The Toronto Tempo are in a skid, having lost their last nine games as they continue to face playoff teams on an extended road trip. In their game against Atlanta on Monday night, the Tempo had flashes of positive play on the court – but their defence lacked energy. The Dream won 107-95, sweeping the season series over Toronto 4-0.
Many of the Tempo’s defensive woes could be solved by Brittney Sykes, one half of the team’s million-dollar backcourt, being in the mix. A former WNBA All-Defensive player, Sykes has the ability to not only lock down her opponents one-on-one, but also lead her team to more stable defence.
“We can’t allow people to score 107 points on us,” Brondello said after the loss to the Dream. “Defence is such a big need for us, and that’s what [Sykes] does well.”
Sykes has been out since June 16, when she suffered a plantar fascia injury, but teased on Instagram over the weekend that her return is coming soon. Brondello confirmed after Monday’s game that Sykes is only at the stage of recovery where she is participating in half-court practice, but that the team is extremely ready for her to be back.
“She was in a little bit of practice yesterday, and it’s like, ‘hey, you want to play?’” Brondello joked, “She looked good, but it’s only half court, so I can’t get too excited.”
With Sykes out of the lineup for nearly two months, the Tempo have had to rely on Marina Mabrey more. While Mabrey’s 20.2 points per game this season has earned her an All-Star selection and a lot of Most Improved Player chatter, Sykes was also averaging 20.1 points per game of her own before the injury. That alone could be a game changer in many of these losses for Toronto.
“[Sykes] does a lot of things, so it just gives us a little bit more depth,” Brondello said of anticipating the return of her veteran leader. “Certainly her leadership and her toughness will help.”
I think that she will give the others confidence too, because her ability to play one-on-one and guard the best player and anticipate behind the ball is excellent.”
There’s no specific timeline for when Sykes will make her return to the Tempo’s lineup, but her participating in halfcourt drills is a good sign. Before the Tempo left on their current five-game road trip, Sykes had been working with Tempo training staff doing one-on-one rehabilitation and conditioning. This next step in recovery means her return could be coming in the next few weeks.
The Tempo have one more game in Dallas before they return to Toronto, and in that time have five days off without a game. If Sykes is seen getting more contact practice in during that stretch, there is a chance she may be ramping up to make her official return.
While much of Toronto’s first season in the WNBA has been plagued by injury, Sykes has been the only lingerer on their report this week. The team has yet to have a single game this season with a clean injury report, but with Sykes starting to eye a comeback, that could change.
Their effort against Atlanta made it pretty clear that Sykes changes the look of this Tempo roster a lot. Three of Atlanta’s starters, Angel Reese, Jordin Canada, and Rhyne Howard, scored 20+ points in the game. Brionna Jones scored 15 off the bench for the Dream, and Reese completed a record-breaking 22nd double-double this season.
“They’re really, really good in transition,” Mabrey said of the Dream. “So if we don’t get a good shot on goal, they’re probably going to score.”
You have to protect the outside, so it was just really hard to stop them in transition.”
Offensively, things weren’t as bad for Toronto. Mabrey scored 36 points on 7-for-13 shooting from three-point range, and Kiki Rice scored 18 points off the bench. Toronto’s bench also outscored Atlanta’s 42-19.
“That certainly helps because we’ve leaned a lot on our starting five,” Brondello said of Monday’s bench contributions. “It’s good when you have some bench production.”
The team’s Wednesday night battle against the Dallas Wings could be their tenth consecutive loss. They’ve played Dallas twice this season, and the second game came down to the wire, which could give them confidence heading into this next round.
