Film Session: Chicago Sky's Kamilla Cardoso Is A Better Passer Than You Think — And It's Functional

wanted to check in on a trend that I've been kind of keeping tabs on post Olympic post Allstar break and Camila cardoso and that's her usage I spoke to right after she was drafted by the Chicago sky on our chgo Sky Draft Day podcast um spoke to Camilla being a far from a traditional big she's traditional in terms of the size but she's not traditional in terms of her skill and how she sees the game how she processes the game and how she can play off of the attention that she Garners her skill really just enables her a different type of Versatility that most players at her statue don't typically have and I think that's something that the sky can certainly lean a whole lot more into in usage and moving her around a half court offense to allow for her to kind of facilitate and just generally take the attention that she Garners and use her skill to combat that so let's go ahead and dive into the film of her career high and assist in the showing against the Washington Mystics it's not going to be direct plays that end in in an assist for her it's more so about looking at the passes she's able to make off of the attention that she garders how it creates green shot quality for her teammates all stemming from her being the trigger for offense within the layers of their actions let's go ahead and dive into the film all right first play we're going to be seeing taking place early in the first quarter I believe the second possession of the game for the Chicago Sky I want to pay attention first to the high low dynamic between Angel Reese and Camila Ard Doo we continue to I've continued to highlight the the tandem partnership that those two have assisting one another or just generally pass into one another we see just that here good job on the seal from Camila cardoso as I bring it back you can just kind of look at where action is initially looking to flow the mystics do a good job taking the taking it away defensively attention to detail in The Scouting Report from Ariel Atkins um taking away the Iverson cut pass to Michaela onu ends up going into a pop to the slot area for Angel Reese she's able to make the delivery to Camila but before we watch the pass from Angel to Camila look how Camila is just kind of reading the floor assessing the angle for the past to come and this is the tandem growth between both the sky post Playmakers in terms of who's receiving the ball in the post and the perimeter players in terms of understanding how to play the angles create a little bit of space and be able to make these angles in terms of executing on passes when before we even look at the pass going to Camila uh pay attention and give a hat tip to Teresa Witherspoon and Company for the uh layers of their offense you see who's spaced on the strong side of the floor one pass away from where the pass is ultimately going to end up going and that's Rachel banam she's the only player on the sky at this moment that's not going to be helped off of in terms of when there's help in the corner um as you see with Britney syes here she's a pass away so she's not even looking to get into the passing Lane for Camila she's airing on not allowing for the ball to go to the corner to Rachel bam great job on the touch and the timeing on the pass from Angel Reese and I watch cam do a great job with the swing through of the inside leg towards the backs side of Stephanie Dolson you see the space and leverage that creates you can't see it here but I can see it in the arena from where I was sitting that that pass and the angle that which the pass is coming from going to the hand that cam has up that we can't see from this angle on the floor nonetheless that's all the passer know that there's an angle there you get it there on time you get it there on target there's something to work with from the post and now we're going to see the post touch from Camila be the trigger for their offensive action to come get the post touch we see early initially it's the low man Ariel Atkins that's peeled in however as you pay attention to the way that the mystics are in their defensive shell look at how they work to condense and shrink the floor on Camilla on the catch the ball's not even there yet actually before the catch the ball is just barely on the flights of the intended receiver and look at how they've sunk in this is the part of the spacing element for the sky that I'm always speaking to it's not necessarily that they're not good at spacing it's just that they don't have the requisite pieces to hold an advantage in terms of making Defenders pay for the extra attention that they decide to error on and shifting towards the balls side wherever the ball is or wherever the ball is headed you see just that here but how sunken in and how condensed on the court Ariel Atkins the low man and you see Julie van Lou who's guarding Lindsay Allen here that's at the top of the key opposite slot area of Angel Reese you can just kind of see based off of where they're at how they're defended and the way they've shifted towards the ball that's what I'm speaking to when I speak to spacing that being said look at camaa and her quick processing realizes that originally it's the low man that KS a that gets a quick jab at and now it's the opposite of 45 and Julie van Lou that's completely sunken in and