2024 LA Sparks Season

[Scoffs]

This is the most stacked Sparks team since the last championship team. Many players from last season have left but the Sparks got really lucky in the draft.

Last season, the two biggest deficits were interior defense and playmaking. They've addressed the interior defense problem with the additions of Brink and Li Yueru and they've addressed the playmaking problem with the addition of Allemand. Last season's team also struggled to score when Nneka was out of the line-up. The addition of Rikea and others should offset that completely.

Right now, there are 19 players competing for 12 spots. I don't know most of the foreign players but I have seen Li Yueru play 2 complete games in the Euroleague. She dominated in the post so I think she'll make the roster.

The starting five should be:

Li (center)
Brink (pf)
Rikea (sf)
Rae (sg)
Allemand (pg)

This is a tall line-up and should give the Sparks a huge rebounding advantage and rebounding is even more important in the WNBA.

The biggest challenge this season is finding someone who can guard Breanna Stewart and Aja Wilson. Can Brink and Rikea defend these types of players?

Sparks lacked depth last season but now they have Lexie, Zia, and Kia - all competent shooters. On paper, this team is far better.

This team is a contender, barring injuries.

[Scoffs]

The Sparks won a close one vs the Storm. Cameron Brink and Rikea Jackson both played well. Brink provided much needed interior defense and Jackson scored easily off the dribble. The Storm struggled to score in the paint because of the tall line-up but they were in the game because the Sparks turned the ball over 17 times in the first half and ended up with 24 turnovers total.

The Sparks don't have a competent playmaker. Clarendon struggled on offense against ball pressure but she was excellent on defense. They tried Cooke, McDonald, Clouden, and Dietrick at pg. Dietrick is probably the best ball handler of the four; Cooke and McDonald should never play the point. Clarendon is not starter material, but they don't have anyone else.

The positives were the 3-pt shooting and the defense (shot blocking/altering and rebounding). The cons were the playmaking and the coaching.

Coach Miller: You need to tailor the offense to the talents of your players. Brink only took 1 shot in the first half and you had Jackson coming off the bench when she's the most talented scorer on the team. There wasn't a single pick and roll play or a single cut to the basket.

It's just preseason, but if Rikea doesn't start and they don't run the offense through Brink or Rikea, they're going to struggle.

The most urgent need is a point guard who can distribute the ball and make shots. Dietrick can dribble and pass but she doesn't take shots. What happened with that Belgian guard? Is she not with the team yet?

The Chinese player, Li Yueru did ok. She missed shots at the basket but she played good defense.

Billings had a good game as well.

In the first post, I said they were deep and could contend on paper. After seeing them play, they're middle of the pack but they're one good point guard away from contending. I see them making the playoffs but getting bounced in the first round.