team traveled to Louisiana<\/a> and spends time together just talking and hanging out after practice. Those moments \u2013 while seemingly mundane \u2013 have a real value in building chemistry.<\/p>\n\u201cHuge. It\u2019s just an understanding of one another,\u201d Nurse said. \u201cUltimately, you play better when you\u2019re cheering for each other and you\u2019re cheering for what that other person is doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
In basketball, that can be the difference between a team running a fluid offense and one that effectively has players declare it\u2019s their turn to shoot. Marsh and the Sky are looking to create an offense that doesn\u2019t depend on just one person to score, and can get points from different players depending on the game conditions and matchups.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just want to be that team that is able to play through our ball movement and our unselfishness to create shots for each other,\u201d Marsh said.<\/p>\n
Camaraderie can only help.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s only one ball, so only one person\u2019s scoring every single possession,\u201d Nurse said. \u201cBut the person who makes the proper pass, the person who makes the great screen, the person who makes the right read, being able to celebrate that with one another, that makes the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
That has an impact, Nurse said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen the ball moves, whoever scores scores at that point,\u201d Nurse said. \u201cUsually it\u2019s like a hockey assist \u2013 the person that passes to the passer is the one that makes it happen. The more we can understand that, the more we can cheer for each other, the better it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nurse isn\u2019t the only member of the Sky who values togetherness.<\/p>\n
Acquired in February<\/a> from the Sun for Lindsay Allen and the rights to Nikolina Mili\u0107, forward Rebecca Allen said she wants to be part of an atmosphere where everybody can talk and say what\u2019s on their minds.<\/p>\n\u201cThere\u2019s no hierarchy on this team at all,\u201d said Allen, who injured her hamstring during last year\u2019s Olympics and had back surgery in September when she was with the Mercury. \u201cThat\u2019s a really good thing because that\u2019s when everyone feels comfortable. And when everyone\u2019s more together, that\u2019s when you get the best out of the group. I really want to be part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
NOTES: <\/b> Marsh was noncommittal about making any changes to the starting lineup for Tuesday\u2019s game against the Lynx. Facing Brazil on Friday, the Sky started Nurse, Reese, Cardoso, Courtney Vandersloot <\/b>and Ariel Atkins<\/b>. Marsh said he experimented with \u201ca couple\u201d different lineups during Sunday\u2019s practice.<\/p>\n
* Marsh said the team would not make any additional cuts before Tuesday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n