Sun @ Sparks preview: Los Angeles a cautionary tale for Connecticut's rebuild
In a way, the current status of the Los Angeles Sparks could be a bit of a cautionary tale for the Connecticut Sun, wherever they end up in the future.
Long one of the marquee franchises in the WNBA (they went 102-30 from 2001-2004 and won two titles with Lisa Leslie), the Sparks made the playoffs in 20 of 22 seasons, posting only four losing records in that span, ending in the Wubble in 2020.
But they haven’t been back since, and - even after a big trade to acquire Kelsey Plum in the offseason - seem as far away as ever, moving quickly toward its fifth straight season outside the postseason.
There has been some bad luck, of course, Los Angeles had a shot to get Caitlin Clark and the best odds to draft Paige Bueckers in April’s draft, only to see Dallas get her. Then they drafted Cameron Brink second overall in 2024, only to have her tear her ACL early in her rookie season (she is expected back soon thankfully).Kelsey Plum was acquired from the Las Vegas Aces last offseason (Getty Images)
They also took Rickea Jackson fourth last season, but are set to be burned by a 2024 trade that saw them give up their 2026 first-round pick to Seattle for Kia Nurse.
In a big market like Los Angeles, there are other ways to build a team, of course, hence the trade for Plum, who has played well, but the analytical computers are not a huge fan, even if she’s third in the WNBA in scoring at 19.9 points per game. She is shooting just 38.2% from the field, though, and is fourth in turnovers (3.3 per game).
Like the Sun, defense might be a bigger problem for Los Angeles, this matchup will feature the two worst teams in efficiency. Teams are getting to the rim easily, something Brink should help eventually, and other than Azura Stevens (whom the computers say is Los Angeles’ MVP this season), there isn’t a paint presence (Mercedes Russell was waived earlier in the week, presumably to pave the way for Brink to return).
The teams have not met this season, but will see each other three times in the next month.
Both teams have had a rough run of the schedule and should be hungry Sunday afternoon (evening), but what else can we look for?:
SUN @ LOS ANGELES SPARKS
Time: Sunday, 6 p.m. EDT
Place: Crypto.com Arena; Los Angeles, Calif.
Records: Connecticut 3-17; Los Angeles 6-14
TV: NBC Sports Boston, WNBA League Pass
Line: Los Angeles -11.5
Absences: Connecticut - Marina Mabrey (out, knee); Jaelyn Brown (out, illness).
Los Angeles - Cameron Brink (out, 2024 ACL tear).
History between them: Perhaps a sign of how much the Sparks have struggled, Connecticut has won 13 straight regular season meetings dating back to 2020. That gives the Sun a 31-28 edge overall in the teams’ 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: Consistency has not really been the Sun’s thing, especially on the road, but they’ve put together two solid performances in a row, especially on the defensive end. Julie Vanloo (more on her below) throws a bit of a wildcard into matters, but you can expect Connecticut to do what it’s done in almost every game early, get the ball to Tina Charles and see how the Sparks react. Los Angeles have given up 89 or more in nine of their last 12 games, while the Sun have scored that much just once this season, so something’s gotta give, as they say.
But can the Sun score that much? How? We would say through Jacy Sheldon, but she didn’t even attempt a shot in 12 minutes on Friday. I think the Sparks will be happy to have Saniya Rivers and Leila Lacan launching from the outside at the moment, and it does seem like a matchup where Aneesah Morrow could see some more minutes at the 4. The Sparks lead the league in turnovers, so that could be a green light for Rivers and Lacan to grab some steals and run outs as well.
Key players: Connecticut: Tina Charles - We’re sticking with Charles because she played 35 more minutes on Friday against Seattle and it was obviously a physical game, with Charles grabbing her shoulder on a couple of occasions. It’s been tough for Charles this season when the games pile up, but - to be fair - I’m not sure the Sun have had three straight competitive contests lately, so we’ll see.
Los Angeles: Julie Vanloo - After surprisingly being waived by Golden State, Los Angeles scooped Vanloo up. In her third game against Minnesota Thursday, Vanloo drilled 5 three-pointers coming off the bench, so it will be interesting to see how Lynne Roberts uses her. She was shooting just 21.1% from behind the arc with the Valkyries before being waived.
Advanced stat: 11.0% - Number of field goals the Sun have taken between 16 feet out and the three-point line, tops in the WNBA, a lot of that being the Charles mid-range jumpers that this blog hates so much (although a lot of them come late in the shot clock). The Sparks shoot only 3.1% of their attempts from that range, lowest in the WNBA.
Tactical spotlight: The Sparks have strong players who can get downhill in Plum, Dearica Hamby, and Rickea Jackson, so the Sun - who have been foul prone this season - have to defend without fouling to start. Olivia Nelson-Ododa has been immense in her rim protector role of late and is miraculously 10th on the Sun in fouls per minute, which is a revelation. Plum is going to shoot her threes (although she took just seven shots against Minnesota while doling out 12 assists), but the Sun has to bother her with their length and rebound misses.
On the other end, it seems to set up well for Connecticut in the paint, but eventually the Sparks are going to force them to make shots, which has been their biggest issue this season. Does that mean Sheldon gets more minutes or is it Lacan’s team now, for better or worse, as she learns the way of the WNBA. One thing Lacan has proven through three games is she’s not afraid, so I’m sure she won’t be intimidated by Plum.
Inside the numbers: 3.1 - Assists per game for Saniya Rivers, which leads the current Sun (Marina Mabrey is at 4.0), so there’s definitely a place for a point guard that can distribute the ball for Connecticut right now.
Prediction: 85-84 Connecticut
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