LOS ANGELES – The Sparks’ season opener didn’t exactly go as planned.
Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong for the Sparks (0-1). They didn’t shoot well. Ball movement wasn’t there. The defense was porous. And effort was even questioned.
That was Sunday. It’s a new day. It’s a new game. Yes, a new day was mentioned in the first game preview of the season.
But every day is a new day. The Sparks move on to Wednesday as they face the excellent Indiana Fever (0-1), a team that made the semifinals last fall and took the eventual champion Aces to the limit.
It's always fun to see two left-handed all-stars named Kelsey (Plum for L.A. and Mitchell for Indiana) go against each other. All fun and games aside, it’s another tough test for the Sparks.
“It’s early. I thought Vegas did what champions do,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said at practice on Tuesday. “(The Aces) didn't play well in their home opener. And they regrouped and kicked our ass. That's the level we're going to strive to get to. So we need to correct and react but not overreact and overcorrect.
“So today's focus was about beating Indiana. And the game plan and how we're going to be better offensively. And what things we need to learn from, from the Vegas game. It's a long season. I'm not going to freak out. We had a bad game. There's a lot of reasons I could say why. Reality is we got to turn the page and get ready for a really, really good Indiana team.”
One of their rookies agreed.
“We just had to turn the page,” Sparks guard Ta’Niya Latson said. “We had a really bad game. So making adjustments and cleaning up some things and then being intentional and communicating. We're not going to overanalyze anything. We're just going to continue to work and communicate.”
The Fever have that three-headed monster in Kelsey Mitchell, Aliyah Boston, and Caitlin Clark. The team did do very well last season without Clark as they took the Aces to five games before succumbing at the end. But make no mistake; the team is definitely more frightening in full strength. Mitchell can shoot it and is a blur on the court. Boston is a powerful presence on both ends of the court. And Clark knows where everyone is on the offensive end.
"They've got three high-level scorers. I'm not going to give you our game plan," Roberts quipped. "But we've got to be physical and connect defensively. Five-on-five. It's not just, 'oh, I'm guarding her, so it's on me.' We've got to be better defensively."
The Fever drafted a defensive dynamo in South Carolina's Raven Johnson. Latson knows very well about her as they started together in college as recently as last month.
"We talked yesterday. I'm just happy to go against her," Latson said. "That's my dawg. I know we're going to talk a little trash on the court. Obviously, we're best friends but we're going to compete."
Latson went further about what to do against the Fever.
"They have multiple weapons with Aliyah Boston, Kelsey Mitchell, and CC. So we just have to play good team defense, get stops, get out in transition, try to play together, and move the ball. I feel like that's something that we needed to do against the Aces that we didn't get to do. So just be patient."
The Sparks only had 11 assists in 29 made field goals in Sunday's game against the Aces. They also had 19 turnovers so that's always something to watch out for.
The Fever lost some of their guards in Odyssey Sims (now back in Dallas) and Aari McDonald. But they do still have Lexie Hull and Sophie Cunningham. And the Fever picked up proven veterans in Myisha Hines-Allen, Ty Harris, and Monique Billings. So the Sparks have a lot to contend with.
But the Sparks had pick-ups of their own such as Ariel Atkins, Erica Wheeler, and the two rookies they drafted in Latson and Chance Gray. And of course, the centerpiece of free agency for the Sparks was Nneka Ogwumike, who came back to Los Angeles after two years in Seattle.
"Nneka's a force, on the court and off. But she does her, it's like (a) superhero," Coach Roberts said. "She is the best example of that. She uses her power for good and she's incredible. I love being around her and her gravity. She's amazing."
Ogwumike was not pleased about her defensive effort on Sunday and promised to be better against the Fever.
"I think that was probably one of my worst one-on-one defending nights," Ogwumike said after Sunday's game against the Aces. "But defense is definitely not something that you guys should be sitting here watching and hoping we get it down by the end of the month. You should see it on Wednesday."
And the Sparks hope they can show that against the Fever on Wednesday night. Otherwise, they'll be staring at an 0-2 hole.