The mental reset for Sky players during the All-Star break was far more necessary than any need for a physical reset.
After a first half that included two potentially season-ending injuries to Rebekah Gardner and Isabelle Harrison and a coaching change, Sky players needed some time away to miss the game. Monday, when they showed up to Sachs Recreation Center, there was a palpable excitement like they were showing up for the first day of camp.
“This season for us has been [up and down,]” guard Dana Evans said. “Being able to sit down, relax and just take your mind off basketball for a while was pretty good.”
How good will be determined at 9 p.m. Thursday when the Sky play their first game of the second half at the Mercury. They currently have a loose grip on the eighth and final playoff spot, sitting just one game ahead of the ninth-place Sparks.
Since taking over as interim coach/general manager, Emre Vatansever has made clear he’s taking his job one day at a time. The only goal he has emphasized is the team making its fifth consecutive playoff appearance.
From there, he said, anything can happen.
“My priority is making them better every day,” Vatansever said. “I’m focused on progress. Of course, we need to make the playoffs. Somehow we need to win a game and make the playoffs. I’m not only talking about flowers and [positive] things. We have to win a game, but also we need to enjoy and see the progress.”
It has been hard to gauge any kind of progress with this Sky team because, from the onset of the season, it has lacked any kind of consistency. The Sky’s rotation has repeatedly changed, as have the systems they’ve run in large part following James Wade’s resignation.
While comparisons continue to be made to the 2021 championship season and all the adversity faced two years ago, this team could not be more different.
For starters, Candace Parker suffered an ankle injury and Allie Quigley was out to start the season with a hamstring injury, temporarily sidelining them both. Upon their return, the Sky flipped a seven-game skid to a seven-game win streak.
This Sky team is without Gardner and Harrison, who are far from the players Parker and Quigley are. Their absences aren’t temporary, either. Vatansever said Tuesday that they both could possibly be out for the rest of the season.
“I don’t think [they’ll be back this season],” Vatansever said. “But I need to check on that.”
While the 2021 team executed its championship aspirations, this team appears content with just making the playoffs. Given the upheaval that began in free agency, it would mark the season as a success if they are able to achieve that goal.
Vatansever’s plan for ensuring the team’s postseason berth will include a combination of implementing new tactics as well as improving the execution of the old. In the Sky’s first two days back, Vatansever has made a point to celebrate slight improvements in areas like transition offense and turnovers.
After 20 games this season, the Sky have proven themselves better than the Sparks, Fever, Mercury and Storm. Eight of their remaining 20 games are against those four teams. Two more are against the Lynx, who they beat in their season opener and are currently one game behind in league standings.
There’s a clearly visible path to the postseason for the Sky. But 10 months after a semifinals appearance and less than two years after a title, it should be considered a failure that’s as lofty as their goals appear to be.
