2-6. That’s the win-loss tally of the Chicago Sky so far. As the second last team in the Eastern Conference Division, Sky has undoubtedly dished some of the worst performances this season. Despite managing to dominate the last standing team in the league’s regular games twice, has Angel Reese & Co. saved up spectacular performances for the last showdown? Or are they competing for the lowest spot in the 2025 regular season?

While Angel Reese has shown her rebounding prowess since the season opener, Sky head coach Tyler Marsh does not look satisfied with the team’s overall performances. “We’ve got to be better across the board, and that’s kind of the bottom line.” With this public ultimatum issued by the HC, can Reese & Co. come around to grab another win or sink further? As all eyes are on Reese this season, the Chicago star can simply not afford to disappoint her fans.

National Reporter Rose Gold-Onwude joined Logan Hackett on the latest episode of The Good Follow podcast. She clearly addressed the attention that the celebrity receives despite not being the face of Chicago Sky. Yet. “Angel Reese is not a superstar basketball player. She’s not a franchise basketball player yet,” Rose stated. “That doesn’t mean she won’t be. She certainly has the motor, the work ethic, the upside to be that. But right now, what I see is a young player that still needs quite a bit more time and development. And same for Kamilla Cardoso.” She denied attention and said that Reese is in her sophomore season. Not a prominent player.

While it is too early for Reese to drown in the kind of attention that she has been receiving from media and mostly fans online, the reporter argued that given her performance so far, Reese needs to improve on her weaknesses as that can have repercussions in the long run. While she has been reigning in the rebounding department, she has also averaged 9 points, 4 turnovers, and 2.6 assists per game. Moreover, she has been shooting just 30% from the field. And with all these high expectations from the Sky athlete, is the attention messing with her head or does her gameplay require significant improvement?

Rose gave an example of Tyler Marsh’s argument ahead of their 27-point loss to Indiana Fever. “And Tyler Marsh the coach actually said that himself. He said, “I don’t think Angel struggled tonight. I think we struggled as a team. It’s not about Angel being better for us, it’s about us being better for Angel.” She highlighted Marsh’s point that the entire team struggled against the Fever. Sky finished with maximum of 8 points by Kamilla Cardoso, as opposed to 17 highest points by Fever’s Kelsey Mitchell. While Chicago Sky had all the reasons to win against Fever, they still failed to capitalize on the opportunity.

Moreover, after Vandersloot was sidelined owing to an ACL tear, none of the players could score in double digits. Despite team’s acceptance on turnovers and ball-handling being the biggest challenge for the Chicago Sky, it does not seem like they have taken appropriate measures to combat the issue. “You’ve got a young player who’s on a team. The entire team is struggling,” the reporter said. “I mean, the Sky can barely hold on to the ball long enough to be able to enter the ball into one of their post players, Angel Reese and Cardoso. They had 19 turnovers on 18 made field goals. So, they have more turnovers than they had shots made.”

Having said that, neither of Sky veterans including Ariel Atkins, Kia Nurse, or Rebecca Allen stepped up to take the pressure off of Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso so far. And that is the primary reason that the team has been drowning. Moreover, Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso have been leading the franchise, without help from the seasoned vets. But as the team looks to face Atlanta Dream next, can they overcome the looming issues and act like a cohesive unit against the opponents? Or with two wins in the belt, the Sky has they already reclined to their fate?

“Her Crown is Heavy”: Ariel Atkins steps up for her teammate

Chicago Sky guard, Ariel Atkins opened up about the looming online harassment against her teammate, Angel Reese. In the wake of everything that went downhill after the Sky’s season opener against Fever, it looks like the comments against Reese have only turned uglier. But Atkins does not feel that Reese deserves such negativity.

While, Angel Reese discussed how she faces online hatred on a daily basis, Atkins had an important message for online haters. “This is a 23-year-old kid. And the amount of crap that she gets on a day-to-day, she still shows up,” Atkins said. “So, whatever questions y’all got about our team, basketball-wise, we appreciate it. But all the other nonsense, like, it’s irrelevant. We’re here to play basketball and do what we do.”

Atkins emphasized on Reese’s age, telling that she is still a young athlete fresh out of college. While she is still struggling to find her rhythm in the games, people can not hate the athlete and expect her to deliver flawless performances. Atkins was not ready to take anything against Reese. As professionals, their private life is out for the public to judge and respond. But does it mean that the citizens have a right to spew hatred against the athlete?

“No, she knows who she is and we ain’t gonna break her down for that. So whatever other questions y’all got, like, I’m hoping it’s just about basketball, maybe a box score question, but the kids’ crown is heavy. Like, respect that,” Atkins added. Calling Reese a queen for handling unwarranted criticism, Atkins persuaded the media personnel to pertain to basketball-related questions only.

While Reese is bearing the brunt of online hate, she is the only player in the roster to go through it. Maybe because the fans know that she has potential do better. Also, the athlete too knows her potential and has been striving to lead every time she steps on the hardwood. But is it enough to end the dry winning spell that the team is facing? Or will Reese need to put in more efforts to pull the team from the bottomless pit and climb the regular season ladder? I think we all know the answer.