The Sparks have been one of the biggest disappointments of the season. They traded the pick that turned into Dominique Malonga for Kelsey Plum, gave up Rickea Jackson to get Ariel Atkins, and reunited with Nneka Ogwumike. And yet, they still have an 8-10 losing record and are tenth in the standings.
The team’s biggest problem is its defense—or rather, the lack of defense. The Sparks have the second-worst defensive rating in the league, allow opponents to shoot almost 50% from the field, give up a league-worst 94.3 points per game, and let opponents score an average of 42 points in the paint.
Being that bad defensively puts a lot of pressure on Kelsey Plum, who is sidelined with a leg injury at the moment, Nneka Ogwumike, and Dearica Hamby to create so much offense that they can outscore opponents who face little resistance when they’re trying to put points on the board. It doesn’t work very often. Being without Cameron Brink, who is out with an ankle injury, has only made the problem worse.
Nevertheless, head coach Lynne Roberts sent a defiant message on the Sparks’ defense after a 111-87 loss to the Fever. She also took full responsibility for the team’s defensive struggles.
“We will fix it,” Roberts said when asked about the defense in the postgame media availability. “We’re going to fix it. Full stop. We’ll fix it.”
Doing that is a tall task, given what we’ve seen from this team so far, and if she can’t, the Sparks could be looking for a new head coach soon.
The Sparks’ margin of error is small
Losing Brink and Plum to injuries is a setback for the Sparks. Still, they cannot afford much more time outside of the playoff picture—not after giving up a lottery pick and one of their young building blocks to avoid a lengthy rebuild and get back into the postseason immediately. Even considering the injuries, the Sparks’ grace period for mediocrity is coming to an end.
Defense was already a problem last season. With Plum, Jackson, and Hamby leading the charge, the Sparks could score as much as the best teams in the W. They also couldn’t stop a parked car from scoring, though. Bringing in Atkins and Ogwumike, two multi-time All-Defensive team members, vastly improved the defensive talent Roberts has to work with. And yet, the defense is still bad.
If that doesn’t change soon, the organization could start looking for a new head coach elsewhere after this season.
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