With the exception of Stefanie Dolson, the recovery of the Chicago Sky has been driven by their back court this season.

Ever since Courtney Vandersloot replaced Cappie Pondexter as the starting point guard the Chicago Sky have been a tough team to beat. Here are the reason why.

Ball Movement

Knowing the nature of the Chicago Sky, is it any wonder ball movement has been the key to their success this season. Vandersloot is leading the league in assists this season with 7.9 per game. If she keeps this pace up, she will actually pass Teresa Witherspoon for third on the all-time assists per game list and move up to third this season. This will leave only Sue Bird and Ticha Penicheiro in front her all time.

The ball movement does not stop with Vandersloot. Pondexter, despite moving to the back-up role is the second Sky player in the top ten for assists per game. Her 4.4 assists has her sitting in ninth for the season. This is no surprise as Pondexter has 1,497 assists for her career. This number has her sixth all-time for total assists.

Surprisingly, however, is the performance of Allie Quigley in this department. Quigley is averaging 3.6 assists per game which is good enough for 17th in the WNBA on the season. This is more than double her career number of 1.5 assists per game and a tremendous string she has added to her bow.

Scoring

The ball movement of the Chicago Sky has really impacted the scoring potential of the back court. Allie Quigley, the two time sixth woman of the year winner has been nothing short of sensational. Her 17.0 points per game has more than doubled her career average and has her in 11th in the WNBA this season.

More impressively, the WNBA three point champion at the most recent All-Star game is backing that form up by shooting an incredible 47 percent from beyond the arc this season. This is good enough for first in the WNBA. It is not like she is only taking a few shots per game though, Quigley has taken the fourth most shots from deep (138) and converted the second most (65). The only player with more made three pointers is Diana Taurasi (79).

Vandersloot, as well as being the assist leader is scoring at close to a career best rate of 11.3 points per game. This is good enough for 39th in the WNBA. Pondexter off the bench is pouring in 10.2 points per game which is good enough for 46th in the WNBA.

Another All-Star

A good back court needs some space to work in and this requires strength in the front court. Stefanie Dolson has provided this. The first time All-Star is 20th in the WNBA in scoring with 14.2 points per game. She is also shooting at 39 percent from three, meaning the opposition center has to defend the perimeter making more space for everyone.

Dolson has also been a big part of the ball movement, giving out 2.2 assists per game. Her rim protection has been good as well, blocking 1.3 shots per game which is good enough for 10th in the WNBA. This shot blocking has allowed for easy transition points for the Sky.

Whatever happens this post season, Chicago should be there. With the way they are playing they will be a dangerous match-up for any team.

 

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