There is a lot of new around the Sky. They have a new coach in Tyler Marsh and have added veterans to complement the core of second-year players Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso. So, it’s encouraging for the Sky that they’re already enjoying spending time together. Guard Kia Nurse, who was signed as a free agent in February, said the cohesion is already forming around the team. “It’s a little bit on the court and off the court,” Nurse said. “We’re beginning to hang out with one another, getting to know each other. Some of us have played together in different spots and a lot of us have had different experiences but that’s the big piece of it – on the court, knowing each other’s tendencies is one thing, but knowing each other and our personalities as well [and] how to communicate with one another when things go [well] and when things aren’t going [well], it’s a big piece of it as well. “It’s a lot of fun. It’s a fun group.” Nurse has noticed that at team dinners, when the team traveled to Louisiana and spends time together just talking and hanging out after practice. Those moments – while seemingly mundane – have a real value in building chemistry. “Huge. It’s just an understanding of one another,” Nurse said. “Ultimately, you play better when you’re cheering for each other and you’re cheering for what that other person is doing.” In basketball, that can be the difference between a team running a fluid offense and one that effectively has players declare it’s their turn to shoot. Marsh and the Sky are looking to create an offense that doesn’t depend on just one person to score, and can get points from different players depending on the game conditions and matchups. “We just want to be that team that is able to play through our ball movement and our unselfishness to create shots for each other,” Marsh said. Camaraderie can only help. “There’s only one ball, so only one person’s scoring every single possession,” Nurse said. “But 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.” That has an impact, Nurse said. “Then the ball moves, whoever scores scores at that point,” Nurse said. “Usually it’s like a hockey assist – 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.” Nurse isn’t the only member of the Sky who values togetherness. Acquired in February from the Sun for Lindsay Allen and the rights to Nikolina Milić, forward Rebecca Allen said she wants to be part of an atmosphere where everybody can talk and say what’s on their minds. “There’s no hierarchy on this team at all,” said Allen, who injured her hamstring during last year’s Olympics and had back surgery in September when she was with the Mercury. “That’s a really good thing because that’s when everyone feels comfortable. And when everyone’s more together, that’s when you get the best out of the group. I really want to be part of that.” NOTES: Marsh was noncommittal about making any changes to the starting lineup for Tuesday’s game against the Lynx. Facing Brazil on Friday, the Sky started Nurse, Reese, Cardoso, Courtney Vandersloot and Ariel Atkins. Marsh said he experimented with “a couple” different lineups during Sunday’s practice. * Marsh said the team would not make any additional cuts before Tuesday.