even committing to the ball hat up to Camila with her process and the vision seeing what she's trying to see on the second side first to see where any potential help might be coming from and it's the fact that she takes not just one dribble and terminates but it's the second dribble to make sure that the dust settles on the rotations that the defense is conceding in terms of making rotations to get the ball out her hands she makes sure that they commits that she makes sure that they commit to the ball we get another hat tip to Angel Reese on this dive cut to make sure that she compresses their defensive shell there's no help to help her rotation to come Julie van L is completely tasked with going from a strong side double team to a weak side rotation all the way to the opposite 45 your you're conceding rotation when you have somebody that can pass like Camila and you still look to put two to the ball and we see the skott do a good job playing Advantage Basketball here it's not going to end up in a in a made basket but it's a pass stemming from camil card Doo being the trigger it shows her Court mapping ability and her ability for awareness and understanding how to playmake off of the attention that she Garners job well done all around the board there again it's not a make but it's the process and we see that it's also not a direct assist for Camila but the fact that she can get the defense in rotation ultimately see two to the ball as we see Lindsey Allen attack this close out it's a bit of overh help from the corner from Ariel Atkins but again the mystics were being stingy helping off of anybody that was on the court that wasn't Rachel bam so this in process what they like to do defensively is what it is against this guy but this is very green shot quality for the Chicago Sky's best corner shooter this season in Michaela onion wary that one doesn't fall but you live with that shot quality and the the look that's generated and the movement that comes within it and then I'm going to pause this next one here because I want to continue to to emphasize the potential in Angel Ree and her grabbing goals and the impact that it can have on the offense if she's employed to do so more frequently more consistently we see her get this rebound here and the volume of rebounds that she's grabbing a league leading rate her being able to tap into her skill as a ball handler and handling the ball and making decisions in the open floor is something that could add another layer to already one of the best transition attacks in the W that the Chicago Scott have at this moment so I want to make sure we mention that part of the process first we see her is immediately on the touch I want to make sure we emphasize this part right here she gets the catch she's not looking to make a dribble first she's not even looking to outlet to a guard look at where her eyes go boom she scanning ahead because she knows Camilo who contested the original shot that took place that led to the angel rebound is Rim running and she's immediately looking to see if there's a quick seal opportunity on the hit ahead pass this is all great in process ultimately is not there before she gets to half court but she crosses the half court line with 22 seconds left on the shot clock that gives the Chicago Sky a team that doesn't create the most prolific and abundant advantages in the half court a whole lot more time to work through multiple layers of their offense if need be now ultimately Angel is going to decide to make this pass to Camilla and I want to emphasize that angel is a solid decision maker when she has the ball in her hands and playmaking scenarios she will get to the point where when she gets more reps doing it in the open floor and initiating off of the rebounds that she Garners and reading the full court because if if you see it here we we still frame it Ariel Atkins is gonna peel all the way in anticipating this hit ahead pass to Camilla if Angel was to kind of look off Camilla just one more beat longer and make this pass on the crosscourt skip to the corner where Michaela onu is that would be easy too now all well and endswell because this pass is ultimately going to get there but because of Angel understanding that you make this Pass High nobody's going up to the clouds to get this pass um from so she puts it in the sky like she's throwing to a number one receiver jump ball fade cam goes up and gets it where no one else can from the attic and now this is again where her understanding and Court mapping and processing takes place she's going up to get the catch but she also understands that okay I have two on me the only other person that's wide open right now is Michaela on again who's going to be wide open in the corner being helped off of ADV van Sky camaa catches it and you see immediately as she gains complete control control of the ball she finds Michaela and it's the pass for me because it continues she continues to just make the right type of pass to put the receiver in the most optimized position it to score if she throws a bounce pass here that gives Stephanie Dolson as well as Britney Sykes the opportunity to get back into play and affect the release of this ultimate layup that's going to come from Michaela because camaa makes the catch and then makes the pass high or Michaela has a catch it over her head doesn't have to bring it down if she doesn't