The Chicago Sky suffered their fourth double-digit loss of the season Sunday, and tensions reached a boiling point.
The Toronto Tempo outclassed the Sky to an 85-68 win at Coca-Cola Coliseum. It was Chicago's fifth loss in the last six games and pushed Tyler Marsh's side to 4-7 to start the season. It was a result that didn't please Skylar Diggins.
"That's a trend of ours. It's disappointing," Diggins told reporters, per team-provided video. "It really is. It's frustrating. The games ain't gonna slow down, and teams are going to get better and better around us, so we gotta figure out how we're going to turn this corner here, but it's been an extremely frustrating experience."
A reporter followed up on how Chicago could solve its offensive halfcourt issues, and Diggins replied that it was "a Tyler question" and to ask the head coach, who didn't offer concrete answers during his portion of the postgame press conference.
The blunt comments are part of the Diggins experience. The veteran guard threw an expletive to explain her season-high 24 points in Chicago's win over lowly Connecticut Sun.
However, it's the kind of attention you don't want on your franchise, and one that general manager Jeff Pagliocca seemed to want to avoid when signing her.
Pagliocca invested a lot into this roster. The Sky used about $7 million in cap space to be specific, so another year to miss the playoffs isn't acceptable. It's why they only have one choice to make.
Coach Marsh needs to go
It might be dramatic to say that Marsh has lost the locker room 11 games into the season, but we might be a players-only meeting away from that situation.
Sky leadership took a chance on Marsh after firing Teresa Weatherspoon after one season.
He was part of a championship staff with the Las Vegas Aces for three seasons, but only Natalie Nakase, who was hired from the same staff at the same time, has shown her worth as a head coach with the Golden State Valkyries.
Marsh's team looks lost. They lack an identity, with Diggins carrying the load on offense, and Kamilla Cardoso doesn't seem to have a clear role. Natasha Cloud's bench role hasn't worked, and Azura Stevens has helped on offense but has been a liability on defense.
Obviously, losing Rickea Jackson for the season hasn't helped, but that can't be an excuse when the Tempo beat you by double digits after losing Kiki Rice.
Chicago's player development has been lacking
One of Marsh's calling cards was his ability to develop young players. However, that's been difficult to identify in Chicago.
As mentioned, Cardoso doesn't have a clear role on the team. Do they want her as a pick-and-roll threat? Is the offense built around her post presence? Those questions are difficult to answer, and the only constant is the critique of her lack of free throws, which the team isn't proactive in fixing.
It's an environment that would make you worried about Gabriela Jaquez. She has the potential to be a great pro, but she also has the potential to develop poor habits if she continues to work under Marsh's tutelage.
Marsh's defenders might argue about the Sky's injuries, but it's hard to see how a post-ACL tear Courtney Vandersloot and DiJonai Carrington, whose offensive skill set is similar to Cloud's, can fix Chicago's woes.
Chicago's front office and ownership need to act quickly and find a new voice who can provide optimism for the franchise's future.
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