pulls off the upset, they will be the lowest seed since they introduced the new playoffs format to make the WNBA Finals. The Sky will also be the first team playing for a basketball championship in the city of Chicago since the 1998 Bulls.
For that to happen, Chicago must be prepared for a much more physical match up than games 1,2, and 3.
Rebounding will play a big part in the game while again cutting down on the Sun’s second-chance points. When I asked head coach James Wade about this during today’s press conference, he had this to say:
“We’ve talked a lot about boxing out. We know that a team being down 2-1 is going to come out and play hard. We just gotta make sure we put a body on them.”
Bench points can be a Key factor in Wednesday’s game. The Sky bench has not played well in this series. Coach Wade too seemed to hit at these testaments about the bench of Chicago by saying he wants to see Chicago’s bench play better and calls for everyone to be effective in their roles.
Each starter for the Sky played over 30 minutes on Sunday, so getting productive minutes from their bench is something Chicago needs.
Azurá Stevens has been a player who has stepped up big time for Chicago over the last few games and her impact has been felt. In the post-game press conference, Chicago forward, Candace Parker even talked about Stevens saying:
“I think we all know what Z is capable of. We all have seen this. We see it every day in practice. During the Olympic break, she had some amazing practices. I think she is super talented, and she was huge for us tonight.”
The leadership of Parker has been on display in Chicago’s practices, according to Dana Evans and Stevens. Parker has been very vocal during the practices moving up to Game 4. Parker, who spent 13 years in Los Angeles, has been in this predicament before. Courtney Vandersloot has also been leading by example in practice as well.
Chicago will need that leadership come game time.
Chicago’s destiny is in their hands, and they must be prepared to battle for 40 minutes. If they can pull off this upset, the job’s not done. But the Sky’s is the limit for this team.
