The Chicago Sky are teetering on the edge of playoff elimination after dropping a pair of losses to the Minnesota Lynx and the Phoenix Mercury — they usually might need to shut the season with out both of their rookie stars.
Kamilla Cardoso was listed as questionable for Tuesday’s sport in opposition to the Atlanta Dream as a consequence of a lingering shoulder harm. Cardoso dislocated her shoulder within the Sky’s first preseason sport in opposition to the Lynx in Could, an harm that brought about her to overlook the primary three video games of the common season.
Cardoso landed on the harm report after showing to re-aggravate the harm in a loss to the Lynx on Friday. She tried to play by way of the harm in Sunday’s loss to the Phoenix Mercury however performed solely 9 minutes earlier than being shut down by head coach Teresa Weatherspoon as a consequence of ache.
The Sky, enjoying with out rookie Angel Reese as a consequence of a season-ending harm, are presently ninth within the WNBA with an similar document to the Washington Mystics (13-25) and Dream (13-25). They misplaced the season head-to-head tiebreaker to the Mystics (3-1) however presently maintain a bonus within the tiebreak over the Dream (2-1).
Two ultimate street video games will assist decide the postseason end result for the Sky, who will face the Dream on Tuesday and the Connecticut Solar (27-11) on Thursday. But when the Mystics win their ultimate two video games, the Sky won’t be able to have an effect on their standing and can miss the playoffs for the primary time since 2018.
Bulls broadcasts can be free over the air
Chicago Bulls followers could have over-the-air entry to native broadcasts for the primary time in 20 years this season.
When Chicago Sports activities Community — a brand new in-house community that can characteristic the Bulls, Blackhawks and White Sox — launches on Oct. 1, it is going to be primarily obtainable free of charge over the air. Followers will solely want an antenna to entry all 77 regionally broadcast video games this season. The community will reside on the 62.2 and 62.3 sub-channels.
CHSN is anticipated to announce an settlement with DirecTV quickly, however has not come to phrases with different paid TV carriers corresponding to Xfinity and YouTube TV. Read more on the new network here.
Younger Bulls core regroups at Ayo Dosunmu’s native camp
The Bulls are again on the town — and the workforce’s younger core reassembled to assist Ayo Dosunmu at his annual academy camp final weekend.
Dosunmu hosted a two-day youth basketball and cheerleading camp at Shepard Excessive College in Palos Heights over the weekend, the newest in a schedule of neighborhood occasions for the Morgan Park alumnus. Teammates Coby White, Patrick Williams, Dalen Terry and Julian Phillips additionally participated within the camp.
Off-the-court actions aren’t all the time a significant storyline for Bulls gamers within the offseason — however this season, the cohesiveness of this younger group is crucial for the workforce’s short- and long-term success. The Bulls are doubling down on their funding in gamers like White, Dosunmu and Williams, who can be anticipated to anchor this season’s roster after years of filling supporting roles.
The vast majority of the Bulls roster has been within the space and understanding collectively in non-obligatory coaching periods this month — together with guard Zach LaVine, who can be one other essential piece for the Bulls because the workforce makes an attempt to reintegrate him into the roster whereas additionally rehabilitating his market value after a disastrous 2023-24 season.
Variety of the week: 58
The Sky’s playoff possibilities had been broken of their final sport in opposition to the Washington Mystics, a brutal 89-58 loss Wednesday that highlighted each one of many workforce’s flaws.
With the loss, the Sky ceded the head-to-head tiebreaker to the Mystics, which possible will decide the ultimate seeding for the playoffs as Washington stays on monitor to stumble to an eighth-place end. However the Sky additionally marked their worst offensive efficiency of the season within the loss — 58 factors on 35.7% taking pictures. The Sky turned the ball over 15 instances whereas recording 17 assists and taking pictures 12.5% from behind the arc. The bench scored solely eight factors whereas Chennedy Carter supplied 28% (16 factors) of the overall scoring.
The Sky have been the lowest-scoring workforce within the WNBA because the Olympic break, averaging 76.4 factors per sport whereas having the second-worst taking pictures proportion (42.3%) within the league. They averaged the second-fewest assists (19) within the league in that very same span.
Quote of the week
“This was embarrassing.” — Kamilla Cardoso after the Sky’s loss to the Washington Mystics
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