![]() It’s nice to have a point guard who looks for that, so you will be seeing a lot of too.After dealing Diamond DeShields to the Mercury in a three-team sign-and-trade that brought Allemand from the Fever, the Sky’s depth at the wing took a hit. “I’ll be running around the floor every time. “Any team that likes to run is perfect for me,” said Gardner. Even without DeShields, who was first in the WNBA in fast break points per game in 2019 and was 11th in that category in 2021, Chicago has Gardner to replicate some of that production. However, the blueprint Wade had rolling with two athletic wings who can torch teams in transition is a model worth exploring again.Īccording to Synergy Sports Tech, the pairing of Courtney Vandersloot and Candace Parker leading the break last season resulted in the Sky scoring the third-most points in transition last year. In 2021, the Sky’s coaching staff decided to move DeShields, who was making her way back to the court after beating multiple benign tumors, to the bench where she backed up Copper and Allie Quigley. Gardner’s feel and speed fits team’s ideology Opponents are going to have to respect Gardner’s first step, which could free up Hebard (or other bigs that run this play with her) on the roll. Gardner and Hebard could see more minutes together once Copper and Allemand come into town. Gardner sees this immediately and uses her quickness to get to the rim before Shepard can recover. Gardner gets the mismatch on Minnesota’s Jessica Shepard, who overcommits to stopping Hebard on the roll. On this play, Hebard sets a pick for Gardner on the right wing. Here’s a good example of this against the Lynx. In two games, the (WNBA) rookie has shown strong instincts as a facilitator. With DeShields being traded to Phoenix in a sign-and-trade deal this past offseason, there was a vacancy behind Copper for someone to assume some of the PnR responsibilities. In 2021, Copper and Diamond DeShields accounted for 35.9% of the Sky’s plays as a pick and role ball handler, according to Synergy Sports Tech. Having two wings that can go downhill and run the pick and roll fits the mold of a James Wade-led team. ”Įarly on, it looks like Gardner will be able to do both admirably well. I love catch and shoot threes in the corner, so I’m comfortable with both. “So it’s kind of different having a creator for me where Sloot is going to find me for a lot of open threes. “In the past, I have been the creator,” said Gardner. While Gardner has mostly played off the ball during her time with the Sky, she has experience being the primary ball handler for her teams. There is no “carbon copy of Kah,” but those two having similar mindsets as scorers on the floor at all times makes Gardner’s fit on this team even more obvious. Gardner has proven she can do more than score, but her ability to attack in isolation or off the dribble is going to give a spark to the second unit once Copper returns. She would still get layups and I thought, ‘Oh, she is definitely going to be able to get a layup in the WNBA.’ She’s so explosive and quick.” “There were a lot of times when she would penetrate and there would be three people down low. “That is something we paid attention to,” said Wade when asked about how the rule differences overseas and in the WNBA have positively impacted Gardner’s play. Gardner has taken advantage of it early on. Ever since she graduated from UCLA, Gardner hasn’t played in a league that enforces the defensive three-second rule meant to clear driving lanes and increase spacing on the floor. Gardner has looked like a way-too-early sixth woman of the year candidate because of the newfound space she has had at the rim. And she displayed that multiple times in her brief tenure with the Sky. Her first step off the dribble was nearly impossible to keep up with. ![]() She ended the night with 14 points on six of nine shooting and accumulated a positive-20 plus/minus. In her WNBA debut against the New York Liberty, Gardner could not be stopped when matched up one on one with a defender. Through two games, the results of what Gardner could bring to the table in 2022 are promising. ![]() She has been given one of the most important assignments for a Sky team with few holes to fill: Backing up 2021 Finals MVP Kahleah Copper. Gardner played overseas ball for ten years after she went undrafted out of UCLA in 2012. The biggest standout out of the bunch? 31-year-old rookie Rebekah Gardner. Second-year guard Dana Evans has been a living and breathing heat check through three games, while Ruthy Hebard and Anneli Maley have had strong moments on the floor. As it waits for parts of its core to join the team, Chicago has been able to give some of its bench players significant minutes early on in 2022.
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