want to she does for Comfort purposes good job on Michaela playing off of two gets up a quick pump fake to discard of the top side Defender and Britney Sykes who's rotating down to help the helper and she's going to ultimately be able to get up a contested layup here could have potentially been an n one as well all of that again stemming from first of all Angel Reese doing a great job in grabbing goost scenarios but it's the paint touches Whenever Wherever for Camila cardoso and her Court mapping and processing up all of the attention that comes with when she gets the ball in the paint that ultimately results in a score for this guy good on good there and then this is another fun rep here we're going to see this guy kind of flow to a little bit of flex action so we see a little bit of a screen coming here as we see Lindsay Allen get in there and set the screen on Stephanie Dolson for Camila and I want to make sure we slow this down and hat tip Lindsay Allen because the sky guards have gotten a little bit lazy at times in terms of trying to help to screen for the Post players and create that post advantage that they desire to whether that be in positioning in terms of whether the catch ultimately takes place or potentially even for forcing a switch now we see the mer we see the mystics almost getting caught in a late switch scenario because the screen that Lindsay Allen sets is just so good it's it's just very it's as perfect as it can get she doesn't necessarily lay the wood potentially on Stephanie Dolson but it's the fact that she just interferes just enough and doesn't also pick up a moving screen in any capacity in doing so that's important to note it's all going to lead to Camila getting an advantageous post touch you get one foot in a paint on a post touch that's great spacing that's great positioning to get the post advantage that you desire and the timing that wi Lindsay Allen slips out of the flex screen to pop in top side all is going to just really create help to exacerbate the advantage to come Camila gets the catch and initially is Van Lou that's the closest Defender that's a plus and passing great job from Dana Evans on the timeing the accuracy of her delivery as well now they end up getting that switch as cam gets into her post touch but cam makes the dribble like I talked about in the first rep and then assesses the defense ultimately sees that she is garnering and holding to to the ball she spins away from where the help is to give herself a little bit of separation is able to scan the second side and see the way that the defense has rotated within their defensive shell and responsibilities and now again getting back to Lindsay Allen who set the screen for Camilla and then respaced you want to also make sure we had top angel for another dive cut to kind of distort the rotations and the defensive shell on the second side for the mystics A+ on her end that all creates advantage in Lindsay Allen getting his quick catch here and then Lindsay Allen's put in a position to be a playmaker not just in a primary sense but secondarily here she's going to make a quick decision and you're going to see the result that comes from that now again like we talked about in this film session it's not about the makes it misses it's more so about the process and using cam as the trigger in Advantage creation that she can be for their offense so she gets the double team and on the flight of this pass we see the mystics ultimately elect to go with an X out so it's essentially a switch between Ariel Atkins who the sync Defender here and then we're going to ultimately see Julie van Lou switch Defender they're going to switch who their orig who their matchups are on the Flight of the pass just trying to keep the defensive shell intact here so good job on the mystics with their rotations good good job on Lindsay Allen on the catch making a super quick plus one pass putting a lot of pace on that plus one pass as well and you see their ball movement is faster than the rotations of the defense after they sent the double team and the dust settled on those rotation that's all important to note because that's how you play an Advantage Basketball after somebody gets double team great job from the sky here now I know I said this is good shot quality and obviously the sky need people to take the three-point opportunities that are presented to them in this particular rep though I would like to see because of how urgent the close out from Von Lou is getting over to Michaela onu I would like to see Michaela either get into a one dribble or just a one pump fake and one dribble to the side to her left like an escape dribble that you see Klay Thompson um you even see uh cayb McBride get into these at times when Defenders are closing out like this with this urgency to her just one pump fake and now she'll be able to reset one step to the left there will be no Defender for her to worry about and she can kind of get into her release a whole lot more comfortably or to take that pump fake and then just steal back the leverage and just get into the paint and get a paint touch and then ultimately that's going to pull over Britney Sykes who's at the nail at this moment in time and it's going to open up Dana Evans for a topside three where she's most comfortable shooting thre pointers in a catch and shoot stance as well that's nitpicking I like the green