Mystics at Sky preview: Elena Delle Donne returns to Chicago for the first time

The Mystics (1-2) face off with the Chicago Sky (1-2) in a matinee game Wednesday afternoon.

Game Info

Where and When Wednesday, May 23 at Allstate Arena. Tip off is at 12:30 p.m. ET

Streaming: WNBA League Pass, NBA TV, and Monumental Sports Network (if you’re within 150 miles of D.C.)

Needless to say, the WNBA has been swirling around the Sky-Mystics trade, all winter and into the season.

When Elena Delle Donne announced she was willing to sit out to force a trade from the team that drafted her, the Chicago Sky, the Washington Mystics suddenly popped up to the top of the list.

Citing family proximity issues, like in the case of her father who saw 28 of 34 games last season, would leave work at 4pm in Delaware to travel to Chicago and would return to work about noon the next day. Now he can leave at 4pm and be home by midnight. Big difference!

She also made clear that she liked and respected Coach Thibault and the culture that he had established in D.C.

So via a series of terrific moves, here we are.

This is the first game of what I am sure many Chicago fans consider an instant rivalry, because of the shock to their system with another star leaving the team. Sylvia Fowles forced a trade from Chicago by sitting out until they made a deal with the Lynx in 2015. Ouch.

Naturally, this situation did not sit well with them either and if you follow any of them on Twitter, it is crystal clear that they took this very personally and have responded in kind.

Living in Cleveland, I heard all the same mean-spirited machinations when LeBron left. Meh.

What to look out for.

I actually like the Sky, and it did not make me mad to see that Stef Dolson had a terrific game against Atlanta on Sunday, racking up 23 points and 8 rebounds, in their first win of the season.

Cappie Pondexter chipped in 20 points and 11 assists in the contest, as well as Tamera Young adding 12 points. So we can see that they are finding a rhythm.

What stood out to me was that Chicago had 36 of their 75 points in the paint. The Mystics had 16 of their 71 against Seattle on Sunday.

This is the last game Meesseman will participate in for the next month, as she gets back on another plane to Belgium where she will get ready for EuroBasket with the Belgian Cats. We will have updates.

Both teams are in the get-to-know-you phase, so I enjoy seeing how the Mystics are connecting and for how long. There have been some nice stretches, and some bad patches.

Hopefully we will see more of the chemistry from the Game 1 win, and less of games two and three’s losses.