Los Angeles Sparks wing Rickea Jackson missed three games in May under the concussion protocol. She returned for losses to the Lynx and Dream, making as many fouls and turnovers as points. Jackson took time off, citing personal reasons. Los Angeles coach Roberts said: “Rickea is a big part of our organization and our team. She’s taking personal time, and we support her. We’re excited to get her back when she’s ready.” There followed pregnancy rumors on the Internet — which Jackson might have fueled herself — and the removal of her team affiliation on a social media profile. It’s …
Phoenix 85 Los Angeles 80
Phoenix beat Los Angeles 85-80 Sunday. It took 17 minutes for Los Angeles to build a 47-29 lead, then 10 minutes to trail 58-57. Falling back to points after turnovers as the Sparks’ bugaboo, the hosts made four turnovers in the last 2:54 of the first half, resulting in four Phoenix points. Those four points were part of that 18-point lead shrinking to 13 at the buzzer. The Mercury won the third quarter 24-9. Balls got loose, players crashed to the floor, messes were made. Around the turn of the ’10s, I followed Coach Roberts’ Pacific team on a road …
Minnesota 86 Golden State 75
Minnesota continued as one of two unbeatens, winning at Golden State Sunday 86-75. The Valkyries went into half leading by one, 52-51. Perhaps the Lynx’ adjustments included “slow the eff down”, because they won the second half 35-23. Golden State had the 12-point spread covered for three quarters, but Minnesota began the 4th on a 15-1 run to lead 83-61 with 5:43 left. The Lynx backers might’ve felt secure, but the Valkyries ran off 14-3 to make it 86-75 at 1:56, and suddenly the betting public (if not the crowd at the Chase Center) has regained interest. At 0:31, Lynx …
Without Clark
Indiana constructed a roster during the off-season to contend for a championship, but I’ve watched the Fever without Clark for three halves. They lost to Washington (a second-division team, I think) in Baltimore. And Connecticut, stripping itself for sale and 0-5, took a 43-39 lead into half at Indiana. Caitlin Clark plays in a different, larger space than the rest of basketball, and takes her teammates with her. There’s more maneuvering room for cutting, shooting, passing. With many great players, about whom it’s said that “they make their teammates better”, the manner in which they do it isn’t exactly clear …
After watching Mystics guard Cintron and Sparks guard King, I regret never seeing Notre Dame
I’ve seen Washington twice: A loss at Golden State last week, and last night’s win over Indiana in an unfamiliar building. In those two games, Mystics guard Sonia Cintron gathered 15 rebounds. I’ve been dazzled, thinking she’s the best rebounding guard I’ve ever seen, and darn it, why didn’t I ever watch her at Notre Dame. In the three Mystics game I have not seen, Cintron has 7 rebounds. This bears keeping an eye peeled. Cintron averaged 5.8 rebounds per game in four years at Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish were the best rebounding team in the ACC last year, …
The good thing about Golden State playing Los Angeles twice a week is that one wins
Both California teams were in play Tuesday, and they weren’t playing each other for once. Golden State did well to lose by just 28 in New York, and Los Angeles did well to lose by 6 to visiting Atlanta (after trailing by 15 with 11:15 left, and getting as close as 1). I said yesterday that the first things I’d look for in a Sparks boxscore were the differentials in turnovers (-3!) and points resulting therefrom (0). Los Angeles scored 15 points following 16 Dream turnovers, which is insufficient. Two steals caught Atlanta leaning the other way — textbook opportunities …
Sparks 91 Sky 78
The Los Angeles Sparks beat the visiting Chicago Sky 91-78 on Sunday, winning all four quarters. Los Angeles made a +7 differential in points off turnovers. The Sparks are 2-0 when they score more points off turnovers, 0-3 when they do not. *** The feeling I got from Los Angeles during the first half was a disconnectedness that’s dogged the Sparks all season. I hazard a guess: Sparks ballhandlers are still cultivating instinct for teammates’ whereabouts, and prefer to troll for free throws instead of the open man. Coach Roberts said after the loss Friday to Golden State that the …
New York 90 Indiana 88
The Liberty led by 15, the Fever led by 12, and it was tied with a minute left. That was a game I needed, a reminder that I don’t have to wait for September to watch championship contenders play like championship contenders. New York is stuck with a most-unenviable task of having to repeat (everything else is a failure), after it took so long to complete the first most-unenviable task of winning one. (Maybe we should think about Liberty team history only as far as Since James Dolan.) Indiana built a new computer. That’s my only personal experience that matches. …
Golden State 82 Los Angeles 73, postscript
I said one intelligent thing yesterday, and forgot to write it in game notes. I said in this space that Los Angeles coach Roberts and I crossed paths in a Staples Center tunnel, and when she asked me what I thought about the game coming, I said “duh”. That’s what I said at the postgame press conference. (I identified my publication as “Utah Women’s Basketball Independent”. Later, a broadcaster said: “When you said ‘Utah’, I was, like, ‘whoa’.” “Coach and I go back to Pacific”, I said.) I told Coach: “What I should have said was: ‘The Valkyries look like …
Valkyries 82 Sparks 73
Trailing by 2 to start the 2nd quarter in Los Angeles, Golden State scored 18 unanswered points, and held on to win 82-73. Four Valkyries scored in double figures, and the Golden State bench outscored the Los Angeles bench 30-6. *** Among the first six or seven Valkyries, the player who most stands out to me is Carla Leite. The 21-year-old guard had team highs with 19 points and 3 assists in 17 minutes Friday. Golden State’s 12th man Kyara Linskens played 13 effective (+15) minutes, while the home team was nearly buried. I have two questions for Coach Nakase …