Amid the Sky’s most recent five-game losing streak, interim coach/general manager Emre Vatansever said he had no intention of making drastic changes.
But after back-to-back victories, Vatansever deserves credit for the drastic change he made.
After Alanna Smith was injured in the second quarter of the Sky’s victory against the Storm last week, Vatansever went small. He moved Kahleah Copper to the four alongside Elizabeth Williams and let Dana Evans, Courtney Williams and Marina Mabrey go to work in the backcourt.
Against the Storm and Sparks, the Sky’s small-ball game was disruptive on defense and ultimately led to victories.
“You gotta be scrappy,” Evans said. “You have to have something to you, and I think that’s what makes the group special. One through four that’s out there, those guards are really feisty. We want to win, and we’re not going to let anything be easy.”
Evans emphasized the importance of Smith’s return and credited the Sky’s bigs for having that same scrappy mentality she attributed to the backcourt. But her point about the Sky’s guard unit isn’t wrong. For that lineup to work, it requires attention to detail and a “dog” mentality.
That group has played just 19 minutes together this season and has a 17.3 net rating. In the Sky’s last two wins, Vatansever went with that rotation to close the game.
“I like that [group],” Copper said. “It challenges me to be a rebounder. It challenges me defensively with matchups, and it shakes my competitiveness. I’m able to rebound, start the break, and I’m able to see mismatches.”
Vatansever said he didn’t see when Smith was injured. She entered concussion protocol Monday, and Vatansever said she won’t be available for Sunday’s game against the second-place Liberty (2 p.m., ESPN2).
Her absence is significant, but even more so given the Liberty’s personnel and how Smith has defended them in their previous three meetings.
Smith helped hold MVP candidate Breanna Stewart below her 22.8-point average in all three games while making significant contributions on offense. In their first meeting of the season, Smith scored 18 points, shooting 7-for-7 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.
The Liberty’s starting lineup of Stewart, Jonquel Jones, Courtney Vandersloot, Betnijah Laney and Sabrina Ionescu is their most-used. But Liberty coach Sandy Brondello also has played Kayla Thornton and Laney at the four in favor of a more guard-heavy rotation.
Regardless of the Liberty’s MVP-laden frontcourt, Copper has confidence in her team’s ability to capitalize on mismatches.
“Just like you see a guard on a post, we see a post on a guard,” Copper said. “It’s about who can exploit who and be successful.”
While the Sky are still trying to secure a playoff spot, the Liberty are fighting for seeding. They trail the Aces by 1½ games for the best record in the league. If the Sky are able to lock up the eighth and final playoff spot, they will face whichever team finishes atop the standings in a best-of-three series.
“I like how we’re not backing down,” Copper said. “One, two or three, we don’t care who it is.”