shot quality that they're able to get from this and I think these things are are layers of their offense that they can certainly get into more just with a little bit more detail and a little bit more rep planned off of the advantages and the post that Camila cardoo can execute upon and be in the trigger for your offense in the half court and then next rep here we're going to be see more of the same it's going to be a lot more Camilla this time in a little bit different of a sense however we're going to be seeing letting the action kind of flow through they's try to get into an empty side pick and roll the guy been getting into the more empty side and empty corner pick and rolls post Olympic break as I was kind of speaking to um prior to play picking back up nothing comes of this rep here terms of action but all they're doing is running this empty corner pick and roll just to get Camilla into post positioning she sets the screen no switch happens but she's able to get solid post positioning she can do a a little bit better job with this seal and Michaela can be a little bit more patient in terms of the delivery in the entry pass to Camila nonetheless they ultimately end up getting the ball where they desire for it to be and now we're going to see them plan and read and react in a different context of passing for Camilla instead of making a skip pass here she is able to hit the back door but again it's not a full double team that she's seeing but we see Ariel Atkins after the pass take one or two steps towards the ball and kind of load it up to help try to sink the floor she's a little bit too far up the line Michaela is on time and on schedule with her cut on the basket cut here the dive cut camaa is on time and accurate with the pass yet again you see where it hits Michaela she doesn't have to Bobble or play with the pass at all she can just catch it and get right up into the release into the layup this is good on good compounding on good for this guy and Camila gets yet another assist in this game and then this rep here is going to be a little different than the others but it's going to be just really showing and showcasing her ability to make passes and read and react so we see them swing it second side they're trying to get into a little action up top Mystics do a good job guarding that good job guarding the counter as well and now we see Camila get into the context of offense that I've spoken to which is her skill with her handle and her passing off of a live dribble as well as passing through uh Windows Tight Windows but also passing when she has pressure applied to her as the playmaker up top this pass coming obviously from Way Beyond the three-point line so a different context not passing from the elbow or passing from the blocks but you see you will still see the the timing and Cadence and Rhythm at which he's kind of Court mapping and assessing the defense around her talked about this the first side action getting blown up executes a quick dribble FL and look at this pass that Camille is able to make I want to pay attention to the PACE I want to pay attention to the location and I want to pay pay attention also to the timing at which she's executing this pass all again with a live dribble one dribble dribble at for the defender that diamond the shields is being guarded by Diamond Alexa go back door because of the pressure as well as because of the angle at which the dribble handoff will be coming great processing all around from the sky and this pass if she tried to skip this off the board board and make a bounce pass even if she put spin on it that's like past Magic Johnson Level playmaking that she would be trying to get into that window is just not there it's too close the only way she can make this pass is if she throws it right over the top of the head of the defender that's guarding Diamond the shields which she does on Precision I just want to pay close attention to the ball here and the flight how it gets to the intended receiver and how it puts diamond in the position to not just burn the original Defender but because the pass is so quick and it's so On Target Diamond's able to catch it high keep it high and she's able to get it up off the board before the low man can make the rotation over and potentially take away the advantage that was created in read and reacts from Camila these passes that she's making are not the average or typical for a rookie from the front Court position especially from the center realm and these areas and just the usage of functionality of Camila in the half court have to be funneled cycled through and leaned into more because her skill development can be something that skyrockets in a playmaking sense which can really unlock things for the sky the best cutter on the team is Kennedy Carter a lot of times she can get into these actions and scenarios with Kennedy but as we see here she can get into it also with any of the guards but also an even more specifically the wing group for the Chicago Sky whether that be Rachel banam or even more so specifically Michaela on where is we saw a couple times in this film session alone as well as diamond and shields so just keep an eye on a lookout on the usage of Camila cardoso whether she's getting direct assists or secondary or tertiary assists and just generally how she's used as a trigger for action for the sky in their half court offense