Talented Sun will need time to put it all together
Mohegan — The Connecticut Sun start their 20th season with a good conundrum.
This Sun's top six players are as talented as any core group they've ever had featuring 2021 WNBA MVP Jonquel Jones and other All-Stars.
Connecticut needs time to figure out how to best mix-and-match its talent, just as every team will. They start the regular season shorthanded, too.
The Sun begins the regular season at the New York Liberty on Saturday (6 p.m., Barclays Center, ESPN).
"The challenging part is that you tinker and try things, and we saw it last year in Chicago," Sun head coach and general manage Curt Miller said. "They were a .500 team (during the regular season). You could argue that Chicago had an underwhelming regular season but through their tinkering and (time) playing (together), they got hot at the right time."
The Sky acquired the top free agent during the 2021 offseason in two-time WNBA MVP Candace Parker, but she missed nine regular season games to injury. She and her teammates needed time to gel.
Chicago finished 16-16 during the regular season and were seeded sixth out of eight playoff teams. It went on to win its first WNBA title, knocking off top-seeded Connecticut along the way, with young talent such as Kahleah Copper and Azura Stevens blossomed during the postseason.
The Sun's top six are as good as any in the WNBA. An ESPN.com panel ranked more of its players among the league's Top 20 than any other team — forward Jones (second), forward DeWanna Bonner (13th), forward Alyssa Thomas (15th) and forward Brionna Jones (19th), the 2021 WNBA Most Improved Player honoree.
Sun guard Jasmine Thomas earned her fifth All-Defensive team award last year. Guard Courtney Williams returns to Connecticut after spending the past two seasons in Atlanta and brings the perimeter shooting the team could've used last season.
"There's no lineup like that in this league," Alyssa Thomas said. "We have a lot of talent."
Jasmine Thomas said, "This is maybe one of the deepest teams we've had; one of the most versatile. "We have a lot of people who can play a lot of different positions. So, yeah, it'll be exciting to see us put it all together."
Having six talented players is great. How Miller finds time for them all is the question.
Connecticut will also start the season shorthanded. Bonner still hasn't arrived yet because she's with CBK Mersin, which is playing in the Women's Basketball Super League semifinals.
Williams must serve a two-game suspension to start the season due to her involvement in a fight outside of an Atlanta-area club in May 2021.
"While we tinker and try things, we can't lose confidence if we take a few losses," Miller said. "We can't lose confidence if we have what would be perceived as a disappointing game as we try to figure this out so that we are playing our best basketball at the end of the year."
Miller overhauled the bench, mostly due to the salary cap. Guard Natisha Hiedeman, the Sun's top reserve last season is back. So is second-year wing DiJonai Carrington.
Guards Yvonne Anderson and Nia Clouden and forward Joyner Holmes are new. Clouden was drafted 12th overall (first round) in April’s WNBA draft.
"We want to get our big three on the floor together in Alyssa, JJ and Brionna when DB is off the floor," Miller said, "so we felt like the minutes would be absorbed by the all-star post players. And if we needed to play a fifth post player, or even a fourth post player, that DeWanna Bonner can slide that way easily.
"We're a bit smaller this year and decided intentionally to add more guard play and try to bring some offensive spark (off the bench). … Maybe in recent years, when we were trying to round out the roster, we leaned defensively.
"So we'll see. It's just slightly different but there is a difference."
n.griffen@theday.com
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