For a veteran-laden team, the LA Sparks have found themselves in an unceremonious position in this initial stretch of the season. Kelsey Plum and Nneka Ogwumike’s team have tasted victory in four games so far, with their latest defeat coming against league newbies Toronto Tempo. Now, after the defeat, Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts has pinpointed a new league trademark that she isn’t buying into, which played a major role in her team’s loss.
Speaking at the post-game press conference, Roberts highlighted the officials’ frequent fouls, which she feels are immensely challenging for a team.
“That was ugly,” Roberts said. “That was hard to watch. I mean 72 free throws. I get it. They’re trying to clean it up, but it’s painful. So, it’s hard. I think Toronto went five minutes in the third quarter without attempting a field goal because they were shooting free throws. It’s amazing. Not saying we weren’t fouling, just it’s ugly. So, to answer your question, it’s very challenging.”
Roberts’ dissent isn’t coming in isolation. Against the Toronto Tempo, the Sparks were called for 32 personal fouls, which subsequently sent the opposition to the line 42 times. Toronto, in turn, converted 39 from the line with a stellar 93%, accounting for nearly 41% of the team’s total points (106).
Now, the Tempo has been a high-fouling team in the season. The Sparks have given away over 22 fouls per game in the season. But in the Toronto Tempo game, the caveat wasn’t just restricted to the Sparks. The Tempo was called for 27 fouls, too. The Sparks took 23 points from them, missing 7 for 77%.
The point Roberts is trying to make here is about the new style of officiating that’s been prevalent this season. These frequent calls might give both teams easy points. But the momentum is lost immediately, severely hampering the team’s performance.
“And you know what we said was that we wanted everything called freedom of movement needs to be a thing. And it was not tonight; I think there’s going to be a calibration, of course, but this felt a lot like last year to me, and that’s not where we want to be,” White said after the Fever’s win over the LA Sparks.
“It disrupts everyone’s flow, not just my team, both sides of the game,” Stewart said. “This game was 2 hours and 41 minutes long. That’s insane.”
So this gives a perfect outline: even the teams that are winning consistently aren’t satisfied with the officiating. So, Roberts’ assessment makes complete sense about that. Furthermore, leaving aside the persistent fouls, the Sparks were quite efficient.
The LA Sparks outrebounded the Tempo 26-25. And even shot better from the field (52%) than the Tempo (48%). But head coach Lynna Roberts knows that everything is not perfect with her team, even from a technical perspective.
Lynna Roberts Addresses the LA Sparks’ Shortcomings After the Toronto Defeat
Being at the receiving end of so many fouls against Toronto, it’s needless to say that clean defense has been far from the LA Sparks for now. The team has formidable defensive players, including Nneka Ogwumike and Cameron Brink. But even then, the team has given away 95+ points pretty convincingly.
Speaking in her press conference, Lynna Roberts emphasized it as one of the Sparks’ major caveats this season.
“We’re just not in rhythm offensively right now,” Roberts said. “And that’s to me, missing some shots we normally hit. The kick-out three’s, not making them the way we want to. And then not getting stops. It puts so much pressure on our offense.”
The LA Sparks’ offense has been immensely reliant on three: Kelsey Plum, Ogwumike, and Derica Hamby. Plum has been exceptional this season, leading the team with over 25+ points per season. Even in the game against Toronto, Plum took charge with 28 points.
Similarly, Ogwumike and Hambu are also scoring at 17 points per game this season. But the fourth best is Rae Burrell, who is scoring just over 7 points per game. This huge dip in production is something the LA Sparks will have to address as they head into the season.
Kate Martin has been a good addition to them in the rotation. She scored 11 points off the bench against the Tempo. But as a developmental player, Martin will be available for only a few games. So, in place of her, the LA Sparks will look to place their bet on Brink or Burrell to sort out this caveat.
