LOS ANGELES -- The Sparks got their second home win of the season by taking care of business against the Connecticut Sun on Sunday.
Now they have one final game before the all-star break. They’re back at Crypto.Com Arena on Tuesday night as they take on the last team that they haven’t played yet: the Washington Mystics.
The Mystics were mostly predicted to be at or near the bottom of the standings by pundits. They’re clearly a rebuilding team and they were going to play their three draft picks (Sonia Citron, Kiki Iriafen, Georgia Amoore) right from the jump. Then Amoore tore her ACL before the season started so it looked even more bleak.
Then the games were played. Citron and Iriafen got their “Welcome to the W” moments but then turned it around and basically said “welcome to THEIR W.” Along with the best season of Brittney Sykes’ career, the Mystics became a fun and dangerous team from the beginning. Currently over .500 at 11-10, new head coach Sydney Johnson has these women ballin’. The rookie duo of Citron (14.4 points, 4.9 rebounds per game) and Iriafen (12.1 points, 8.5 rebounds) were chosen for the all-star game and it’s easy to argue that Sykes (17.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists) should’ve been their third all-star. Nevertheless, all the doormat predictions went out the window.
And the Mystics still have Shakira Austin (12.2 points, 6.5 rebounds) and Aaliyah Edwards (6.0 points, 3.6 rebounds in 14 minutes) as well as veteran Stefanie Dolson, scrappy Jade Melbourne, resilient Sug Sutton, and the unflappable Lucy Olsen. It’s an impressive bunch and they’re not to be messed with.
The Mystics do most of their damage in the paint and take the least threes in the league. Still, the Sparks would do well to watch for Citron, Sutton, Olsen, and Sykes in the perimeter. Dolson isn’t shooting well this season but she can be a deadeye as she finished in the Top 3 in three-point percentage last season.
As for the Sparks, they will be tested in the paint. Their defense isn’t the greatest as they are second to last in defensive rating. But what they can do is keep it close. It’s a matter of closing games out.
“(The Sun) came back and hit some runs but we found a way to answer. It shows maturity and growth,” Sparks forward/center Azura Stevens said after their game against the Connecticut Sun on Sunday, a game they closed out successfully.
The Sparks are also 3-3 in their last six games. The chemistry continues to grow and there’s a chance they can make a bigger run after their all-star break. And if they get the “Core Four” going and more, the Sparks could become a formidable team to go up against.
Cameron Brink is still on the injured list. But with her getting some five-on-five in on practice, Brink’s return may be a matter of time now.
And time is becoming more of an essence. At 7-14 and the season getting to the halfway point, the Sparks better win some games if they want to make the playoffs. And it’s going to be quite a test going against the young but very good Washington Mystics.