Sky preseason check-in: James Wade & Co. have work cut out for them

Fans had their first opportunity this week to see the Sky in action. If they went to Wintrust Arena on Tuesday or Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Thursday, that is.

WNBA preseason games weren’t available on LeaguePass or being streamed on social media, which was probably a good thing for the Sky’s sake.

The Sky, who lost both games to the Fever by double digits, showed just how far they have to come before their season opener against the Lynx next Saturday. It also reminded fans the transition to the James Wade era will come with its share of ugly moments.

Veteran guard Allie Quigley rejoined the Sky this week taking a brief break between international play and the WNBA preseason. Though she has been with the team for less than a week, Quigley said Wade’s message about energy has been received loud and clear. And she and her teammates are buying in to Wade’s mentality.

‘‘We want this now,’’ Quigley said. ‘‘We don’t want this to be rebuilding and for there to be an expectation like, ‘It’s OK, we’re young. We’ll get it.’ No, we want this now. We want to get better and to have this sense of urgency.’’

But that ‘‘sense of urgency’’ was lacking in parts of both preseason games. And the Sky fell back into some of their problematic habits from last season, including turnovers, inconsistent shooting and shoddy defense.

The Sky went 4-for-20 from three-point range Thursday. It doesn’t help that two of their best wings — Diamond DeShields (hamstring) and Kahleah Copper (hand) — will be sidelined for the foreseeable future. Rookie first-round draft pick Katie Lou Samuelson also had a poor shooting day, but Wade said he wasn’t worried.

‘‘We had to throw her into the fire,’’ Wade said of Samuelson, who played more than 30 minutes in both games. ‘‘You have a young player who you want to give as much experience as possible. . . . We’re happy with her growth. She’ll be fine.’’

Wade also has stressed the importance of center Stefanie Dolson having a bounce-back season after her 2018 decline. But Dolson got into foul trouble early Thursday and struggled offensively in both games.

The silver lining of Dolson’s foul trouble was the opportunity for training-camp invitee Victoria Macaulay, who scored 12 points Thursday, to shine.

‘‘She’s played herself into a situation where we have to take notice,’’ Wade said. ‘‘She was a late arrival, and we weren’t really happy about that, her coming late. But she’s actually showed us some things that make us take interest in her and want to pay attention to her even more so.’’

Wade also praised Macaulay for coming to camp prepared. He hinted there’s a chance she might break camp with the team.

‘‘It wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility that she stays a little longer and we let her grow with us,’’ Wade said. ‘‘It’s a little early, but we like what we saw [this week].’’

Courtesy of Chicago Sky

Another player who has been a surprise at camp is second-round pick Chloe Jackson. Wade said Jackson has kept the competition among the guards intense. She could be used off the bench.

With two preseason games under their belts, the Sky know the holes in their game.

‘‘[We’re] just trying to stay positive because it’s not going to all come at once,’’ Quigley said. ‘‘We have so much to work on. And when we turn that corner, we can take off.”

Quigley said she hopes the Sky can adjust to Wade’s new offense sooner rather than later.

‘‘We all have the mentality that this preseason is so short, you have to get it now; otherwise, it’s too late,’’ she said. ‘‘I’m hoping we get [into rhythm] this week in practice and then right into the first game.’’