Sparks start four-game road trip against Dream in Atlanta
· Yahoo Sports
ATLANTA -- These are some tumultuous days for the L.A. Sparks.
Kelsey Plum and Cameron Brink are still out. And then on Sunday, the team parted ways with General Manager Raegan Pebley.
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Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts was hired by Pebley. There's not much to do but keep going.
"I'm focused on players and coaching and the team and Atlanta," Roberts said during practice on Sunday morning. "I found out this morning. Raegan's a friend of mine and I care about her. This is the hard part in sports, right? But right now, I'm just focused on the team."
The Sparks are 10-11 and starting a four-game roadie. Not that every game isn't important but the stakes seem high with this trip.
"We've had the sense of urgency all season," Roberts said. "We've had just peaks and valleys with how we've played and who we've had active and injured and stuff. But I feel like we're playing some of the best basketball we have all season, the last two games, and we just have to continue to build on that. Yeah, there's always a sense of urgency."
The road starts in Atlanta, Georgia. The Dream have put together a great roster with Rhyne Howard, Allisha Gray, Jordin Canada, and Naz Hillmon, among others. They also made a blockbuster acquisition in Angel Reese during the offseason. Brionna Jones hasn't played a game yet but when she's on the floor, the Dream promise to look even more potent. Gray, Howard, and Reese were named to the WNBA All-Star team recently.
But the Dream, who got off to a 12-4 start, are in a nightmare stretch at the moment. Now 13-10, the team has lost six of their last seven games.
Does that slump matter to the Sparks?
"I think we're in a situation where we have to focus on us," Roberts said. "We're still hitting our stride, right? So we're going to have a game plan ready and we do. And we'll come out with some confidence from the last couple games. But we've got to focus on ourselves and not think about... Atlanta's a good team. And everybody in this league can beat anybody. So we're not in a situation where we can think about that. We've got to take care of business and focus on what we're doing."
And that Dream roster is really good.
"They're in a similar boat with us where they've had some injuries," Roberts said about the Dream. "Bri Jones is a huge part of what they do. She hasn't played yet. We hear she's close. She may play tomorrow. We don't know. Haven't got the injury status on Reese. But obviously, as a team, they lead the league in steals. They lead the league in turnovers caused. They lead the league in shots at the rim. So whether Bri and Reese are playing, those things still hold true. Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray are two of the best guards in the world with how they shoot and create. So they're a really good team."
"They're big," Sparks guard Kate Martin added. "They're a great offensive rebounding team, great pushing and transition. Obviously, Lish and Rhyne, they're scoring the ball really well right now. And so they're definitely going to be a load. We're going to have to have all hands on deck to go out there on the road and get the win."
As of this writing, Jones and Reese are listed as questionable.
The ever-so-consistent Nneka Ogwumike had a season-high 25 points in the Sparks' win over the Sky on Friday. She seems to be hitting her stride at this point of the campaign.
"I think part of it is we're starting to figure some things out without (Kelsey Plum) offensively," Coach Roberts said. "We were sputtering a little bit and, as coaches, we needed to adjust, play through Nneka more, put the ball in her hands more. And I think what you've seen is just a more assertive Nneka in terms of... she understands, not that she didn't before, but understands how her being aggressive and that kind of steadying force is. And I think we've, in congruence, worked to get her more involved in terms of decision-making."
Ogwumike is closing in on becoming the all-time leading scorer for the franchise. She is 43 points away from passing the great Lisa Leslie for that feat.
"I'll take them as soon as possible," Roberts said when asked about how quickly she wanted Nneka to score those aforementioned points. "I've run out of superlatives for Nneka and we're only halfway through the season. She's unbelievable. And I knew that that record was within sight; I didn't know it was 43 points. I feel like after every game, there's something that she's broken record-wise, whether it's in the league or for the organization. And I'm honored and happy to be a part of her journey through this league and her legacy. It's an honor to coach her; she's one of one."
There are records to watch but the Sparks have to watch their record as well. A win here would bring them back to .500 at their halfway point of the season. And that would be an important step for the team as they try to make it back to the postseason for the first time since 2020.