Sky center Kamilla Cardoso’s sophomore season has been a mixed bag: flashes of dominance, stretches where her presence has faded. But one thing trending upward lately is her rebounding.
Part of that, according to head coach Tyler Marsh, is opportunity. Angel Reese — the league’s leading rebounder — has missed three of the last five games with a back injury, giving Cardoso more chances on the glass. But it’s also been her mindset.
“[She understands] that we need her more on the defensive glass,” Marsh said. “We really gotta pull down those defensive rebounds and give ourselves a chance to run in transition.”
Over the last five games, Cardoso is averaging 11 rebounds — third in the WNBA behind Alyssa Thomas and Aliyah Boston. That production could help build her confidence.
Marsh said last week that Cardoso hasn’t been happy with how she’s played overall. He continues to push her to be more aggressive, and it might be starting to show. Her field goal attempts are up to 10.8 per game over that same stretch, her highest mark this season and more in line with the usage of other impact centers around the league.
She’s posted four double-doubles in her last five games, while defenses have shifted more attention her way in Reese’s absence.
Opposing teams have increasingly tried to deny Cardoso easy post entries and force her to catch higher up the floor, out of her comfort zone, where she’s less likely to make a quick move. As Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts put it: “When she catches it at the front of the rim, you’re in trouble. She creates a lot of problems because of her size, so we can’t allow deep catches.”
After a post-AmeriCup dip — which included several inefficient performances — Cardoso’s shooting percentage has climbed back above 50%.
AfroBasket champions
Sky assistant coach Rena Wakama led the Nigerian national team to its fifth straight AfroBasket title, her third as head coach. The Nigerian team beat Mali 78-64 on Sunday in Côte d’Ivoire. Nigeria is the first team to win five consecutive championships in the tournament’s history.
As a player, Wakama helped Nigeria to a bronze medal at AfroBasket in 2015, the year after she graduated college. She’s in her first season as a WNBA assistant on Marsh’s staff.
The Sky will celebrate Nigerian Night on Aug. 19 against the Storm. Sky players Elizabeth Williams and Michaela Onyenwere are both Nigerian-American.
Injury report
Reese (back) and Ariel Atkins (calf) were inactive against the Mercury and remain day-to-day, leaving the Sky without their two top scorers and leaders in minutes played.
The Sky aren’t the only team feeling the strain. According to injury tracker data compiled by physical therapist and assistant professor Lucas Seehafer, there have been 174 injuries across the league this season, resulting in 663 missed games. Those figures are on pace to significantly exceed totals from the past two years, when Seehafer began collecting the data.