The loudest alarm for the Chicago Sky wasn’t their 0-4 start or their defensive lapses that let the opponents score over 90 points. It was when their floor general, Courtney Vandersloot, went down with an ACL injury. “She gave us a calming influence and an offensive threat and a leader,” general manager Jeff Pagliocca would assert. So, for an already struggling Sky (2-5), the answer was now in their newbie. And she did step up, cautious of rookie mistakes with every step. But did that just expose more concerns within the team?Hailey Van Lith wasn’t ranked among the biggest steals of the draft for nothing. Coming off a historic run as a TCU point guard, she was poised to be a solid backup for Sloot. Sure, the 15-year veteran is one of the best creators of all time in the WNBA, being second only to Sue Bird in assists. Her vision and passing ability cannot be replicated easily. But Van Lith stepped in. She had to. And if you ask Tyler Marsh, “She handled it as well as she could.” But he isn’t the only one making note of it. Seerat Sohi is all praise, too. However, when lauding Van Lith, the Sky’s struggles did not escape her either. “And one thing I noticed in that game, she was constantly boxing out in the minutes that she got. She’s chasing Aari MacDonald all over the floor. She’s also cutting . She’s cutting for this Chicago team that, in my opinion, there are a lot of different things that you can diagnose problems for this team, but they just don’t move around a lot,” the analyst said on the WNBA Ringer Podcast. Van Lith went up against McDonald in the game against the Fever, finishing with 7 points, 0 assists, and 3 turnovers in her 26 minutes on the court. The rookie was taken by surprise when she saw herself logging in career-high 26 minutes while leading her team offensively. The overwhelmingness of it all may have reflected in those turnovers, too. Like Sohi said, the Sky don’t have runners, and Vandersloot compensated for that with her experience and elite vision. But for a young guard like Van Lith, she needs some movement from her scorers to get them open looks, and thus, no assists on the night for her. So it wasn’t just about the rookie. “One of the things I noticed is that Chicago turned the ball over a couple of times trying to get it back to Hailey after she… attempted to do a give-and-go. And you could just tell if they weren’t necessarily used to that early on this team, because there is a lot of passing and standing around on that team . And that’s just, I mean, that is just one of the many issues with the Chicago Sky early on this season,” Sohi added on the podcast. There is a clear disconnect between how Van Lith wants to play and how the Chicago Sky are currently operating. She is often the one initiating movement, not just as a point guard in the traditional sense, but as the lone catalyst in an otherwise static offense. That is telling. The Sky’s offense is overly reliant on one-pass, one-action sets with minimal off-ball motion or layered structure. The result is a stagnant attack that lacks rhythm and spacing. Their assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.0 ranks at the bottom of the league, underscoring a lack of fluidity and decision-making. While their assist percentage of 67.3 is not the worst in the league, it still points to an offense that leans more on individual shot creation than on collective execution.Van Lith’s instincts to move, to cut, and to re-engage in the action are in direct conflict with the team’s pass-and-stand tendencies.Chicago, USA, May 22, 2025: Hailey Van Lith 2 Chicago Sky in action during the game between the Chicago Sky and New York Liberty on Thursday May 22, 2025 at Wintrust Arena, Chicago, USA. NO COMMERCIAL USAGE Shaina Benhiyoun/SPP PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxBRAxMEX Copyright: xShainaxBenhiyoun/SPPx spp-en-ShBe-8P6A1823Ultimately, the TCU-former is trying to inject tempo and purpose into an offense that is not currently structured to support it. Until the Sky establishes a system that emphasizes continuous movement and read-based actions, the disconnect will persist, and so will their offensive struggles. However, there were some encouraging signs in the game against the New York Liberty. Despite another heavy loss, there were glimpses of progress. Angel Reese showed more off-ball movement, and Van Lith connected with her on a full-court pass that highlighted their developing chemistry. Van Lith also created space for her teammates by driving into the lane and kicking the ball out, demonstrating her instinct to facilitate. In just 16 minutes of play, she contributed 5 points and 2 assists while shooting a poor 1-5 on the field. While her shooting still struggled, we saw some changes in her ability to facilitate. Angel Reese makes a strong statement despite the New York Liberty LossThe Chicago Sky struggled once again, falling 85–66 to the New York Liberty. Their defense had no answers for the dynamic duo of Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu, who scored 18 and 23 points, respectively. Stewart added 7 assists while Ionescu chipped in with 5, as the two stars played off each other seamlessly, effectively running circles around the Sky’s defensive schemes.Angel Reese led Chicago with a season-high 17 points and 11 rebounds and was the lone player above 15 points for the Sky. She finished with 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including 1-of-3 from three-point range. On the other hand, the Liberty had 3 players above that mark. Reese marked off another record with her performance in this game amid a disappointing start to the season. She became the fastest player in league history to reach 30 career double-doubles, achieving the feat in just 42 games. Reese surpassed WNBA legends such as Tina Charles, Candace Parker, Natalie Williams, and Lisa Leslie, breaking Charles’s record by five games. Last season, the 2024 All-Star set a record with 15 straight double-doubles and also set the league’s single-season rookie record in that category. Angel Reese is in ELITE company The fastest in WNBA history to 30 career double-doubles pic.twitter.com/VwXHi769IZ— espnW (@espnW) June 11, 2025These are promising signs for both the Chicago Sky and Angel Reese, who had been facing growing criticism for their performances leading up to this game. While Reese admittedly had not been in her best form, her showing against one of the league’s top defenses is an encouraging step forward.However, challenges remain. Head coach Tyler Marsh still has plenty to figure out, particularly when it comes to integrating Hailey Van Lith into the team’s system. Her role within the offense, her fit alongside other key players, and how best to maximize her strengths are all questions that need answers. For now, there are glimpses of growth and potential, but the Sky still has a long way to go before finding its identity.The post Mounting Locker Room Chaos at Chicago Sky Forces National Reporter to Sound Alarm for Angel Reese’s Teammate appeared first on EssentiallySports.