24 June 2015 - Chicago Sky 100, Atlanta Dream 96 (OT)

Random comments about last afternoon's game in Chicago:

* Eric Collins and Stephen Bardo are a good announcing team.  I really enjoyed their play-by-play and particularly the comments of Bardo.  Furthermore, Bardo will give the visiting teams credit and will point out bad calls that favor the home team.

* There was one point at the end of the first quarter where Ajavon was under the basket, and McCoughtry noticed it and passed her the ball. Problem was, Ajavon stopped looking for the ball and McCoughtry's pass led to a turnover.  McCoughtry was not a happy camper.

* Pondexter can shoot off the bounce.  I suspect that a lot of the great shooters can.

* Pokey Chatman has an interesting phrase that I've heard her use and that the announcers reminded me of - whenever she wants to see multiple defenders on a offensive dynamo (like McCoughtry) she uses the phrase "We want to take a team picture whenever X has the ball".  This means that if you were to snap a picture of McCoughtry with the ball, you want to see a lot of Sky players next to her.

* An interesting comment from the announcers.  According to Chatman, without Fowles the Sky are "offensively better and defensively worse".  I suspect they're offensively better because they don't have to worry about Fowles's (relative) lack of speed on transition.  However - and this proved to be a problem - Chicago couldn't get de Souza in foul trouble because they had no dominant post player to challenge her.  The Dream should do what they did in the fourth quarter, push the ball to the posts and make Chicago work.

* How many players fouled out of that game?  Vandersloot, Ajavon, Hodges....

* The game ended with Delle Donne blocking McCoughtry's final shot.  How apropos.  I think Delle Donne set a career records in blocks, too.

* If Elena Delle Donne keeps playing like this - and if she stays healthy, which is a BIG if - it might be the most amazing season in professional basketball, men's or women's.  Her PER is like over 40 right now.

New Promotional Video for Chicago Sky

Unfortunately, I can't post it on the blog, but give it a look:

http://www.graphicsmafia.com/2010/03/12/daily-planet-for-wnba-chicago-sky/

At the link above, obviously.

Katie Mattera to Chicago

Have height, will travel. Katie Mattera, formerly of the Atlanta Dream (as Katie Feenstra) ends up with the Chicago Sky after the Sky waived Brooke Wyckoff. Wyckoff blew out her ACL and she's out for the year.

I expect Art Eckman to take a few trips to Chicago. And Mattera can say hello to former teammate Tamera Young. It looks like the Sky are becoming "Atlanta North".