Kamilla

Cardoso

The Sky’s starting center was dominant against the Sparks’ front court out-muscling Los Angeles’ Azurá Stevens on the block and out running Dearica Hamby to the rim on pick-and-roll lob passes. Cardoso cut well in the quarter court and 80% of her made field goals were assisted mostly via Rachel Banham and Ariel Atkins. Tuesday night’s win over the Sparks was Cardoso’s final game before she jets off to Chile for the AmeriCup to compete for the Brazilian National team until the second week in July. In her absence expect more minutes from center Elizabeth Williams in addition to Michael Onyenwere when Sky head coach Tyler Marsh opts to play Angel Reese as a small ball center.

A consistent presence in the Sky rotation, Williams had her most productive outing of the season on Sunday. The veteran center/forward played a season-high 22 minutes and shot 75 percent from the field. Williams was also responsible for three “stocks,” tying her previous high for most in a game this season. With the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup competition starting at the end of the upcoming week, the Sky will lose Kamilla Cardoso (7/5/3/0/1 in 21 minutes) due to her commitment to Brazil. That should free up additional opportunities for Williams, especially in the aftermath of her performance against Atlanta.

Chicago decided to establish Cardoso early in the first quarter and then again in the second getting her looks in single coverage on the block and then having her score at the rim on pick-and-roll actions. She was the most reliable source of offense for the Sky before the game got completely out of hand in the third quarter. She hit a 17-foot right corner jumper in the second quarter, which begs the question can Cardoso continue to grow when it comes to spacing the floor? The more and more she can stretch, even if it’s not out at the three-point line, will help the Sky get easier looks inside from other players.

Cardoso was one of the Sky’s two starting frontcourt members to log a double-double against Washington on Tuesday. She made it out of single digits in rebounding for the first time all season, which led to double-double No. 1 of her sophomore campaign. More importantly was the workload Cardoso experienced against the Mystics — her 29 minutes were a season-high and came directly after logging games of 25 and 27 minutes. As she sees more minutes, it’s realistic for fantasy managers to expect her to continue producing good numbers.

Atkins was playing de facto point guard on Friday night as the Sky continue to figure out how they proceed as a basketball team without veteran leader Courtney Vandersloot. Atkins mostly found the Sky’s post trio in Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso and Elizabeth Williams on cuts to the basket. To get Atkins off the ball, however, Sky head coach Tyler Marsh had Reese and wing Rebecca Allen bring the ball up the floor. Atkins’ shot selection was confusing on Friday night. How does a 36% career three point shooter only take 3 shots from deep? Going forward Marsh is going to have to experiment and find more ways to get Atkins off the ball. That could come in the form of signing a new point guard to a hardship contract once Cardoso leaves for the FIBA Americup towards the end of June.

Cardoso was the Sky’s highest scorer and most efficient player on an evening when Chicago stayed at bay with Atlanta until the final quarter when the Sky got out scored 30-16 by the Dream. Cardoso won her matchup against Brittney Griner, proving that she’s a much more athletic back-to-the-basket center who can even put on the floor a little bit and drive, especially when Griner is guarding her. Without a natural point guard on the floor for Chicago, both Rebecca Allen and Rachel Banham made sure to get Cardoso the ball in advantageous spots on the floor. Cardoso was responsible for half of the Sky’s 12 second chance points while also reaching a season rebounds with nine. Cardoso is yet to notch a double-double this season, a metric she reached seven times in 2024.

Once Courtney Vandersloot left the game with a knee injury, Williams was relied upon for additional minutes. While Williams is a center, her decision-making without the ball in her hands helped a Sky offense that looked lost without their point guard. Williams ran pick-and-roll actions with Rebecca Allen who also proved to make sound decisions in a game when the Sky struggled to score points. Williams is another player that head coach Tyler Marsh should be prepared to play more minutes especially when rookie guard Hailey Van Lith is expected to earn more playing time as result of Vandersloot’s injury. Does Marsh relegate either Angel Reese or Kamilla Cardoso to the bench in favor of Williams simply to have a veteran and steady presence on the floor? It might not be such a terrible idea.

Cardoso’s first basket of the game on Saturday night came on a post-entry pass from Kia Nurse. Courtney Vandersloot was standing on the weak side wing and pointed to where Nurse needed to move the ball. Vandersloot saw how great of a seal Cardoso got on the block with Aliyah Boston guarding Cardoso from behind. Cardoso scored on Nurse’s pass, but moments later Vandersloot was on the ground holding her right knee, and was later taken to the locker room. As a result, Cardoso’s looks weren’t as advantageous or frequent. The Sky struggled to take advantage of Cardoso’s height advantage against the Fever’s posts, including her former South Carolina teammate in Boston.

Cardoso has been dealing with a sore shoulder and did not participate in Thursday’s practice. However, the issue is not severe enough to keep her out of Saturday’s game. The Sky should stick with their usual frontcourt tandem of Cardoso and Angel Reese, with Rebecca Allen providing spacing off the bench.

Cardoso has been dealing with a sore shoulder, so she did not participate in Thursday’s practice. However, the door has not been closed on the Sky center playing in Saturday’s game against the Fever. If Cardoso cannot play, Angel Reese will likely shift to center, with Rebecca Allen moving into the starting lineup. Allen has the potential to give Chicago much-needed perimeter shooting, as the team has struggled with its offensive spacing due to inconsistent perimeter shooting.