Love & Basketball in Chicago

Recent performances from the Chicago Sky and Chicago Bulls have me excited to be a basketball fan in the Windy City!

Chicago has long been a hub for basketball, both in fan enthusiasm and talent production. Unfortunately, the professional outfits in this city have seen their share of down years. However, this opening week of October saw two high points occur for pro hoops in the Second City. As a fan and a resident of the city, here are my perspectives on the Chicago Sky going in the 2021 WNBA Finals and the new-look Chicago Bulls‘ strong first impression in the 2021-22 preseason.

Rather or not you’re from Chicago, I want to know in the comments what you think about the current state of the Bulls and Sky. Are you as excited as I am? Let me know!

No Limit to This Sky

The Chicago Sky secured their trip to the 2021 WNBA Finals on Wednesday night. They defeated the Connecticut Sun 79-69 in Game 4 of their semi-final matchup, clinching the series three games to one.

Fun fact: This will actually the Sky’s second Finals trip in franchise history. The first time came in 2014, when the team was led by Elena Delle Donne and Sylvia Fowles and Pokey Chatman roamed the sidelines.

I attended Game 3 of that series, sitting in the second level of the UIC Pavilion hoping the Sky could at least make the game competitive against a powerful Phoenix Mercury team that had beat them by 21 and 29 points in the previous two games. Sadly, the Mercury completed the sweep that night, though it was only by a five-point margin.

When Fowles was traded away the following season and Delle Donne was dealt in 2017, it was hard to foresee the Sky making it back to the Promised Land.

Then came 2021, and Candace Parker signs with a Sky team that was already on the rise. I felt that Parker was a great get in terms of bolstering the team’s talent level and culture. I was so stoked for the season ahead.

Admittedly, their 16-16 regular season record was disappointing. The team was fairly middling in every category except pace and assists. These playoffs, however, showed what having a WNBA champion as a veteran leader can do, as the team has gotten hot and confident at just the right time.

Funny enough, their 2021 path is quite similar to 2014. The ’14 Sky finished 15-19 and were the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. They then proceeded to beat the top two seeds in 2-1 series to reach the Finals, where they faced the Mercury.

The 2021 team came into the playoffs as the sixth seed, won both of their play-in round games, then knocked off the top-seeded Sun. If Phoenix closes out the Las Vegas Aces on Friday night, they’ll even have the same Finals opponent! Hopefully, if that’s the case, the result will be different this time!

There’s a lot of talent on this roster, to the point that Parker might not even be the best player on the team. Kahleah Copper is my MVP. She’s been the team’s leading scorer during the regular season and the playoffs. Her energy, confidence, and two-way abilities have been on full display all summer. Every time I watch a Sky game, she’s just all over my TV screen. Defending, rebounding, pulling-up for jumpers, running in transition for a fastbreak score. She’s phenomenal to watch.

Courtney Vandersloot could also stake a claim to the “Sky’s best player” title. It’s funny to think that I didn’t really like her early in her career. Despite being an All-Star her rookie year, it always felt like she was struggling or making some egregious mistake whenever I watched her play.

Ten years later, CVS has added two more All-Star appearances, four All-WNBA team appearances, and is now the best passer in the WNBA. My icy reception to her has long melted, and I absolutely love her now. While I think Copper’s two-way ability is big and important, Vandersloot’s playmaking is this squad’s foundation.

The Sky also has quite a bit of depth. Vandersloot’s wife and backcourt partner Allie Quigley is such a dope sharpshooter. I’ve also been thoroughly impressed with Azura Stevens‘ postseason contributions. It really says something when 3×3 Gold medalist Stefanie Dolson is the backup center on a WNBA team. Diamond DeShields‘ shot creation skills and Astou Ndour-Fall‘s activity have also played a major part in Chicago’s success so far.

My only concerns with the Sky these playoffs have been Parker’s defensive consistency and working out the minutes when Vandersloot is on the bench. Though I believe in her potential, rookie Dana Evans has had limited impact in her little time on the floor spelling ‘Sloot. Hopefully those issues won’t be too glaring in the final round.

Entering the postseason with a 16-16 record, I honestly just wanted the Sky to get to the Semi-finals. Anything more would be house money to me. However, I’m so happy that the Sky have exceeded those expectations. Just enough wasn’t enough for them, and now they’re in the WNBA Finals!

The Bulls Are Back, Literally and Competitively

While the Sky are going to the ‘ship, the Bulls are just getting started with their season, and they aren’t looking too bad themselves.

When Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley were brought in to replace John Paxson and Gar Forman as the heads of the Bulls’ basketball operations, I was more than willing to give them a chance to show me what they could do. As of this writing, I’ve had no reason to doubt that these two are the right men to make this team a contender again.

Billy Donovan was a strong hire. Any time he’s on my TV screen or quoted in an article, this warm feeling of assurance washes over me because I know he’s competent and has a solid handle on things. There may be better coaches out there than Donovan, but it just feels good to have someone on the Bulls’ sidelines with substantial experience.

I have also been all-in on the moves the Bulls have made under Karnisovas. Patrick Williams was a sneaky-good draft pick. I think it’s similar to the Toronto Raptors drafting Scottie Barnes: they may not have been the best player available at the time, but there were the best for the team that picked them. I think Nikola Vucevic was a great get, too. Having such a talented big that can score from anywhere, rebound, and pass is such a valuable thing to have in the modern NBA.

Chicago had one of the best summers in the NBA this year. AK did some next-level GM-ing by pulling off the gymnastics to acquire DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso, etc. I feel that the fixation on DeRozan’s contract size and the departures of Thaddeus Young and Daniel Theis (both whom I liked) are overblown.

I also found the spacing and defensive questions to be overblown. Donovan teams have routinely finished top-half of the league in defensive efficiency. Last year’s Bulls placed 12th. Adding Ball and Caruso to the fold can only mean positive things on that end of the floor.

It also seems odd to worry about spacing when the rotation now has multiple reliable shot creators. Most of the team also hits three-pointers at a perfectly reasonable rate, with DeRozan and Tony Bradley being the only rotation guys that don’t attempt them regularly.

Simply put, I think there is a lot of cynicism around the Bulls because of how badly previous regimes have bungled the franchise. And I get that. But as long as they stay healthy, the Bulls will make the playoffs, and they will be competing for homecourt advantage. The Bulls reassured me of this in their preseason-opening 131-95 demolition of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night.

I legit fell in love with how the Bulls played in that game. Like, felt the same feelings you get when you first lay eyes on a crush! It was beautiful to see them run the floor in transition and zip passes around the perimeter. They were in mid-season form defensively, too, forcing 20 turnovers!

Javonte Green was doing legendary things all over the court. He got the spot start in place of the injured Williams, but he put it all out there like it was a conference finals game! If he can keep even half of that same energy this preseason, he’ll definitely have a spot in the rotation.

Oh, and of course there were plenty of highlight plays. Those back-to-back dunks by LaVine? Giiirrrllll. I’m catching feelings all over again.

Honestly, part of me is kind of upset that the Bulls played that well in the first game of the preseason. They’ve basically spoiled me already! Naturally, they aren’t going to go 82-0, but after a night like Tuesday? I’m really having a hard time figuring out how they could possibly lose a game. Now I’ll have to restrain myself from comparing every other game this year against this first one, because this first one was just so much fun.

Alas, this was just Game 1 of a long season. I’m just going to enjoy each game for what it is. But it’s good to see the Bulls heading in the right direction and being thoroughly entertaining in the process.