There was some poetic justice in Angel Reese returning to Wintrust Arena, months after being traded to the Dream, to face a Sky team that so struggles to do the thing she did for them.
Rebound.
They haven’t been able to shoot, either, the thing they supposedly were going to do more of in her absence.
Oh, and the biggest thing: They haven’t done much winning lately, having dropped seven of their last eight games. The Dream improved to 8-3 with an 82-75 victory Tuesday, and Reese finished with 17 points, 17 rebounds and four assists.
Reese has been for the Dream much of what she was for the Sky, who suspended her last season for publicly criticizing the team. She’s still the best rebounder in the league and an elite defender.
Her main weaknesses remain, too. She’s not as efficient around the rim as peers of her caliber, she’s turnover-prone and she’s still not really an outside shooter. But she credits Dream coach Karl Smesko for helping her make progress.
Reese made her second three-pointer of the season against the Sky, and her form looked markedly improved.
Smesko is investing in Reese heavily. He even coaches her during pregame warmups. His theory of development: When trying to improve something complicated, such as shooting mechanics, pick one thing to focus on. Keep it simple.
‘‘We’re just trying to shoot it straighter,’’ he said before the game. ‘‘Right now in practice, it’s looking much improved over the beginning of the year. Now it’s just one of those things where being comfortable shooting it in a game takes a little longer. But she’s been willing to put it up. That’s the beginning, and then you can start evaluating the releases and [whether we] are getting what we’re looking for.’’
Before the game, Reese seemed at ease with where she’s at and the work left to do.
‘‘Just time and effort,’’ she said of her improvement. ‘‘I think just putting in a lot of work. Karl works with me all the time. It’s gonna take time and patience. . . . It’s not gonna happen every night, and he tells me to give myself grace and continue to take the shot.’’
Reese credited Smesko with affecting other areas of her game, too. His unique coaching style relies on quizzing players for understanding and bringing them analytical insights. Reese said it has touched every part of her game. She thinks it even has made her a better rebounder.
‘‘He’s done a great job statistically about breaking things down,’’ she said. ‘‘He’s just so smart and thinks about things that I don’t personally think about. He’s opened my eyes to a lot of things.’’
If only the Sky could have been the ones to open them. They certainly could’ve used Reese on Tuesday, once again losing the rebounding battle, this time 36-25.
But they did play better overall. The fight and connection were back. They shot 8-for-15 from three-point range, their best showing of the season, and led with three minutes left.
‘‘Now we know we can do it,’’ center Kamilla Cardoso said after the game. ‘‘We know we can play hard. We’ve just gotta be able to put that together for 40 minutes.’’