LOS ANGELES -- The Sparks (5-16) have lost nine of their last 10 games overall.
Coming into their house next for the last game of this home stand? The Minnesota Lynx (15-6), who won the Commissioner Cup championship a couple of weeks ago.
The Sparks are 0-2 against the Lynx this season. On June 5th in Los Angeles, the Lynx waxed the Sparks by 24 points. Nine days later, the Sparks played a much better basketball game but fell short against these cats from Minnesota.
Napheesa Collier is doubtful coming into this game as she suffered a foot injury last Thursday against Connecticut. The Lynx are definitely a more dangerous team when she's on the court. She has played like an MVP this season, especially in the two games against the Sparks. Collier is averaging a cool 27.5 points and 7.5 boards against Los Angeles while shooting a scorching 21 for 37 (.568).
But even without Collier, the Lynx are still formidable. Kayla McBride made the All-Star team this year; it's the fourth of her career. Courtney Williams had a double-double against the Sparks in their last match-up with 15 points and 10 assists.
And Minnesota continues to be the top three-point shooting team in the league at .391. In fact, three Lynx players are just below Stefanie Dolson of the Mystics for the top three-point percentage in the W. Alanna Smith is shooting .456 from behind the arc. McBride is at .442 and Bridget Carleton is making .438 of her threes.
While the Sparks have done well in terms of taking care of the ball as of late (three turnovers against the Aces and nine against the Mercury), they need to be mindful against the Lynx. L.A. averages 18.5 turnovers in two games against Minnesota, who are still the top defensive team in the league.
Dearica Hamby has been the rock for this team as she has averaged 23.5 points, 9.4 boards, and 4.0 assists while shooting .444 from three in her last five games. Rickea Jackson scored a career-high 22 points last Sunday against the Mercury. And the Sparks got some much-needed help from Azurá Stevens, who made her season debut in that same game against Phoenix. She scored 10 points and grabbed six boards in 26 minutes of play.
"Offensively, she's versatile," Hamby said after their game against the Mercury on Sunday. "She can play inside and out. She's long. She's active. But defensively, it was nice. Kind of took a little bit of pressure off of me for her to guard (Brittney Griner) and for me to roam a little bit. We missed her. We know what she's capable of offensively and defensively. It's good to have her back."
However, Stephanie Talbot is questionable after she left last Sunday's game in the first quarter with a foot injury. The injury bug continues to hit the team. Hopefully, the Sparks can stay healthy the rest of the way.
But in the meantime, the Sparks have a task ahead of them against the Lynx. A victory would close the home stand on a good note before they go to Dallas to take on the Wings on Saturday.