The Sparks are heading up the coast to face the Storm. These matchups are always exciting with the Storm surging and the Sparks finding their rhythm as well. With the Sparks back to full health, this should be an interesting game. However, even with their team healthy, the Storm are not an easy opponent. We’ll see if the Sparks can win this one on the road.
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Katie Lou Sameulson Out
It was a somewhat awkward return for Cameron Brink in the last game. She played her first game since tearing her ACL back in 2024, and the Aces overwhelmed them. Of course, Brink isn’t back to full speed yet while coming off the bench, but still, this team is finally starting to come together after that loss to Vegas ended a five-game winning streak. The team has struggled to find their rhythm despite having a solid group of players. Plum and Hamby have been leading the team, but it just hasn’t been enough most of the year. Sitting at 11-15, they still have a long way to go if they want any hope of making the playoffs. Brink might just be the missing piece they need, though.
For the Storm, they’ve been caught in a strange cycle of winning one game and losing the next. They haven’t achieved back-to-back wins in nearly a month. That keeps them where they are in the standings, but they need to start climbing again. However, things have really come together for them. They have a lot of solid role players, and they play a strong brand of defensive basketball. They are one of the toughest defenses in the league this year, second only to the Liberty. With their size and depth, it’s extremely difficult for opponents to get past them anywhere on the court.
Regarding the matchup, it will depend on Plum’s scoring and Brink coming off the bench. If Brink can contribute more on defense in her second game back, the Sparks should be fine, especially with Plum's recent streak of big games. However, I don’t believe it will be enough against the Storm. They’re such a solid team that it will be difficult for the Sparks to break through. That’s why I’m going with the Storm moneyline, the under on the 169.5 points total, and the -5 Seattle spread.
Money line: LAS (+180) / SEA (-218)
Total Points: 169.5
Spread: +5 LAS (-108) / -5 SEA (-112)
Diggins remains the leading scorer for the Storm, but her points have been gradually declining. Since the post-All-Star break, we’ve seen the Storm experience a few blowouts that shorten Diggins's time on the court. With the Sparks struggling this season, that’s my concern tonight against the Storm's strong defense. If that happens, I don’t foresee Diggins surpassing the 17-point mark.
Plum has been on fire lately. She’s been strong after the All-Star break and hasn’t scored fewer than 20 points in her last three games. The Storm will try to contain her, but I don’t think they’ll manage to stop her from getting her shots or drawing fouls. She’s been living at the free-throw line recently, and even though her shooting is a little inconsistent, her ability to draw contact is unmatched. If she can generate some free points, I believe she’ll have no trouble scoring 19+.
Williams is a kind of feast-or-famine rebounder. She’s averaging 4.6 a game, but it feels like she either gets 8 or 2 most of the time. Especially when facing a solid rebounder on the Sparks, she might struggle to grab boards today. I think she’ll be too busy guarding the perimeter and let the front court handle the rebounding.