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It's Darkest Before The Light LA Sparks Road Trip Recap
75 Plays6 months ago
The LA Sparks' record drops to 2-6 as they finish up the first road trip with new rookies Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson. Here are my thoughts on where each player stands and what the Spaks need to do to turn things around.
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Transcript
Introduction to The Spark
00:00:01
Speaker
What's going on, Sparks fans? It's DJ Treacy Treason. I'm back with a new episode of The Spark. Welcome back to the show, y'all. The Sparks have played a lot of basketball. I kind of was waiting for this road trip to finish up. If you don't know, I talk about it every single episode, so I don't know how you wouldn't know, but I host a show called the LA Sparks Weekly Show.
00:00:20
Speaker
where we are on court with the Sparks and then in studio directly after away game. So I just
LA Sparks vs. Phoenix Mercury Recap
00:00:25
Speaker
got back to my apartment after recording the new episode for the game that just happened against the Phoenix Mercury.
00:00:34
Speaker
We kind of got whooped on a little bit. Not too bad, but as expected for this rookie team. And I hate to keep calling them rookie team because it's not really the sparks problem that it's a rookie team because they got some reliable vets on there. It's just a new team. It's a new team playing together. It takes some time to figure out that balance and to get to the level at which you can play together cohesively without turnovers and
00:00:57
Speaker
and without defensive breakdowns and know your rotations and know your sets and all of that. So I've
Coach and Player Insights
00:01:02
Speaker
been talking to the coach, talked to GM Regan Pebley last, sorry, Pebley last week on court, just talking about the general direction that the team is going in and got to talk to some players like De'Erika Hamby, I'll drop that into this episode. I also got to talk to, who else? It was one other person. Oh, Leisha Clarity. So Leisha's been out. Let's just kind of update.
00:01:25
Speaker
Since the last time we spoke, several things have happened for the team as a Ray Stevens is still not back. Leisha Clareton got a concussion during the game and is on concussion protocol hasn't been playing any of. I think she missed the last two games, but she left that game that she was in early, so it kind of counts as three games. So Lexi Brown has been having to do a lot of the ball handling, which is limiting her availability to just be the dynamic score that she is.
00:01:50
Speaker
The
Recent Game Highlights
00:01:51
Speaker
Sparks have dropped some games. We talked after the dream game. Of course, the Sparks lost to the Aces. Not of course, because that was actually a really close game. It was us or the Mystics for their first win. We won against the Mystics. Dropped the game at home against the Fever of the season opener at home against the Fever by just three points. We could have taken that one easily. That was a close game. Played against the Dallas Wings. Lost by one point, just one point. So again, we're close.
00:02:19
Speaker
Then we ended up winning a game. We played against Indiana in Indianapolis and was able to take that game. 88, 82, Kaylen Clark had a phenomenal game. Great, great crowd. We just, we could push it over the edge. You know, again, Indiana's a rebuilding team as well. So that's a pretty equally yoked. We're, we're a lot better than Indiana, to be honest, in my opinion, this again, you own the spark with DJ Tracy trees. So I think that.
00:02:46
Speaker
We are better than Indiana, and that's why we beat them very closely. But still,
Upcoming Matches Preview
00:02:51
Speaker
again, those turnovers, we're trying to figure out the point guard situation, right? And then after we play the fever, we lose against the Chicago Sky. We lose about 10 points at home. Fastest guards on earth.
00:03:02
Speaker
Okay, fastest guards I've ever seen play the game of basketball. Everybody's just running around. Dana Evans, new coach Teresa Witherspoon, who is a Hall of Fame basketball player, used to play for the New York Liberty. Now is the coach of the Chicago Sky. She has coached, I mean, I'm calling her Mother Teresa, and I need to make a t-shirt and put it up for sale because, man, she has worked miracles with the Chicago Sky team. They are doing a phenomenal job. Then today, we're still on this long road trip.
00:03:30
Speaker
Still not home. This is a three game stretch, but it's three games in like seven days. So it's really, really quick. It's the rookies first world trip. We dropped the game against the Phoenix Mercury 68 to 87. So the 19 point loss.
