Sky rookie Sydney Taylor has shown she can light it up off the bench. The question now is whether coach Tyler Marsh will grant her a bigger role.
The offense floundered in a 79-58 loss against the Lynx Friday night. They’ve dropped four straight since losing leading scorer Rickea Jackson to a season-ending ACL tear.
But so far, Marsh appears hesitant to fully embrace Taylor as the answer. After erupting for a team-high 27 points against the Tempo on Wednesday, Taylor played only eight minutes in the first half against the Lynx.
Marsh said before the game he thinks Taylor can be an answer “to some degree” to the loss of Jackson — but that she’s still learning to play within his system, and that there’s more to the equation than just scoring.
“Rickea is tough shoes to fill for anyone,” he said. “We got to make that up in all areas where we can, on both ends of the floor.”
The Sky did tighten up their defense Friday night, holding the league-leading Lynx to under 80 points. Defense has been the team’s calling card, so it makes sense that a microwave scorer isn’t necessarily Marsh’s first priority in the rotation.
Plus, Marsh is right that no one player will replace Jackson.
But the Sky do need to start getting creative offensively, at least until they’re fully healthy.
Against the Lynx, none of their key weapons — Kamilla Cardoso, Azurá Stevens or Natasha Cloud — got going early. The passing was sloppy. They hit only 5 of 30 3-pointers.
Taylor can help give them a different look.
She’s got a filthy crossover. A jumper so serene you might get caught admiring it while it’s happening in your face. And most importantly: on a team that Marsh says passes up too many shots, she’s always hunting hers.
Her play made an impression on Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve. She read her team a stat line to motivate them about defending Taylor: that she had taken 22 shots in 23 minutes against the Tempo.
“She has a real knack for putting the ball in the hole,” Reeve said. “She’s unafraid. She can change a game.”
“You talk about her, it’s completely different when all of a sudden you get her on the court. You think you’re near her, and she’s shooting it.”
Taylor played professionally in Poland before the Sky picked her up — and she’s taken advantage of being relatively unknown in the WNBA.
“That’s a perk of being a rookie — they’re not too familiar with my game,” she said Friday morning at shootaround. “They were three, four or five feet off of me. I’m not used to that.”
But the Lynx adjusted Friday night. She took only two shots in the first half before sinking her first in the third quarter. Taylor finished with 7 points and 4 assists in 19 minutes.
Overall, she acknowledged she’s still figuring out how to fit her game to Marsh’s system and learn what coach wants.
“I’m used to being a heavy scoring guard overseas, so still trying to find that balance over here,” Taylor said. “I can score the ball at all levels, but just knowing when to take shots in the offense — when my team needs me to score or when they need me to facilitate and find other people.”
Taylor has plenty of room to grow. But she’s got the right attitude — a chip on her shoulder and hungry for more opportunity to prove herself.
“I’m going out there like I’m still trying to make a roster spot every time I step on the floor,” she said. “Anytime I get in the game, it’s going to help me build my confidence — just trying to get those minutes consistent.”
Time will tell whether Marsh rewards it.
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