Sparks Coach Shuts Down ‘Brutal Season’ Narrative After Loss to Dream
The Los Angeles Sparks suffered another loss, falling 101-92 to the Atlanta Dream. Nneka Ogwumike, Erica Wheeler, and Rae Burrell all scored at least 18 points, and the Sparks shot more efficiently than the Dream from the field and behind the arc. Still, it wasn’t enough to come out with a win, as Angel Reese, Jordin Canada, and Allisha Gray also put together strong games.
The Sparks now have a 10-12 record, which is good enough for ninth place in the standings. They are close enough to the Washington Mystics to have a shot at still making the playoffs, but they also don’t have much of a lead over the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo. Both expansion teams are just half a game behind the Sparks.
Sitting outside the playoff picture halfway through the season definitely wasn’t the plan for the Sparks. If it had been, they never would have traded Rickea Jackson for Ariel Atkins, left Sarah Ashlee Barker unprotected in the expansion draft, signed Nneka Ogwumike in free agency and relegated Cameron Brink to a bench role, or parted ways with GM Raegan Pebley. Nevertheless, Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts isn’t ready to stamp the season as a bad one just yet.
“We’re one game out of making the playoffs,” Roberts said in the postgame press conference after the loss to Atlanta, per a video on the Sparks’ YouTube channel. “That’s the goal. That’s the plan. We’ll get healthy. I’m not buying into the narrative that we’re having some brutal season. We’re not. This is a process. We’ve had adversity. We have new players, new All-Stars. They’re fitting in. It takes time.”
She also added, “We’re only halfway through, so this will not be the story of the season.”
Injuries have been a huge factor this season
Even when they were healthy, the Sparks had some serious defensive problems. Despite adding All-Defensive-level players in Atkins and Ogwumike, the Sparks struggled to slow down opposing offenses. Those problems are amplified by Cameron Brink’s absence. She’s the only true rim protector on the roster but has only played 14 games so far.
As if losing Brink wasn’t bad enough, the Sparks have also only had Kelsey Plum for 12 games. Plum’s absence has led to serious two-way issues in most games. The Sparks still struggle on defense, but without Plum, they also often can’t generate good offense.
The Sparks have the second-worst defensive rating in the league right now and have dropped to ninth in offensive rating. Cameron Brink alone will not be enough to improve the team’s defensive rating notably, but getting her back will certainly help. Plum averaged almost 24 points per game before her injury. If she can come back soon and continue to score at a high level, there’s still a chance that the Sparks will string together wins in the second half of the season.
They may even get some help from the Mystics. Between Sonia Citron, Kiki Iriafen, and Shakira Austin, Washington has the talent to make a playoff push, especially if they can get a veteran point guard before the trade deadline. The question is just whether they want to make a playoff push or if they’ll bow out of the race to chase another high draft pick like they did last year. If they do that, the Sparks’ path to the bottom of the playoff standings will be easier.
While there’s still hope of making the playoffs, this season isn’t lost for the Sparks. But it hasn’t been a good season either.
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Elaine Blum covers women’s basketball for On SI from Europe. She has been writing about women's hoops since 2023 and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism and a master’s degree in American Studies with a focus on women’s and gender studies. She started playing basketball when she was 10 years old and won several league and state championships at the youth and senior level.