Look out for the Los Angeles Sparks.
One of the league’s hottest teams out of the All-Star break, the Sparks (15-16) are on the brink of a postseason berth as of Tuesday morning. They’ve won nine of 11, a stretch equal to that of the league-leading Minnesota Lynx, and are a half-game out of the No. 8 and final seed. Los Angeles was 6-14 a month ago.
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The Sparks’ offensive end has exploded, and they’ve been fun to watch as they settled into a consistent starting lineup shortly before the break. Of the 28 times this season a WNBA team has scored at least 100 points, the Sparks and Lynx are tied with five apiece. All of the Sparks’ triple-digit eruptions came in a six-game span between July 24 and Aug. 7. They’re averaging 92.4 points per game since the break, only behind the Lynx (93.9).
While other teams deal with troublesome injury timelines, the Sparks are healthy and available for the first time this season. Upon point guard Julie Allemand’s return from leading Belgium to the EuroBasket title, first-year head coach Lynne Roberts employed a starting lineup of Allemand, Dearica Hamby, Rickea Jackson, Kelsey Plum and Azurá Stevens. They’re 10-4 together, whereas the six other lineups are a combined 5-12.
Kelsey Plum and Rickea Jackson celebrate their win over the Storm on August 10. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
(Luke Hales via Getty Images)
Allemand’s presence takes dual ballhandling duties and offensive scoring pressure off of Plum, who said last week she’s “best when I take less shots.” Before Allemand’s first start on July 3, Plum averaged 16.1 field goal attempts per game. It ranked third behind forwards Napheesa Collier and A’ja Wilson, and edging Caitlin Clark’s 15.7 attempts. Plum shot 38% from the field and 33.6% from 3-point range while attempting on average 7.4 per game. The Sparks were 5-11, sitting 11th in the standings, with a slim three-game advantage over Connecticut.
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Since then, Plum is averaging 12.3 field-goal attempts per game (20th) on an improved 46.5% clip. She’s hitting 40.6% of her average six 3-point attempts per game. Her assists also increased since the change, and she’s dishing a career-high 6.1 over the course of the season.
The concern is that the Sparks have needed every point, no matter where it comes from. In wins over Seattle twice, Indiana and Connecticut, the Sparks allowed at least 91 points. Their defense is deep into the red, allowing a league-worst 87.8 points per game. That’s a -2.4 net rating despite the high-flying scoring affairs. No team in the league relies on defense less. Though to the Sparks’ credit, they’ve allowed 100 points twice, whereas the Aces (four times), Liberty (four) and Sun (seven) have more experience.
The increased minutes for Cameron Brink in her return from an ACL tear on July 29 should alleviate some defensive issues, including the second-highest points allowed in the paint (38.3). The second-year center is an elite rim protector with 13 blocks in 85 minutes of action, which is already in the top 40.
The flip side of a team ascending is another’s collapse. In a poetic stretch, the Storm’s freefall from home-court advantage to the postseason’s brink is currently bookended by losses to Los Angeles. Hamby scored the game-winners in both a 108-106 double-overtime win in Seattle on Aug. 1 and a 94-91 win in L.A. on Sunday. The Storm are on a five-game losing streak, falling by no more than four points in each.
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With plenty of season to go, the Valkyries, Storm, Sparks and Mystics are within 1.5 games of each other while battling it out for the postseason’s final two berths. The Mystics and Sparks have the easier schedules, according to Tankathon. The Sparks already completed their series with Minnesota (0-4) and have yet to play Dallas once.
Seattle faces one of the tougher final months behind Dallas and Indiana. The Storm have to play the Lynx (1-2), Liberty (2-0), Dream (1-1), Mercury (2-1) and Fever (0-2) at least once each.
Few teams showcase the importance of any given night as the swap between the Sparks and the Storm this first part of August.
Performer of the week: A’ja Wilson, Aces
In the words of Aces head coach Becky Hammon, the week’s best performance is “just A’ja being A’ja.” The reigning MVP averaged 29.3 points, 13 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 0.7 blocks to go a perfect 3-0 this week. In a win over Golden State on the road, it was her efficiency (72.7% from the field, 11-of-11 from the free throw line) that stood out. At home against Seattle, she scored 29 points with 12 rebounds on her 29th birthday. And to close out the week, Wilson completed the league’s first 30-point, 20-rebound game.
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Wilson’s domination has Las Vegas on a four-game win streak going into a rivalry matchup with New York, and sitting at sixth in the standings. Las Vegas and Indiana are tied (18-14).
Game of the week: New York vs. everybody
Liberty at Sparks, Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on NBA TV
Liberty at Aces, Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
Liberty at Lynx, Saturday at 2 p.m. ET on CBS
The New York Liberty count a quarter of the league as their rivals — if the WNBA schedulers are to be believed. The short-handed Liberty play three major games as part of the league’s first Rivalry Week. Any missteps could lose New York ground to Atlanta on the No. 2 seed. Both are 20-11, one game ahead of Phoenix. It could be the week New York looks back on as a “what-if” situation should the postseason go sour for their repeat chances.
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Yahoo Sports power poll
1. Minnesota Lynx (27-5)
2. Atlanta Dream (20-11)
3. New York Liberty (20-11)
4. Phoenix Mercury (19-12)
5. Las Vegas Aces (18-14)
6. Golden State Valkyries (15-15)
7. Los Angeles Sparks (15-16)
8. Indiana Fever (18-14)
9. Seattle Storm (16-16)
10. Washington Mystics (14-17)
11. Dallas Wings (8-24)
12. Chicago Sky (8-23)
13. Connecticut Sun (5-25)
