Sky center Kamilla Cardoso has thrived in the paint this season. The bread and butter of the offense is finding her down low — off a pick-and-roll, a post-up or anything else that gets her the ball deep.
Saturday’s win over the Aces gave Cardoso a taste of the bounty that lies beyond it. Most teams leave her wide open on the perimeter, and she finally made one pay, sinking her second jumper of the season to keep the game within reach.
If she took those more often, it would stress defenses even further and open up a new dimension for the Sky’s offense. But Cardoso isn’t in a rush to get there.
“I always want to improve my game,” she told the Sun-Times last week. “I don’t want to force anything. Whenever it’s time, it’s gonna come. I don’t wanna go out there and start jacking up mid-ranges, because that’s not what I do. I think it’s gonna come.”
The foundation is already in place. Cardoso’s form is sound — her free-throw percentages reflect that — and she works on her jumper regularly before and after practice.
Coach Tyler Marsh said she has the green light from him, though she’s still not taking many jumpers in scrimmages. He’s taking a patient approach, too.
“It’s a comfortability thing for Mil,” Marsh said. “It’s not something we’re discouraging. She does shoot it well when she has the time and space to do so.
“I think that ‘Mil likes playing in her comfort zone. She’s also been extremely effective around the rim. We want to continue to put pressure on the rim and utilize her in the areas where she’s most effective.”
And as tantalizing as adding range might be, it’s not unreasonable for her to master the paint first. She’s converting 62.8% of her shots at the rim — a top-10 mark in the league and a significant leap from her first two seasons.
For now, Cardoso is locked in on the team’s primary goal: the playoffs.
“For you to be in the playoffs, you gotta win games, and I think we’ve been working hard,” Cardoso said. “We know what we gotta do to get there in the playoffs.”
Closing time
Closing out games burned the Sky in the first half of the season. So their first week of practice back from the break was built around end-of-game scenarios, repped out again and again. Marsh emphasized not fouling on defense, and getting the ball in the right hands on offense.
He believes beating the Aces at the buzzer did a lot for morale — and that these nail-biters aren’t going anywhere.
“Games are just that much tighter,” Marsh said. “Teams are on their third and fourth time playing each other, so there’s not that much disparity between them. So you got to execute down the stretch. All we can do is learn from our previous experiences from good or bad and be able to apply them moving forward.”
Standing by Stevens
Forward Azura Stevens is still away from the team for personal reasons, with no timeline for a return.
“We’ve been in communication with her but we were not trying to press the issue,” Marsh said. “We want to be sensitive to what she has going on. She knows that we’re here to support.”
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