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Sparks coach Curt Miller sat down with a shrug and a relieved tone to begin Wednesday’s postgame news conference. “We made it,” he said.
The injury-plagued Sparks suffered their sixth consecutive loss Wednesday night, falling 97-78 to the league-leading Las Vegas Aces. The team is stumbling into the All-Star break ninth in the WNBA standings.
As Nneka Ogwumike participates in her eighth All-Star game, where she was selected as a starter for the second consecutive season after averaging career-highs of 19.8 points and 9.6 rebounds, the rest of the Sparks will retreat for much-needed recovery and prepare for a second-half playoff push.
With 20 games down and 20 more to go, here are four things to know about what’s to come for the Sparks after the All-Star break:
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Reinforcements on the way
Sparks guard Lexie Brown dribbles down the court during the first half against the Minnesota Lynx on June 11 in Minneapolis.
(Abbie Parr / Associated Press)
Two Sparks early-season starters, Lexie Brown and Layshia Clarendon, returned to practice Tuesday, but when they will return to the lineup remains unclear. Clarendon is five weeks through her estimated four-to-six week injury recovery timeline.
Brown, a sharpshooting guard, was the team’s second-leading scorer before she was sidelined by a non-COVID illness, averaging a career-high 13.3 points and 2.9 assists in 31.9 minutes.
Clarendon played just six games before suffering a foot injury, averaging 7.8 points and 3.7 assists in 26.7 minutes.
Even with his two starting wings recovering, Miller remains cautious and understands that their returns would come with learning curves.
“The hard thing for me now is to have to be patient,” Miller said. “We’ve got to find that chemistry with them again.”
Nneka Ogwumike scored 20 points, but the Sparks limped into the All-Star break with a sixth consecutive loss as the Las Vegas Aces dominated 97-78.
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Stevens feeling at home
Sparks forward Azurá Stevens (23) defends against Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum (10) during the first half on Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena.
(Ashley Landis / Associated Press)
Azurá Stevens has hit her stride after returning to her natural power forward position because of the injuries. She’s entering the break with a five-game scoring streak of more than 10 points a game, giving the team a legitimate second scoring option after Ogwumike.
On Wednesday, Stevens had a season-high 22 points, her most since 2020, with 12 rebounds. Miller called it her best game in a Sparks uniform.
Stevens’ productivity in this position can help offset the absence of Chiney Ogwumike, who has missed five games with a foot injury, and take pressure off Dearica Hamby.
Hamby, who gave birth in March and planned to return just before the All-Star break, has already started 16 games, averaging 9.4 points with 6.2 rebounds in 25.6 minutes.
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Rookie grows up fast
Sparks guard Zia Cooke (1) drives to the basket against the Phoenix Mercury during a game on May 19 at Crypto.com Arena.
(Jeff Lewis / Associated Press)
One benefit of the injuries has been Zia Cooke’s emergence.
The team’s only rookie is averaging 4.7 points with 1.1 rebounds in 14.3 minutes. She and Hamby are the only Sparks who have played all 20 games.
“I actually like to go through adversity throughout my career,” Cooke said after Wednesday’s game. “Just so I can know where I need to improve on and what I can do to just make myself better.”
Cooke had an explosive debut on May 19, scoring 14 points in 15 minutes against Phoenix Mercury. But she didn’t score in double digits again until she had 10 points against the Chicago Sky on June 30.
She has scored 11 twice in July already, entering the All-Star break on an upswing.
The Sparks, with five players already sidelined, lost starting forward Dearica Hambry early in a loss to the last-place Phoenix Mercury on Sunday.
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The playoff picture
Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike (30) lays the ball up against the Las Vegas Aces during the first half on Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena.
(Ryan Sun / Associated Press)
Miller maintains this injury-ridden season will be a foundational year for the Sparks, downplaying the importance of the win-loss record in favor of building the franchise’s long-term culture.
But the results are reaching record territory. The six-game losing streak matches Miller’s longest as a WNBA coach. He lost six consecutive games in 2016, when the Connecticut Sun failed to make the playoffs in his first season.
The Sparks have missed the playoffs just six times in their 27-season history, but the team is coming off a two-season playoff drought.
“I just want us to stand for togetherness,” Cooke said. “No matter what happens, we’re going to stick together for the next half of the season. We’re going to keep fighting the same way we did for the first half.”
