DALLAS, TX – Sometimes you just have to face harsh realities. The Los Angeles Sparks have now played 14 games. After a strong start in the first two games of the season, we have seen a plethora of issues such as poor rebounding, excessive turnovers, and almost nonexistent defense.
The Sparks (5-9) went on a five-game losing skid and have not managed to string any wins together. Even with the dismissal of Derek Fisher, players are still citing chemistry issues.
How many times will we hear the same narrative before we face one of two realities? One, this season is a wash and the goal is not about the playoffs, it’s about building chemistry. Or, this team simply does not work well together.
This would not be the first time we’ve seen a team with players who have immense talent individually that just don’t work well as a collective. It also wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen a team that took a few seasons to come into their own.
Interim head coach Fred Williams said we could expect to see positive change in Sunday’s game against the Dallas Wings and we did. Rebounding was not an issue; Liz Cambage made an amazing deep pass to Nneka Ogwumike, who got physical for the bucket in the second quarter. We’ve not seen that kind of quick transitional awareness before. There were moments when the Sparks were flat out playing great basketball, but moral victories do not win games.
Los Angeles is not the most forgiving place to play. This is a town that expects greatness. To be fair, there is no reason to lower those expectations when looking at the Sparks’ depth chart. Chemistry can no longer be the excuse.
There are ways this team can put in the work to correct that, but they have to do that now and a win against the Washington Mystics (11-7) on Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena could be the confidence boost they need.
If they can follow that up with another home win against the dead last Minnesota Lynx (3-13) on Thursday night, maybe there is a chance the Sparks can bail out enough water to patch the holes in this sinking ship. Either way, it’s time this squad lives up to its mantra: It’s Time To Show!
