MINNEAPOLIS, MN – The Los Angeles Sparks’ longest road trip of the year came to an end after another difficult loss to the Minnesota Lynx.
The fatigued and short-handed Sparks (10-18) who were without both Kristi Toliver (left hand) and Chiney Ogwumike (right knee) the last three games of the trip finished just 1-5 while losing five straight after a win against the New York Liberty.
The last two games against the Indiana Fever and Lynx were lost in the fourth quarter in different ways. Against the Fever, the Sparks blew an 8-point lead with 3:35 left in the game as they were unable to get stops, rebounds, or make free throws in critical moments.
Against the Lynx, the Sparks battled for three quarters playing tough defense but just didn’t have enough in the tank to finish the job. They scored only four points in the final period with only one field goal made.
This road trip summed up how the season has consistently gone for LA: competing hard, playing great defense, persevering through injuries, a shaky offense, and unable to finish on top.
Yet, despite a five-game losing streak with just four games left, the Sparks are still in the playoff picture.
LA is currently just one game back of the Washington Mystics (10-16) for the eighth seed. The Liberty (11-18) are also in the mix a half a game ahead of the Sparks in the standings.
“That’s the crazy thing about this league, anything can happen,” said guard Erica Wheeler, who had 15 points and 7 assists against the Lynx. “One game or two games, another team can lose, everything can change. We just have to stay poised in that area and not get too far ahead.”
“The one thing we’re going to do is compete, that’s the one thing in this world nobody can question,” Wheeler continued. “We’re going to compete every night. That’s who we are, that’s who (Coach) Fish is. He’s not going to let us do anything but that. Win or lose, we’re going to always compete.”
The Sparks’ competitive drive will again be tested next week as they face the first place Connecticut Sun and third place Seattle Storm in their final two home games at Staples Center.
Forward Nneka Ogwumike spoke about trying to keep her team focused and staying together through adversity.
“You got to take it one day at a time and we have to stick together,” Ogwumike said after dropping 16 points and 10 rebounds against Minnesota. “It’s easy to fall into the hole of what outsiders are saying, or things aren’t going my way. The alternative is just pushing and continuing to be great no matter what.”
Head coach Derek Fisher believes getting into the playoffs would be a great opportunity; he also is trying to see a bigger picture moving forward with this club.
“We have a number of players who joined us for the first time this year who haven’t had a postseason experience in their career yet, so it would be a great opportunity, if we were able to get ourselves in a better position,” Fisher said. “I think from my perspective in trying to lead us going forward, what we’re striving for doesn’t equate to hoping that other people don’t do well, so we can do well.”
“We’re going through everything we’re going through right now to push us out of our comfort zone, to make us all uncomfortable, to force us to keep asking ourselves those hard questions,” Fisher continued. “(Also) coming up with answers and solutions in how we can get better as a coaching staff, management, players, all of us. If we continue to do that and put the right energy into it, we’ll be in the postseason time in and time out.”
Despite all the losses and injuries, the Sparks are still right there in the middle of the playoff hunt and the glass is half full. It won’t be easy to get in, but nothing for the 2021 Sparks has been this season.
