Sky victories will boost Sylvia Fowles’ MVP case

When the time comes, and it’s coming soon, Sylvia Fowles should be an integral part of the conversation for most valuable player of the WNBA.

The 6-foot-6 Chicago Sky center leads the league in field-goal percentage (58.4 percent), blocks (2.1 bpg) and minutes (34.8 mpg) and ranks second in points (20.1 ppg) and rebounds (10 rpg).

Clearly, the numbers are there to support her case. They have been all season.

But the question is, will the wins be there?

They probably need to be in order for Big Syl to ultimately be named MVP ahead of worthy competitors such as Connecticut’s Tina Charles, Phoenix’s Diana Taurasi, Indiana’s Tamika Catchings and Minnesota’s Seimone Augustus.

We’re talking enough wins to ensure a playoff berth for the Sky, which is 11-14 and trying desperately to earn its first postseason appearance in franchise history.

The Sky is 1½ games behind the Atlanta Dream for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and is in the midst of a crucial stretch of its schedule.

Two of the Sky’s next three games, including one today in the nation’s capitol, are against the Washington Mystics, the worst team in the Eastern Conference. The other is a make-up-ground opportunity against the Dream, which may be ahead of the Sky in the standings but is only .500 on the season at 12-12.

All three games are must-wins for the Sky, and for the potential MVP.

“I think whether or not Syl gets it hinges a lot on the success of the team,” Sky coach Pokey Chatman said of the WNBA’s most valuable player award. “Our ability to get into the postseason makes the biggest statement about her numbers and what they mean to this team.

“It all has to translate into carrying your team.”

Not to put even more on her already burdened shoulders, but Fowles will need to push even harder than she has already. Kicking it from high gear to an even higher gear over these final nine games of the season will not only benefit the team, it could ultimately benefit her.

“We’ve got to bring our ‘A’ game and so does Sylvia,” Chatman said. “I think she’s ready for it. She knows she has to dominate games for us to be successful and she has.”

One way or another Fowles has been unstoppable — sometimes on offense, sometimes defense, sometimes both.

“It’s hard for post players sometimes because offensively, you have to rely on other people and on certain things to happen in order to get open or get touches,” Chatman said. “But what separates Syl is that she’s able to dominate both ends of the floor. Even when teams try to take her away on the offensive end (with double and triple teams), she’s still dictating the game on the defensive end by blocking shots and changing shots and being that huge presence in the lane and on the boards.

“She has to be in the MVP conversation because of that.”

Playoff picture:The Sky has a challenging road ahead in its quest to leapfrog the Atlanta Dream for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.The good news is, the Sky should have an easier finish to the season. On paper, anyway.The Dream must play Eastern Conference-leading Indiana three times and second-place Connecticut three times over its final 10 games. If the Dream loses all of those games, as well as Tuesday in Chicago, the Sky would need to go 5-4 over its next nine games to secure the last playoff spot.It#146;s a tall order, but doable for the Sky, which would need 2 wins over last-place Washington, a victory over Atlanta, a home win over an up-and-down New York team and a road triumph against Los Angeles, which is 10-14 and has struggled since Candace Parker went down midway through the season with an injury.#147;At this point, our back is against the wall,#148; Chatman said. #147;We#146;re not trying to hide that. This is where we are. Atlanta has to help us in that regard. But the biggest thing I tell our players is that we have to help ourselves. The way I look at it is, #145;Let#146;s go on a winning streak. Let#146;s just win them all.#146; That would make it a lot less stressful.#148;Ÿ Patricia Babcock McGraw, who covers the WNBA for the Daily Herald, also provides color commentary for Chicago Sky broadcasts.