{"id":695206,"date":"2026-06-10T08:00:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T08:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/695206\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T08:00:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T08:00:21","slug":"coach-tyler-marsh-has-taken-blame-for-skys-offense-but-its-actually-complicated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/695206\/","title":{"rendered":"Coach Tyler Marsh has taken blame for Sky’s offense, but it’s actually complicated"},"content":{"rendered":"

To understand the Sky\u2019s<\/a> offensive struggles, one must start by appreciating what it takes to be a top-tier offense in the WNBA.<\/p>\n

You have to have an elite scorer \u2014 A\u2019ja Wilson, Paige Bueckers, Kelsey Plum \u2014 who can take it upon herself to drop 20 points per game.<\/p>\n

Or you have to have multiple shooters consistently making better than 35% of their three-pointers at significant volume.<\/p>\n

The top offenses in the league \u2014 the Wings, Lynx, Valkyries, Tempo and Aces \u2014 have at least one of the two.<\/p>\n

The Sky have neither.<\/p>\n

Nobody on the team is scoring more than 15 points per game, and the only player shooting 35% or better from three is rookie Gabriela Jaquez \u2014 and that\u2019s on limited volume.<\/p>\n

Now, what they do have is an elite point guard in Skylar Diggins, who hasn\u2019t averaged less than 15 points in any of her last 10 seasons; two frontcourt players who can score in Azura Stevens and Kamilla Cardoso; and solid shooters in Jaquez, Stevens, Jacy Sheldon and Rachel Banham.<\/p>\n

So while the limits of their roster might keep them out of the top tier, there\u2019s no excuse for the offense ranking 13th out of 15 teams, which is where it sits today.<\/p>\n

Coach Tyler Marsh has taken the blame publicly, saying he needs to be better. Still, it\u2019s not clear what that actually means. Should he change the offense? Change rotations? Use his best players differently?<\/p>\n

Marsh said Tuesday that while he and his staff are discussing big changes to the offense internally, for now they\u2019re mostly tweaking points of emphasis and fixing execution.<\/p>\n

Cardoso agreed that execution has been the problem.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018We need to do a better job as players [of] executing, doing the little details,\u2019\u2019 Cardoso told the Sun-Times. \u2018\u2018We have amazing plays, and sometimes we\u2019ve gotta set a screen and we don\u2019t hit a body. Sometimes we\u2019ve gotta execute a little better and be more poised.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Note the direction each is pointing: Marsh says the staff has to be better, and Cardoso says the players do. Both sides taking accountability is good news. The bad news is that the on-court connection has been inconsistent.<\/p>\n

After the Sky lost for the sixth time in seven games Sunday in Toronto, Diggins said she expects more maturity, leadership and effort from everyone<\/a> \u2014 players and staff. She clarified Tuesday that she included herself in that and that she and Marsh are on the same page.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018If we had a problem, I\u2019d just come out and say it,\u2019\u2019 Diggins said.<\/p>\n

She said her message was well-received despite the short turnaround. And the Sky played their best basketball in weeks, nearly toppling the Dream.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018It was a call to action for us,\u2019\u2019 guard Natasha Cloud said of Diggins\u2019 words. \u2018\u2018There\u2019s an expectation and standard that she expects to be on the floor, and that lit a fire under our ass.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Diggins, who scored 17 points on 5-for-15 shooting against the Dream, acknowledged she still is working out how she wants to be used to best complement her teammates, especially after the season-ending torn ACL suffered by Rickea Jackson changed the Sky\u2019s trajectory.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018I think what we imagined changed so much,\u2019\u2019 Diggins said. \u2018\u2018We just had so much change, so I think a lot of our visioning is pivoting, rediscovering what that is. That\u2019s what we\u2019re in the process of doing. Maybe not how I imagined, but we don\u2019t even have the personnel that I imagined.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the unlucky part. The Sky entered the season with an elite scorer in Jackson, but she went down in the fourth game. And they didn\u2019t have a backup because that\u2019s what defines a team\u2019s best player: She can\u2019t be replaced.<\/p>\n

When a team underachieves, like the Sky have, the question is always: Is it the roster, the coaching or bad luck? With the Sky, it\u2019s all three. But Marsh knows the pressure is on him to turn things around.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Atlanta<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Reese has given the Dream much of what she gave the Sky: elite rebounding and defense. She also credits coach Karl Smesko with developing her jump shot.<\/p>\n

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\"Atlanta<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

The Sky dropped two of three against beatable teams. Now come the Dream, Fever, Liberty and Wings. <\/p>\n

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\"Minnesota<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

The point guard didn\u2019t mince words after a 17-point loss in Toronto. Coach Tyler Marsh took much of the blame. <\/p>\n

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