Teresa Weatherspoon prepping hard during ‘break’ as Sky face 2nd-half test of hanging on to playoff spot

The word “break” hasn’t been a part of Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon’s vocabulary during the WNBA’s monthlong hiatus for the Olympics.

While Sky players have indulged in the time off — rookie forward Angel Reese took a trip to Paris, for instance, and veteran guard Diamond DeShields headed home to Atlanta to relax — Weatherspoon has been working. And that included going back and rewatching all 24 of the Sky’s games in the first half. Her goal, she said, was to see where she could have put the team in a better position with calls.

She did provide herself with a change of scenery as she studied film — in the quiet comfort of tiny Pineland, Texas, near the Louisiana border.

“My hometown is 800-plus people,” she said. “It grounds me all the time.”

Halfway through Weatherspoon’s first season as a WNBA head coach, her main takeaway has been a question: How can she be better for the team? With a little more than a week left before they resume play Aug. 15 against the Mercury, the Sky are 10-14, good enough for the eighth and final playoff spot if the season were to end today.

But Weatherspoon isn’t satisfied.

“I always want more,” she said. “I definitely want more from myself to be able to give to these young ladies, because it’s my job to make sure they’re in the position
to be successful and the best versions of themselves.”

Where, then, does Weatherspoon see the most need for improvement? Beyond her own decision-making, she first points to the ongoing goal of better chemistry — a necessity with two new players on the roster, veteran guards Rachel Banham and Moriah Jefferson, acquired in the trade that sent skilled three-point shooter Marina Mabrey to the Sun last month.

Then there’s execution. The Sky lead the league in rebounds per game (36.8) but are ninth in opponents’ second-chance points per game (11.3). They’re averaging third in steals (8.3) and fast-break points (12.4) but 10th in opponents’ fast-break points (11.3).

With no realistic title hopes this season, the Sky have a goal of a sixth consecutive postseason appearance. That’s not a huge source of pressure for a player such as Reese, who has spoken at length about the challenge of being in a losing situation for the first time in her career, having had conference and NCAA championships within reach every year when she played at Maryland and LSU.

“I always knew I wanted to be a winner,” Reese said. “I’ve done everything at the collegiate level. Coming in here, it’s about doing the things that are required to have a winning mentality and make winning plays.

“We have a really good team. We know that, and it’s just about being able to come together at the right time.”

The Mabrey trade just before the All-Star Game left the Sky with a hole in their starting five and made their struggles from behind the three-point line even more glaring.

With the ninth-place Dream three games back in the standings and the basement-dwelling Wings, Sparks and Mystics also a winning streak away from potentially snatching the last playoff spot, Weatherspoon and the Sky have under 10 days to start getting those affairs in order to ensure the “right time” is now.