00:03:46
Speaker
20, I call it a blowout. The game was pretty one-sided this whole time. It looked like it was one-sided. Coming back up into crypto this Wednesday, playing the Minnesota Lynx tough team. Friday, we'll be playing the Dallas Wings at home again. We just lost today. I'm so hoping we got a different strategy on how to defend and to paint there.
00:04:07
Speaker
And then we play the aces again and they come into crypto this time. So that'd be fun. Asia Wilson and the whole Vegas crowd is fun. It's always, I don't know if you notice any time that the Las Vegas aces fans come with them since they very close to LA, it's just a quick road trip away, right?
00:04:25
Speaker
These girls are like rock stars. Their fans are coming out in droves as kids, that's dressed up as them and all kinds of stuff. So they're just a fun crowd to host. So they will be in crypto. So we got three home games coming up. Here is my general synopsis of what's happening with the team, right? Let's go through the roster. So I can just go through what I feel about each player right now.
00:04:48
Speaker
If
Player Assessments
00:04:49
Speaker
you want a game-by-game synopsis again, LA sparks weekly type that in any of your social media platforms and we should pop up with something Excuse me
00:04:59
Speaker
So Cameron Brink, let's start. I'm just reading off the roster of the website right here, right? Cameron Brink, rookie, doing a great job in the starting lineup, not as offensively doing as much as we want her to be doing, but we knew she would come in and be a top defensive player, right? She's finding her way into the offense. She had a 21 point game, I believe, during this road trip. So she really has had a standout game already. She's been contributing as much as she can. Her biggest task right now is to stay out of foul trouble so she can continue to stay on the floor.
00:05:28
Speaker
and play with the team. Being down Cameron Brink means that your rim protection is not what it needs to be. De'Erika can't do everything. She can't be everywhere, right? So Cameron Brink being in the game is one of her largest tasks. She already knows about it. The vets talk about it. I ask questions about it. We see that talked about a lot.
00:05:46
Speaker
Lexi Brown, she's been on the ball more. They've been by they, I mean, other teams have been really defensively locking Lexi down and she's adjusting to it, but it's a learning curve while she's adjusting. They're playing crazy defense against her. Now she's ball handling. She's showing more turnovers.
00:06:02
Speaker
She also hurt her ankle. So I'm not saying that Lexi is on a decline. No, she's just figuring out what her new role is with the team. Just talk to coach Kurt Miller and he said that the point guard position right now is a collective effort, which is kind of troubling because you want to know who your point guard is, but also he's right. Leisha is out with that concussion. So right now there are several different players who are trying to contribute to the offense.
00:06:26
Speaker
for the Sparks. Ray Burrell, we haven't seen as much as Ray Burrell as I think we could see of Ray. Ray has had a couple fouls. That's the only reason, you know, gotten in foul trouble quickly in some games with larger minutes. So maybe that's the only thing that I can think of as to why we're not seeing more Ray Burrell in that lineup. But I do think that we're going to be forced to use more Ray. But Leisha should be back. Again, next up, Leisha Clarendon.
00:06:50
Speaker
Out on that concussion protocol, immediately miss Leisha because the assists and the turnovers. Leisha does a really great job of taking care of the ball, making those Don passes, getting the ball to the score. We
Newcomers' Impact
00:07:01
Speaker
really need her in that position and she's usually there. Excuse me, we really need them in that position and.
00:07:09
Speaker
they're usually always there. Ziya Cook, we've been seeing more Ziya. Ziya has been cooking offensively, has been turning the ball over a little bit, but we've been seeing more minutes of Ziya and I think we will continue to see that. Ziya is in year two, has played off season in AU Pro Hoops, got more attention and more, paid more attention to her game and her individual development. She said the game has slowed down for her, she's feeling more comfortable. I'm excited to see more of what Ziya can do defensively and offensively.
