The Sparks are in Dallas tonight. With an up-and-down season continuing, the Sparks have been trying to get above 500 all year. However, with the season dwindling, it’s now or never for LA. We’ll see if the Spark can catch fire or if the Wings will extinguish the flame.
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Arike Ogunbowale Out
Aziaha James Probable
Paige Bueckers Probable
The Wings surprised us on Tuesday by defeating the surging Fever. They won by just one point, but a win is a win. The most impressive part of that victory is that the Fever played a great game. They shot well, didn’t foul or turn the ball over excessively; it was really the Wings coming together for a win. The biggest recent change for this team is Maddy Siegrist returning to full form after missing most of the year due to injury. She scored 22 points against the Fever, shooting an excellent 9-13. Just adding her as another scoring threat and bringing more size to the Wings' frontcourt changes this team. Overall, they are still in rebuild mode, but moments like Tuesday highlight the path forward and what they’re capable of.
The Sparks, on the other hand, have had much loftier expectations that they’ve missed. This team just can’t seem to recover from their early-season blunders. It took them a while to get things together and get healthy, but now that they are, they’ve been a formidable team. With Plum, Brink, Jackson, and Hamby, this team has plenty of talent at the top end, and even more depth. Defense can still be a challenge, but scoring-wise, they’re one of the best. They’ve been averaging nearly 100 points a game for some stretches this year. However, as good as this team is, they’re not great, which should make the matchup between these two a bit more interesting.
The Sparks match up well with the Wings. They have plenty of scoring to turn the game into a fast-paced shootout early. The Wings should be able to keep up, even without Ogunbowale tonight. However, I think the Wings may struggle with some of the size on the Sparks. Even though they’re in a better position now, the post scoring ability the Sparks have just isn’t something the Wings will be able to slow down tonight. That’s why I’m going with the Sparks moneyline, the under on the 178 points total, and the LA spread at -5.
Money line: LAS (-205) / DAL (+170)
Total Points: 178
Spread: -5 LAS (-110) / +5 DAL (-110)
Plum has been excelling over the last few games. However, I don’t expect her to reach the 20-point mark again. It’s not because the Wings have a tough defense; actually, it’s quite the opposite. There’s a good chance this game turns into a blowout with Plum coming out early. Even if the game stays close, the Wings' lack of size will be where the Spark focus their attack.
Despite an impressive rookie season, Bueckers has slowed offensively in recent games. Facing a fully healthy Sparks team will be tough for Bueckers to find her rhythm. With Ogunbowale out as well, Bueckers won’t have the second-most reliable scorer on the court to help spread the floor either. With the line set high at 19.5, the under looks like the better value today.
This might be a bit of a stretch, but Yueru has been an important presence for the Wings in their tougher matchups. She’s been a valuable addition this season, and even though her numbers can be inconsistent, it's all about minutes with her. When she can get on the court for 25 or more minutes, her rebounding numbers are impressive. However, with Geiselsoder starting ahead of her, it’s hard to predict which nights that will happen. She usually has those moments when Geiselsoder gets into foul trouble, which is quite likely against the Sparks. So, expecting some early fouls from the rookie could create opportunities for plenty of Yueru minutes, giving her a real chance to grab 7+ boards.