Sparks look to snap 6-game skid and get first win over the Lynx
LOS ANGELES — Sparks coach Curt Miller has recently held practices with as few as seven healthy players at the team’s training facility at El Camino College.
However, Miller sees a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. The Sparks are nearing a 10-person rotation for the first time in more than a month, after enduring and being limited by one injury after another during the first half of the season.
During the Sparks’ midseason “state of the team” address on Tuesday, General Manager Karen Bryant vowed the organization will make a playoff push, instead of limping toward a top-four lottery pick in next year’s WNBA draft.
The Sparks, mired in a six-game losing streak, have the chance to get back in the win column when they play at Minnesota on Thursday.
The Sparks (7-13) are 0-3 this season against Minnesota, meaning they have already lost the four-game season series with the Lynx (9-12) and, more importantly, the playoff tiebreaker.
In the first game at Minnesota on June 11, the Lynx erased an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to pull off a 91-86 comeback win. In the second matchup in Los Angeles on June 16, All-Star forward Napheesa Collier dropped 25 points in Minnesota’s hard-fought 77-72 win. In the third matchup on June 20 at Crypto.com Arena, Collier had 26 points and 14 rebounds to propel Minnesota to a 67-61 win.
After the game, Collier joked that she wished every game for the rest of the season was against the Sparks.
Minnesota found success by packing the paint defensively against eight-time All-Star forward Nneka Ogwumike and the Sparks, who played the last two games against the Lynx without veteran guards Lexie Brown and Layshia Clarendon.
Brown and Clarendon have been excellent outside shooters for the Sparks, which allowed the Sparks to confidently and effectively spread the floor, which in turn allowed Ogwumike room to efficiently score points in the paint. Brown (non-COVID illness) and Clarendon (foot) were both shooting 40% or better from 3-point range before missing a month..
Clarendon was activated Sunday and should be ready to go against Minnesota, which will also provide secondary ball handling to spell Sparks starting point guard Jordin Canada.
Brown, who is with the team on the two-game road trip, has been listed as day to day. She could play Thursday or wait until Saturday’s game at Dallas to make her return to action.
The Sparks are 3-0 against the Wings (12-9), meaning they have already won the season series against Dallas, which is fifth in the standings and on a four-game winning streak.
In the first game, the Sparks pulled off a 79-61 win at Dallas on June 14. They followed that up with two double-digit comeback wins (76-74 on June 23 and 93-83 on June 25), which was the last time the Sparks won a game before their current six-game losing streak.
The Sparks need to start winning soon. A majority of their remaining games are against the Las Vegas Aces, New York Liberty, Connecticut Sun, Atlanta Dream, Dallas Wings, and Washington Mystics, the top six teams in the league.
SPARKS AT MINNESOTA
When: Thursday, 5 p.m.
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis
TV: Prime Video