Rickea Jackson's season-ending injury leaves the Sky in a hole.
A 6-foot-2, 22-points-per-game sized hole.
Their first attempt at filling it came Wednesday against the Wings, starting 5-10 guard Natasha Cloud in Jackson's place. Cloud is versatile, tough and athletic. But no amount of versatility covers for the fact that Chicago is now missing its best offensive weapon.
They’re also undersized and undermanned.
Without Jackson, only two players on the Sky's active roster — Kamilla Cardoso and Elizabeth Williams — stand taller than 6 feet.
The Sky entered Wednesday with eight fully rostered active players, plus two development players in Aicha Coulibaly and Maddy Westbeld, who are only eligible to play in 12 games apiece.
That means the Sky are eligible for a hardship contract, which would allow them to sign a player to a short-term deal while they wait for their cavalry of injured players to return. The team is exploring that option ahead of Saturday's rematch with the Lynx.
The longer-term plan, coach Tyler Marsh said, is to first see what the roster looks like once it's healthy.
"I think we have enough right now," Marsh said. "I think what we're looking at is for the players that we have to be healthy. We haven't really had a good glimpse of that yet. Once we do, we'll have a better understanding of what holes still need to be filled. We got a lot of quality players that need to come back. We'll get them back slowly but surely. I'm really pleased and proud of what the group that is healthy has been able to do thus far."
Azurá Stevens, Courtney Vandersloot and DiJonai Carrington — all starter-quality players — have been rehabbing injuries without clear return timelines.
The most immediate fix would be getting Stevens back. The 6-6 str
