WNBA on ESPN2: Can the Sparks Stay Perfect vs. the Liberty?


Earlier this season when the Liberty and Sparks met at MSG, Los Angeles rallied from down seven midway through the 4th quarter to force overtime, where they eventually won 79-72. The Liberty will have a chance to redeem themselves and hand the Sparks their first lost of the season Tuesday on ESPN2 at 10 PM ET.

The Sparks have yet to lose a game since that victory, pushing their streak to 7-0 to start the season, while the Liberty currently sit at 4-3 overall and are being paced by Tina Charles, who leads the league in both points (21.4) and rebounds (11.6) per game.

What has been the reason behind the hot start from the Sparks?

Los Angeles GM and VP Penny Toler said on Monday that “defense, veteran leadership and the maturation of Nneka and Candace” have all played important roles.

The stats back this up as the Sparks only give up 68.4 points per game, easily the fewest in the league. Part of this success can be traced to their limiting opponents from long range, where they have held opponents to a league-low 20.4% from behind the arc.

Both teams have championship coaches who value defense: Bill Laimbeer for New York and Brian Agler for Los Angeles.

New York can attribute defense to their success as well, as they rank fourth in the league in points per game against (75.3). They also hold opponents to the lowest field goal percentage (36.7), a category the Sparks also perform well in at third place with 40.6%. The Liberty also lead the league in steals per game at 9.4, while the Sparks force opponents into the second most turnovers per game at 16.4 (first place is the other undefeated team, the Minnesota Lynx).

Swin Cash also referenced how playing against Los Angeles has been different this year than in the past.

“Playing against them in the past, there have been times where it’s like L.A. is gonna let you back in the game or you might be able to win it, whereas you see their guards exuding a certain level of confidence and being able to execute more inside,” she said.

Cash also referred to the Liberty’s “attack mentality” that Laimbeer has instilled, and Cash has done her best to carry that onto the court since being inserted back into the starting lineup.

Tina Charles is playing some of the best basketball in the league with two Player of the Week awards and one Player of the Month award to her name already. Candace Parker has been her all-around All-Star self as she is tied with Elena Delle Donne for fifth in the league in scoring (18.4 PPG), and fills it up the rest of the stat sheet with 7.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game.

The new playoff format puts even more of an emphasis on the regular season for the Sparks, who are competing for the No. 1 seed with the also undefeated Minnesota Lynx. Minnesota’s own streak will be on the line Tuesday night when they play the Mercury at 8 PM on NBATV.