2024 LA Sparks Season

Scoffs · Starting Rotation Joined: 12 Aug 2001 Posts: 923

The Sparks lose again to the Connecticut Sun but they get blown out this time. They lead early by 8 pts but then had a 5 minute scoring drought and never recovered. Marina Mabrey hit 6 threes and dropped 26 pts (in just 3 quarters of play) off the bench. Dijonai Carrington had another great game disrupting the offense and making a bunch of lay-ups. The Sparks missed at least 6 lay-ups and turned the ball over 15 times, mostly on bad passes.

Positives: Rookie Rickea Jackson had a perfect half and shot 6/6 fg for 13 pts; she ended the night with 16 pts and passed Nneka to become the 2nd leading rookie scorer in Sparks history (No one is passing Candace). Stevens had a monster rebounding game and ended up with 17 boards. Dangerfield hit 3 threes and scored 11 pts (mostly in garbage time).

Negatives: Without Brink, the Sparks have very little interior defense. Steven's natural position is probably small forward but she's asked to play center because of her height. Hamby is undersized and the Sparks gave up at least a dozen lay-ups tonight.

For next season, they should definitely try to sign free agent and SoCal local Dijonai Carrington.

Scoffs · Starting Rotation Joined: 12 Aug 2001 Posts: 923

The Sparks lose to the Seattle Storm in a very competitive game. They were up 13 pts in the 2nd quarter but gave up the lead in the 3rd quarter. They were up 2 pts in the middle of the 4th quarter but couldn't hold on to it. It was too much Magbegor on the inside and Diggins-Smith on the perimeter. This is the best game I've seen from Diggins-Smith; she dropped 26 pts on 10/13 fg and added 4 steals and 3 blocks. Basically, she was able to get to her spots and shoot uncontested 15 footers all game long.

Positives: Stevens had a monster game of 18 pts and 15 boards; she was hitting a bunch of threes in the first half but couldn't do it in the 4th quarter. Rookie Rickea Jackson scored 22 pts on 8/15 fg. Sims added 16 pts and 6 assists but she had 5 turnovers. Burrell did a good job challenging Jewel Lloyd's shots; Lloyd only shot 3/15 fg.

Negatives: Diggins-Smith was cooking Sims all game long but I didn't see any adjustments. Sims botched several fast-breaks with bad passes. There were at least half a dozen opportunities to tie or take the lead but the Sparks couldn't hit the open shot or turned the ball over.

There are only 3 games left; I think the Sparks clinched the worst record in the league so they get the most ping pong balls in the draft lottery. We'll find out in December if they get Paige Bueckers.

TDRock · Posted: Thu Sep 12, 2024 9:58 pm Post subject:

OK well just finished watching one of the re-airings. It was enjoyable, good game for the most part

. I hope Odyssey Sims is OK and her injury isn't too bad.

Scoffs · Starting Rotation Joined: 12 Aug 2001 Posts: 923

The Sparks lose a close one vs the Seattle Storm. They fell behind early and were down by 15 pts in the 2nd half, but they played hard and eventually got the lead with about a minute to go in the 4th quarter. Kudos to the entire team, especially Hamby and Burrell; they played like the game mattered.

Positives: Rookie Rickea Jackson scored 22 pts on 7/16 fg. Hamby got 25 pts and 11 boards; Sims got 20 pts on 9/16 fg. Burrell got 3 steals and 3 assists; she also disrupted a few passes and got some key offensive rebounds.

Negatives: The turnovers decided the game; they had 10 turnovers in the first half and 6 in the second half. If Coach Miller remains the coach next season, I hope he doesn't continue to force passes into the paint to Hamby. The Sparks also had 2 turnovers inbounding the ball. Jackson mishandled the ball twice; she really needs to work on ball handling in the offseason.

There are only 2 games left. I'm looking forward to the draft lottery in December.

TDRock · Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2024 4:58 pm Post subject:

I thought I was catching the new game but it turned out I caught the second half of the previous game versus Seattle storm. So I mean yeah there were good things about it and able to make a comeback or whatever but we don't seem able to finish which is a problem. I'm certainly hoping for a new coach next season I'm gonna be extremely honest about that.

Scoffs · Starting Rotation Joined: 12 Aug 2001 Posts: 923

The Sparks lose again to a depleted Phoenix Mercury team playing without Kahleah Copper (their leading scorer). They were up 8 early when Zia Cooke went off and hit three straight 3-pters, but they struggled against the full court press in the 3rd quarter and turned the ball over time and time again. Hamby picked up 4 fouls late in the 3rd quarter but Li Yueru stepped up with her best game of the season.

Positives: Li Yueru scored 19 pts and grabbed 12 boards. Hamby dropped 21 pts and 9 boards. The team played hard even though it was a meaningless game.

Negatives: Rookie Rickea Jackson and Brittney Griner both got ejected fighting for position on a free throw. I think Griner was at fault because she raised her elbow toward Jackson's face. Jackson said something and Griner pointed her finger toward Jackson, which she slapped away. I wouldn't have ejected either of them.

