The Los Angeles Sparks are missing two of their best players, and it shows. But Nneka Ogwumike isn’t ready to write off the season yet.
Kelsey Plum and Cameron Brink are both out for the foreseeable future. The Sparks offense has been inconsistent at best. And yet, after Monday’s 82-64 loss to the Seattle Storm, Ogwumike made it clear she thinks there’s still time to fix things.
“In my perspective, I think that it can,” Ogwumike said when asked if the team could turn things around. “With KP being out for some weeks, we’re understanding that we need to have multiple people that can push the ball. I feel comfortable doing it. Obviously Erica Wheeler is someone who can do it, but she shouldn’t have to do it the whole game.”
The Sparks shot just 34 percent from the field and 17 percent from three against Seattle. They turned the ball over 18 times, and the Storm turned those into 38 fast-break points. That’s basically the whole story of the game in one grim stat line.
Ogwumike pointed to a specific problem: the team feels rushed offensively. That leads to early contested shots in transition and careless turnovers. “I don’t think there is a strong line of playing in transition,” she said. “If you’re taking an early contested shot in transition, it’s probably not the most ideal shot.”
The defense has improved. The offense hasn’t.
Early in the season, the Sparks looked like one of the worst defensive teams in league history. They’ve cleaned that up some. Against the Storm, they held Seattle under 85 points, which is solid. But when your own offense sputters that badly, you can’t get set on the other end either.
Ogwumike admitted she had some turnovers in transition where she should have just kept the ball. “It’s not even just those quick shots, but I do think that maybe feeling a bit rushed in those moments are some things we’re going to look at tomorrow,” she said.
For the season, the Sparks are averaging 88.8 points per game (fifth in the league) with an offensive rating of 109.1 (ninth). They’re shooting 45.5 percent from the field and 31.6 percent from three. Not terrible numbers overall, but the consistency just isn’t there.
Head coach Lynne Roberts kept it simple after the loss. “We just didn’t have it on offense. I don’t know what else to say other than 18 turnovers that led to fast break points. They had 38 points off our turnovers. But it might just have been one of those nights.”
Maybe it was just one bad night. Or maybe it’s a sign of something deeper. The Sparks are pushing toward the halfway point of the season, and they’re still trying to figure out who they are without two of their biggest weapons. Ogwumike thinks they can figure it out on the fly. But the clock is ticking.
Leave a Comment