Sparks @ Sun preview: We are so back, and with some confidence?

We are back, folks, refreshed, confident, well a little more confident at least after a week off. In case you selectively forgot, there wasn’t a whole lot to be positive about for much of the first half of the Connecticut Sun 2025 campaign, as the Sun seemed set for one of the worst seasons in WNBA history after unloading its entire roster, except for poor Marina Mabrey and Olivia Nelson-Ododa.

They still might end up on the ignominious list of all-time not-greats in the history of the W with the 2011 Tulsa Shock and 1998 Washington Mystics, the Sun have a pretty daunting upcoming schedule and will be playing a lot of rookies, but there were signs of life before the All-Star break, namely a split of two close games with Seattle and taking Caitlin Clark and Indiana to the wire in Boston last week.

Marina Mabrey practiced this week and might return Thursday after a month out.

Even more promising, it was rookies Leila Lacan and Saniya Rivers leading the way with their energy and defense, allowing Tina Charles and Nelson-Ododa to shine inside as well. Now with the probable return of Mabrey after a month away, it stands to reason that things should continue to improve, right? We’ll just ignore the 3-19 record and the fact that Connecticut does not own its first round pick next year.

But you know another team that thinks it is turning the corner as well? The Los Angeles Sparks, Thursday’s opponent.

The Sparks began 2025 with a 5-13 record and looked to be going nowhere fast with the second-worst defense in the WNBA and Lynne Roberts appearing to be flailing, even with the high-profile acquisition of Kelsey Plum, in her WNBA head coaching debut.

But hey, lo and behold, look who’s won three straight (and four of five), including winning at Washington coming out of the break Tuesday night? The Sparks are averaging 94 points per game in that span, with one of those wins being a comeback victory over the Sun in Los Angeles two weeks ago, a contest that the Sun - rightfully so - thought they probably should have won.

But with all the attention given to LA’s high-scoring and free-wheeling offense, its defense has been key in its win streak (although it wasn’t great against the Sun). The Sparks dug themselves a 16-point hole early Tuesday in the nation’s capital, but allowed just nine points in the second quarter to get back in it.

While it won’t exactly be a marquee matchup elsewhere in the league, it makes for a fascinating start to the second half and a relatively big game for both teams for what they have upcoming on their schedules.  

Let’s begin the second half of the season, shall we?:

LOS ANGELES SPARKS @ SUN

Time: Thursday, 7 p.m. EDT

Place: Mohegan Sun Arena; Uncasville, Conn.

Records: Los Angeles 9-14; Connecticut 3-19

TV: NBC Sports Boston, WNBA League Pass

Line: Los Angeles -5.5

Absences: Los Angeles - Cameron Brink (doubtful, 2024 ACL tear, returning soon).

Connecticut - Marina Mabrey (questionable, knee).

History between them: Los Angeles obviously won the first meeting this season, but perhaps recent history is a sign of how much the Sparks have struggled, Connecticut had won 13 straight regular season meetings dating back to 2020. That gives the Sun a 31-29 edge overall in the teams’ long history, and both teams have had a lot of WNBA success. The Sun also eliminated Los Angeles in the 2020 Wubble and swept the Sparks in three straight games in the 2019 semifinals.

What to look for: There’s a lot that can change in nine days, and it will be interesting to see what tweaks Rachid Meziane made in the week off, especially on the offensive end where things were definitely looking up for the Sun in their last few games and are now facing a poor defensive team to begin the second half. Connecticut also added veteran Migna Toure, who scored 19 in a preseason game for Golden State two months. But that also makes some tough calls for Meziane on who gets minutes, does Lacan and Toure’s time come at the expense of Jacy Sheldon, who saw her time on the floor dropping? Where does Mabrey fit in there, and does that push Aneesah Morrow, who was putting up good numbers, to the bench more? We shall see, I guess, but it was so much fun to see Rivers, Lacan, and Morrow on the floor together.

The Sparks’ latest run has coincided with releasing Odyssey Sims, although correlation does not imply causation. Last year’s No. 4 overall pick Rickea Jackson has averaged 21 points per game in her last three outings, and if she’s hitting along with Plum and Azura Stevens, they are extremely tough to defend. The only thing that holds them back is turnovers, only the Sky has more this season, and the Sparks had 10 in the first half Tuesday. That should allow Rivers and Lacan to pick off a few and get some easy buckets, something the Sun could always use. 

Key players:  Los Angeles: Rae Burrell - She’s not getting huge minutes since her return, but her energy has sparked the Sparks in multiple games this season. She had seven points on 3-for-3 shooting when the teams met two weeks ago and is a threat on both ends of the floor, even if it’s just pure chaos sometimes.

Connecticut: Marina Mabrey - Mabrey last appeared on June 20, and was 6-for-30 from the field in her last three games before that. Since then, the Sun has figured a few things out in her absence, so will her return get in the way a little? Mabrey was shooting only 29.4% from behind the arc, and the rest might have helped her reset a little, too, although some of that is obviously the attention she was getting from opponents. Mabrey began her WNBA career with Los Angeles, who drafted her in the second round in 2019 before trading her to Dallas the next season.

Advanced stat:  18.4% - Rebounding rate for Aneesah Morrow, which would actually be seventh in the WNBA among qualifying players. Sometimes it doesn’t seem that way when watching games, but the numbers back Morrow’s rebounding ability when she does get time to play. It will be interesting to see how many minutes she gets in this one.

Tactical spotlight: The first thing when it comes to the Sparks is slowing them down in transition, which is easier said than done. The Sun have actually done pretty well themselves getting up and down the floor, something Mabrey has advocated for doing more all season. One of the keys to that for Los Angeles is how well Dearica Hamby runs the floor, she had 24 points and 14 rebounds Tuesday against Washington.

Plum’s physicality proved difficult for Lacan in the last meeting and that could mean foul trouble for Lacan. When you watch the Sparks, it’s interesting how much they start Plum off the ball and let Julie Allemand start things. Plum leads LA in usage rate at 26.2%, but it isn’t among the league leaders and is actually behind both Mabrey and Morrow (which will create its own problems when both are on the floor). Plum is still third in the WNBA in three-point attempts (behind Rhyne Howard and Sabrina Ionescu) with 154.

Inside the numbers: 288 - Number of two-point attempts for Tina Charles this season, most in the WNBA. But Charles is shooting just 41.7% on those shots, the next seven on the list are all above 50%.

Prediction: 85-84 Connecticut