Following Wednesday’s loss, the Sparks are now in desperation mode for their final four games of the season. That stretch will start with a rematch against the Dream as they wrap up their two-game
The parks are 1.5 games back of the Fever in the No. 8 seed and two games back of the Storm in the No. 7 seed.
Start time and TV schedule
Who: Los Angeles Sparks vs. Atlanta Dream
When: Sep. 5, 4:30 p.m.
Where: Gateway Center
Watch: Ion
The Sparks already needed to play nearly perfect basketball before Wednesday’s loss. After it, they
need to play perfect AND get a bunch of help. All that is made harder by their schedule compared to the teams they’re chasing.
On Wednesday, the Sparks started fast, then proceeded to give up a run so big that none of that mattered. The second quarter is where things got away as LA was outscored by 10 in a game they lost by nine.
You could also point to turnovers, where the Sparks only had 12 but allowed the Dream to score 17 off of them. Or that they were not only outscored by 15 points at the 3-point line, but shot just 24%. That’s been a concerning trend for the Sparks as they haven’t cleared 32% from the 3-point line in five games and haven’t even cleared 30% in four of those contests.
Against any team, it’d be important to get back on track. Against an Atlanta side that places such an emphasis on 3-pointers, it’s the type of thing that will make or break your chances of winning the game.
All that being said, the Sparks really need to just find a way to win. They are firmly at the point of the season where how they win is truly irrelevant and acquiring them is what’s important. Wins are mandatory or the season will soon be over.
Let’s see if they can find yet another huge one on Friday.
Notes and Updates
- Rickea Jackson (right lower leg) remains on the injury report while also remaining probable.
- Allisha Gray (knee) will be out again for the Dream on Friday.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
