What to do about Sky’s turnover problem

SEATTLE — The Sky continue to turn over the ball more than any team in the WNBA. They’ve offered plenty of explanations, including a new group playing together, life without Courtney Vandersloot and the wave of injuries that piled up.

Those were all real factors.

But even now that the roster is healthy and the season is coming to an end, the problem hasn’t gone away. The Sky still rank last in the league in turnovers in their last five games, a stretch during which nearly everything else has been trending up.

At its core, a turnover is a misread, mistaking how much time or space you have or what your teammate is doing. Misreads happen more often when players are uncomfortable, and nothing creates discomfort like playing out of position. The Sky have been doing that all season, often asking players to fill roles that don’t come naturally to them.

Another telling stat: The Sky force the fewest turnovers in the league, averaging only six steals per game. Most come from Ariel Atkins and Angel Reese, their defensive tone-setters. Nobody else consistently jumps into passing lanes or swipes steals.

That imbalance — lots of giveaways, few takeaways — suggests an offseason priority: adding size and athleticism on the perimeter.

The Mercury showed why Thursday. In a disastrous third quarter, the Sky coughed up the ball six times, with 6-1 Kahleah Copper and 6-4 DeWanna Bonner plucking passes out of the air left and right. Copper also feasted on smaller defenders.

The Sky rarely get such advantages themselves. Their frontcourt is imposing, but none of their starting guards is taller than 6 feet. That makes it harder to find passing angles (hello turnovers) and harder to disrupt passing lanes (goodbye steals).

Cardoso’s growth

A long-term development priority for center Kamilla Cardoso is extending her shooting range.

For now, her favorite spot is the left baseline jumper. She has made six of her nine shots from there this season, the only place on the perimeter she lets it fly without hesitation. She has taken only six other mid-range jumpers and missed all of them.

Head coach Tyler Marsh still wants Cardoso pulling the trigger more often. Lately, however, the emphasis has been on Cardoso being a threat from the perimeter, which doesn’t just mean jumpers.

‘‘We want her ripping and driving those to the rim or taking those shots,’’ Marsh said.

When Cardoso is near the basket, she knows she’s a 6-7 monster. She’s starting to realize those physical gifts don’t vanish when she’s farther away. Her drives have looked meaner lately, and once things click all the way, the rest of the league will have a problem.

Van Lith still sidelined

Rookie guard Hailey Van Lith missed her homecoming against the Storm with ankle soreness. Van Lith, a native of Cashmere, Washington, grew up about 100 miles east of Seattle but had to sit again as the Sky continue to be cautious with her workload.