Sparks’ Storm Preview: Sparks in Poor Form & Injured, Home Game Likely to Be Tough

On the morning of September 12, the regular season of the WNBA will continue with the Sparks hosting the Storm. The Sparks’ performance this season has been terrible, suffering a five-game losing streak after losing to the Sun in their last game, and they have only won one out of their last ten games, temporarily ranking last in the league with a record of 7 wins and 29 losses, failing to secure a playoff spot. Although the Storm has lacked consistency recently, they avoided a losing streak by defeating the Mercury in their last game and are currently ranked fifth in the league with a record of 21 wins and 14 losses.

Firstly, let’s look at the Sparks’ situation. Their performance on both offense and defense is very poor, with limited scoring ability, averaging only 78.3 points per game, ranking second to last in the league, while conceding an average of 86.4 points, making them the third most conceded team in the league. Additionally, their control over turnovers and fouls is not good enough, with an average of 14.8 turnovers per game, ranking among the top in the league, and an average of 18.2 fouls per game, ranking third most in the league. Furthermore, the Sparks’ free-throw performance is also very poor, with a free-throw percentage of only 76%, ranking among the worst in the league.

The Sparks had a poor performance last season as well, so they made some adjustments during the off-season, hoping for improvement in the new season. Unfortunately, the team did not effectively address the issues on both offense and defense. During the off-season, the core of their frontcourt, Ogwumike, left the team, and the core of their backcourt, Canada, joined the Dream. The departure of these two key players had a significant impact on the Sparks’ strength. Fortunately, the team obtained the second pick, Cameron Brink, and the fourth pick, Rickea Jackson, in the draft, and also introduced players such as McDonald, Cook, Li Yueru, Nuss, Clarendon, Julie Allemand, etc. Particularly, Li Yueru’s joining brought a wave of popularity to the Sparks, but this wave did not translate into performance, with Miller giving limited playing time to Li Yueru, leading to a disappointing season for the Sparks.

Although the Sparks have four players who can score in double digits on average, they lack a player who can deliver decisive performances in critical moments. In their last game, the Sparks lost at home to the Sun 66-86, with a shooting percentage of only 38.8%. They performed poorly in rebounds and free-throws, with a block count of 0-7, indicating that they were comprehensively suppressed. Although four players scored in double digits, Jackson had the highest score with just 16 points, Hamby scored 12 points, and Li Yueru played 11 minutes without scoring a single point, contributing only 2 rebounds and 1 assist, allowing the Sun to easily take the victory away from the away game.

On the other hand, the Storm’s recent form has declined somewhat, but they have secured a playoff spot. They average 83 points per game, ranking sixth in the league, and concede an average of 78.4 points, which is the fourth-least conceded in the league. Overall, the Storm’s offense and defense are relatively balanced. Especially on defense, the Storm put immense pressure on opponents, averaging 9.5 steals per game, and they also do well in rebounding, averaging 34.8 rebounds per game, ranking fourth in the league. However, their perimeter offense is poor, averaging only 5.9 three-pointers per game with a three-point shooting percentage of only 30.7%, ranking among the worst in the league.

The Storm’s performance has improved significantly compared to last season, when they had a poor record of 11 wins and 29 losses, ranking second to last and missing the playoffs. During the off-season, the Storm brought in two heavyweight reinforcements, the first being All-Star Ogwumike, and the second being former Mercury star Diggins-Smith. Last season, due to Stewart’s departure, the team’s performance was poor, and the off-season moves indicated that the Storm aimed to achieve something in the new season. With the addition of these two new players and the top pick guard Lloyd, the Storm showed signs of clearing up the gloom from before. The Storm have four players who average double-digit scores, with Lloyd contributing an average of 20.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game, Ogwumike averaging 17.1 points and 7.8 rebounds, Magbegor averaging 11.9 points and 8.2 rebounds, and Diggins averaging 14.4 points and 6.4 assists per game.

In their most recent game, the Storm easily defeated the Mercury 90-66 at home, with Lloyd scoring the highest 20 points and 4 rebounds for the team, and Diggins contributing 12 points and 11 assists. On both offense and defense, the Storm completely dominated the Mercury, winning the game and stopping their decline in time.

The two teams have met three times this season, with the Storm winning two out of three games. Although they did not dominate in any of those games, the Storm have led the Sparks in the last two matches. It is understood that there are no injury reports for the Storm, while the Sparks’ Clarendon, Brown, Brink, and McDonnell are all unable to play tomorrow’s game. Judging from the recent form of the two teams, the Sparks face a tough challenge.

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