LOS ANGELES -- The Sparks are back after what was probably their most disappointing loss on Tuesday. They had a chance to snap a seven-game losing streak when they led the Mystics by 14 points in the fourth quarter. But Washington came back and the rest, as they say, is history.
Coach Curt Miller mentioned what was maddening about that loss to the Mystics.
“We couldn’t execute something that had a lot to do with communication,” Miller said during practice on Thursday. “Nothing about talent. Nothing about effort; we gave good effort. It was about communication. And we had too many of those mistakes. And it’s just frustrating because one person would do it right and the other one wouldn’t. Then another time down, it would be complete reversal of which position would do it right. So the slippage, especially in crunch time, was really disappointing. That hurt us and that didn’t allow us to get to the finish line.”
It is now eight straight losses for the Los Angeles Sparks (4-15) and it doesn’t get any easier. Who is next on the guest list? The two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces (12-6).
What’s funny was that the Aces were the last team the Sparks defeated before they went on this freefall. These two teams look a lot different from that June 9 match-up.
For one, Chelsea Gray has returned. And ever since she stepped back on the court, the Aces have won six in a row.
“She just facilitates everything,” Miller said about Gray. “She’s the master orchestrator. She gets everybody calm. She gets everybody in the right places. It gives them another offensive weapon.”
Jackie Young also did not play in that previous game against the Sparks. But she seems ready to go on Friday.
“Just trying to put together a full 40 minutes. Executing our defensive schemes,” Young said about going against the Sparks. “We know we can score the ball but we’re at our best whenever we’re getting defensive stops and playing in transition.”
Miller will have his team do his best to avoid that against the Aces.
“Rebounding is going to be big, right? In our series so far, we have outrebounded them by five,” Miller summarized. “That’s going to be really important. You can’t guard Las Vegas off turnovers. They’re not a team that always forces turnovers but they’ve forced us in those two games into 18 per game. So we’ve gotta get those live ball turnovers down against them.”
The Sparks signed former Rookie of the Year Crystal Dangerfield to a 7-day hardship deal on Thursday. Miller was happy to have another player on his roster for the time being.
“Having an extra ballhandler, giving us an extra guard… and, again, Crystal is a two-way player,” Miller said. “She can get up in people defensively but, offensively, can spray the ball around. She’s a three-point shooter but she’s got a really talented midrange. We wanted to bring in an extra guard and ultimately excited.”
As mentioned, these two teams look a lot different than the last time they faced each other. The Aces were in full strength for the first time this season against the Mystics on Thursday. The Sparks have unfortunately lost Cameron Brink for the season and Lexie Brown for the foreseeable future. Azura Stevens has still yet to play a game for L.A.
The advantage that the Sparks have is that they’ve had two days off while the Aces are on that rare WNBA back-to-back. Still, the Aces have four Olympians in Gray, Young, Kelsey Plum, and A’ja Wilson.
The Sparks scored that upset by outrebounding the Aces and spreading the wealth around. 10 Sparks players scored six points or more in that game. And Rickea Jackson probably had her best moment of the year when she scored 16 points and came up clutch against Vegas. Can she do it again?
A lot has to happen for the Sparks to defeat the Aces for the second time this season. But any team can beat another at any given time. That’s why they play the games.