With DeShields being traded to Phoenix in a sign-and-trade deal this past offseason, there was a vacancy behind Copper for someone to assume some of the PnR responsibilities. In 2021, Copper and Diamond DeShields accounted for 35.9% of the Sky’s plays as a pick and role ball handler, according to Synergy Sports Tech. Having two wings that can go downhill and run the pick and roll fits the mold of a James Wade-led team. ”Įarly on, it looks like Gardner will be able to do both admirably well. I love catch and shoot threes in the corner, so I’m comfortable with both. “So it’s kind of different having a creator for me where Sloot is going to find me for a lot of open threes. “In the past, I have been the creator,” said Gardner. While Gardner has mostly played off the ball during her time with the Sky, she has experience being the primary ball handler for her teams. There is no “carbon copy of Kah,” but those two having similar mindsets as scorers on the floor at all times makes Gardner’s fit on this team even more obvious.
Gardner has proven she can do more than score, but her ability to attack in isolation or off the dribble is going to give a spark to the second unit once Copper returns. She would still get layups and I thought, ‘Oh, she is definitely going to be able to get a layup in the WNBA.’ She’s so explosive and quick.” “There were a lot of times when she would penetrate and there would be three people down low. “That is something we paid attention to,” said Wade when asked about how the rule differences overseas and in the WNBA have positively impacted Gardner’s play. Gardner has taken advantage of it early on. Ever since she graduated from UCLA, Gardner hasn’t played in a league that enforces the defensive three-second rule meant to clear driving lanes and increase spacing on the floor. Gardner has looked like a way-too-early sixth woman of the year candidate because of the newfound space she has had at the rim. And she displayed that multiple times in her brief tenure with the Sky.
Her first step off the dribble was nearly impossible to keep up with. She ended the night with 14 points on six of nine shooting and accumulated a positive-20 plus/minus. In her WNBA debut against the New York Liberty, Gardner could not be stopped when matched up one on one with a defender. Through two games, the results of what Gardner could bring to the table in 2022 are promising. She has been given one of the most important assignments for a Sky team with few holes to fill: Backing up 2021 Finals MVP Kahleah Copper. Gardner played overseas ball for ten years after she went undrafted out of UCLA in 2012. The biggest standout out of the bunch? 31-year-old rookie Rebekah Gardner. Second-year guard Dana Evans has been a living and breathing heat check through three games, while Ruthy Hebard and Anneli Maley have had strong moments on the floor. However, their absences might have been a blessing in disguise for the Sky.Īs it waits for parts of its core to join the team, Chicago has been able to give some of its bench players significant minutes early on in 2022. Kahleah Copper, Julie Allemand and Li Yueru are all making their way over as Chicago continue to grind out the start of the season without them. Chicago led 25-20 after one and extended the advantage to 54-42 at the half as Parker had seven points, six assists and seven rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.Like most WNBA teams right now, the Chicago Sky are waiting for the mainstays on their roster to return from their overseas commitments. "We decided it was go time and show what we were made of and responded in Game 2 and built on it after that." They were all on a mission and you could tell it was a collective mission," Chicago coach James Wade said. Chicago routed New York by a WNBA playoffs record 38 points in the second game, racing out to a 31-10 lead by the end of the first quarter and never looking back. The seventh-seed Liberty shocked the Sky by taking Game 1. Chicago has now won four consecutive elimination contests dating to back-to-back single-elimination games last year en route to the franchise's first WNBA championship. WNBA ROUNDUP Stewart, Bird lead way as Storm beat Mystics to sweep 1st-round seriesĪllie Quigley and Kahleah Copper each added 15 points while Courtney Vandersloot had 14 points and 10 assists for the second-seeded Sky.
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