Turnovers decided the game; the Sparks don't handle ball pressure well. Stevens, Sims, Cooke, and Dangerfield all struggled against double teams and turned the ball over. I think they had 7 turnovers in the 3rd quarter.

There are so many players that need to go next season. The core is Hamby, Brink, Burrell, and Jackson; everyone else can go.

Halflife · Franchise Player Joined: 15 Aug 2015 Posts: 18502

sparks games are kinda of fun to go to. My son and I were down there this season and last minute decided to go to a game and the vibe was chill and more crowded than I thought. Even with brink out.
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TDRock · Posted: Wed Sep 18, 2024 5:01 pm Post subject:

Anyway I got distracted on my way to posting here.

Watched the re-airing of the game and it was pretty much the same thing that I always say, playing great at times but then losing leads and all what have you. I like Li Yueru, Nice to see her have a great game. One more to go so let's do it.

Yeah I did not get to go to any Sparks games this season it's just been kind of a bizarre time for me. But they are fun. The fan appreciation game last night or whenever it was last night right? Anyway that would've been fun to go to. Glad y'all had fun. I hope to go more next season when we have a different coach and a better situation lol just kidding just kidding

Scoffs · Starting Rotation Joined: 12 Aug 2001 Posts: 923

The Sparks blow out the Minnesota Lynx on the road. It's the final game of the season and the Lynx rested 3 starters. The Sparks played great defense the whole game and held the Lynx to 30.4% fg.

Thoughts on the core players:

1. Rookie Cameron Brink is an elite interior, defensive player but she has no post moves. In college, she would seal players in the post, turn and shoot over shorter players but that doesn't work in the WNBA. I hope she's able to develop at least one post move in the offseason. I suggest developing a short running hook or a floater.

2. Rookie Rickea Jackson needs work on her handles and her conditioning. She mishandles the ball about once per game. I think she's too vertical when she dribbles; she turns the ball over frequently when she's double teamed. If it's a grip issue, I suggest she trims her fingernails. She also scores in bunches early in the game and then disappears for long stretches (in the 2nd half). I think it's a conditioning problem but it could also be a coaching issue.

3. Rae Burrell needs a stronger core, legs, and upper body. She flails when she attacks the basket and there's traffic. She would score more if she had better body control; that means a stronger core. She seldom finishes at the rim when she's challenged. She's been much better lately, but she still loses track of players on defense because she ball watches.

4. Dearica Hamby had a great season except for turnovers. She needs to make fewer passes - far fewer passes. Just give the ball to the guards and let them make the plays.

5. Coach Miller has some great qualities; he rewards players who play hard and contribute. The team also played hard the entire season so he kept them motivated. However, early in the season, some serious mistakes were made in personnel. I assume the GM or President consulted with Coach Miller on player decisions. They needed playmakers and ballhandlers but failed to get them until late in the season.

The offense also looks sloppy compared to other teams because Coach Miller has all 5 players out on the perimeter. It was maddening to see Brink just standing in the corner waiting for a pass so she could shoot a three. Coach Miller also couldn't fix the turnover problem; turnovers cost the Sparks at least 8 games. They'd be in the playoffs if they took better care of the ball. Finally, what happened with Clarendon and did Nneka and Jordin Canada leave because of this coach? Rickea Jackson and most of the players looked miserable at the press conferences all season long.

TDRock · Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2024 5:38 pm Post subject:

I finally watched the replay of this game the other night before taking off out of town for work. And...Yeah. That was a season lol. Blissfully it is done and I'm looking forward to hopefully being greatly improvednext season. Thanks so much for the coverage this season, Scoffs

TDRock · Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2024 6:41 pm Post subject:

OK well I just saw on Access SportsNet that the Sparks have parted ways with Coach Miller so that is a start. Best of luck to Coach Miller in his future endeavors.

Scoffs · Starting Rotation Joined: 12 Aug 2001 Posts: 923

It had to happen, but thank you Coach Miller for the masterful tank job. Let's get Nneka back and try to convince Candace Parker and Kristi Toliver to coach the Sparks next season.

The Sparks had a turnover problem since preseason and Coach Miller couldn't fix that problem. It's not entirely his fault because the GM/President gave him a lousy squad without any playmakers or ballhandlers; they kind of fixed the ballhandling issue with Crystal Dangerfield and Odyssey Sims but that was a bit late.

For next season, I hope the Sparks are able to get Dijonai Carrington and Nneka in free agency and I hope they win the draft lottery and get Paige Bueckers. Imagine a line-up of Brink, Nneka, Jackson, Carrington, and Bueckers with Hamby coming off the bench. That's a contending line-up.

They still need a back-up big who can defend. I would prefer they find someone other than Li Yueru because Li doesn't jump when she rebounds or shoots and Azura Stevens doesn't defend at all.