00:07:38
Speaker
Rakia Jackson, rookie, ended up in the starting lineup just because of all the chips that I just told you about, the things that have fallen, right? So Rakia has done an awesome job defensively and offensively at just being aggressive, just kind of filling in the gaps, being an extra set of hands, catching things, blocking shots. She's been hitting that mid-range, that little turnaround jumper that she hit. So Rakia Jackson has been
00:08:00
Speaker
doing a really great job. Hasn't consistently hit double digits, but with her playing in that starting lineup with Cameron Brink more and more, I think we'll start to see both of them get more comfortable in their position. Excited to see what happens when Azuray comes back. Aerie McDonald has had to fill in because Leisha has been out. She's had to play double digit minutes in that point guard position. She's had a couple games that she's gone off for 20 this last game.
00:08:25
Speaker
against the Phoenix Mercury. She didn't have that same type of game, but that is okay. Ari has been really doing a great job at distributing the ball and putting up great shots, scoring from the three point line, having those big plays that you need from a point guard. So I am looking forward to maybe Ari moving up to the point guard position.
00:08:45
Speaker
We'll see what happens there. Kia Nurse has been, I called her the queen of the mid range on my interview with her, man. She has really been killing the game because she's turned out to be one of those scores who.
00:08:57
Speaker
You just pass the ball too and she just kind of get the quick too. She put the ball up quick. She is a good look. You know, she'll, she'll play defensive. She'll go after her shot to try to get the offensive rebound. There's many things that are happening. Great week here. Nurse Azaree Stevens. She's been out. I have no idea when Azaree is coming back. Uh, hoping to hear more about that. I plan on asking coach about it. Uh, her status in the next press conference on Wednesday, Stephanie Talbot. We've seen her play elevated minutes.
00:09:25
Speaker
She hasn't really had a chance to show what she can do there. And there's something that Coach Miller has been talking about in practice that we're just not seeing translating the game. So maybe with more time and more rotation, Stephanie's game will come out. We'd like to see Ray started over Stephanie or played over Stephanie, giving Ray more minutes because she's just had more production on the defense and the offense than Stephanie, in my opinion.
00:09:51
Speaker
Lee, your rule has been getting better and better every single game on her dribbling on her putbacks. I'm liking the minutes she's playing at least 10 minutes a game. If she can stay out of foul trouble, she has that a little bit of that roughness, toughness around the edges camera bring does, but most post players do. I think once she figures that out and can figure out her rotations and her positioning and who to pass to next, if she can't make something happen offensively, things are going to go well.
00:10:18
Speaker
Y'all, I'll just talk fast for like 10 minutes. I hope you, I hope you got all of that. And none of y'all are listening to this podcast in 1.25 time because
00:10:27
Speaker
I just spit everything that I was thinking about into this podcast and I feel so relieved because you know what? It always gets the darkest before the light. The Sparks have a clear path to start to cut their chops and learn more and more and more as a young team and learn how to play together and really develop and form the offensive prowess that they need to be a playoff contender, which I already think is gonna happen.
Spotlight on De'Erika Hamby
00:10:52
Speaker
De'Erika Hamby has been playing such great basketball.
00:10:57
Speaker
Such great basketball all around 20 points every game. She, she decided it was one of her personal goals that she wanted to have an MVP vote and she wanted to play as an all star and show up as the best version of herself for this spark team and she has not turned like
00:11:14
Speaker
And she has not faltered one time on this. I mean, I'm telling you, she really, even if she has a bad first half, she comes back and she's fighting every single game and she's putting up the numbers and she, her motor is just crazy. She can play basketball and play basketball and play basketball. So big shout outs to D'Eric and Hamby for doing her thing. Y'all, we're very close. The Sparks are very close to turning the tide and starting to get back into the win column. So keep it locked here. I'll see y
Show Conclusion and Invitation
00:11:41
Speaker
'all for more episodes of the Spark.
00:11:43
Speaker
Every single week, just to recap all the games, it's looking like three games a week, and over the Olympics, stay close to my channel, because I'll also be covering Olympic basketball, because a lot of y'all favorite basketball players is on Olympic teams as well. I'll be doing men's and women's, so you heard it first. If this is your first time checking me out, welcome. Make sure you hit subscribe and hit that little bell so you can know when I have a new episode. Thank y'all for listening to The Spark, and I will see y'all soon.