“It’s illogical”: Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve wants more common sense in WNBA scheduling
Players and coaches have complained all season that the league added more games without expanding the length of the season. It’s led to tighter turnarounds and more wear and tear.
But Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, a six-time WNBA champion, doesn’t think it’s just the footprint.
“We’re in the midst of one of the most illogical schedules in my 25 years of doing this,” Reeve said before Saturday’s game at Wintrust Arena. “Four out of five games at noon. Two back-to-backs in there. It’s illogical.”
The Sky faced the Lynx for the second time in a week — and the third meeting comes Monday.
Reeve pointed out that her team has already played the Sparks four times but hasn’t even seen the Liberty, with the All-Star break just days away. The Sky, for their part, haven’t faced the Aces but have already played the Sparks three times.
One factor is the Commissioner’s Cup, the in-season tournament added in 2021 that creates the need for additional in-conference matchups early on. But Reeve said the league needs to "figure it out."
“There’s algorithms and analytics and all the things that go into it,” she said. “So they say. I think common sense ought to be added.”
The Sky will also host another “Camp Day” next week against the Dream, their third noon (or earlier) tipoff in two weeks. Those games help get the next generation of WNBA fans excited about the game, but they also disrupt the rhythm of a professional sports schedule.
Load management
With Kamilla Cardoso away on national team duty, head coach Tyler Marsh’s rotations tightened — and Angel Reese’s minutes climbed from around 30 to 35 per game.
She made the most of the opportunity, breaking out of her sophomore slump to average 18.8 points and 15.5 rebounds over the last five games. She’s also taken on more playmaking responsibility, feeding shooters who are finally starting to connect.
But Marsh is now looking for moments to give her a breather. Reese has been managing leg discomfort, and Marsh is digging a little deeper into his bench.
“We want her to be as healthy as possible, but also need her out here,” Marsh said. “So finding that balance of when we can spell her some minutes through the game is important for us.”
Rookie Maddy Westbeld has started to earn minutes in the frontcourt, giving Reese some relief. With Cardoso back in the starting lineup, the Sky should have more flexibility moving forward.
Rebounding help for Reese
Even with the league’s top individual rebounder in Reese, the Sky rank just 10th in defensive rebounding percentage. That weakness has cost them late in their last two losses, including giving up critical second-chance points against the Lynx and Mystics.
Marsh is asking for more help.
“We don’t want Angel to be the only rebounder out there,” he said. “Defensively, our guards got to help our bigs on the glass.”
The Sky’s starting guards, Rachel Banham and Ariel Atkins, have never been high-volume rebounders, and no one’s expecting them to be. But they’ll likely need to pick it up a notch. For the Sky to shift from hanging around in games to closing them out, Reese can’t be the only one on the glass.