Los Angeles Sparks vs. Indiana Fever Preview

With the Fever clinching their much-anticipated playoff spot during an off day yesterday, Indiana welcomes the LA Sparks to town, most likely with open arms. The Sparks have lost eight of their last nine, and the assumption here is that the Fever will notch an easy win, then get ready for their upcoming home showdown with the Minnesota Lynx, who recently beat them in Minneapolis.

But assumptions can be dangerous things, so let's take a look at some of the important details. As unlikely as it is, this game could do sideways for the Fever, even if nearly all the key numbers say it won't.

Photo byTom BriskeyonUnsplash

Game Details

Fixture: Los Angeles Sparks vs. Indiana Fever

Date and Time: September 4, 2024 @ 7:00 PM EST

Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis IN

Los Angeles Sparks Team Review

There's no sense sugarcoating what's happening in LA these days: the Sparks are playing out the string. They've lost nine of their last ten, and some of those games haven't been close at all.

If you're looking for hope, though, consider their one win during that streak, which was against the New York Liberty. The Sparks caught the Liberty napping, and they were able to post a 94-88 win when New York took them for granted during their recent West Coast swing.

The star of that game was Dearica Hamby, who had 21 points and 7 boards, and Rickea Jackson and Rae Burrell chipped in with 19 and 18 points, respectively. The Sparks shot over 51 percent from the floor in that one, and they nailed 8 of 21 from beyond the arc, so New York definitely didn't play up to its usual standards defensively.

Indiana Fever Team Review

The Fever have doubtless been warned about that game, and coach Christie Sides has probably taken them through the game tape multiple times. Her new mantra is "success demands more," and she'll be looking for her team to deliver on it.

Indiana's offense has definitely been up to the challenge, especially of late. The Fever have been on fire, with back to back 100-point efforts against against Chicago and Dallas, respectively. They also posted 84 points in each of the two previous games, with those coming against the Connecticut Sun and the Atlanta Dream.

Assuming Indiana doesn't fall into the trap-game pitfall and take a home win against LA for granted, the key to this game is what happens when the Fever do what all the stats say they will and they roll out to an early lead.

Their defense has been leaky of late, so that might be where the fun starts. Do the Fever get sloppy and let the Sparks come back and hang around? Similarly, does Caitlin Clark get careless with the ball, as she's been wont to do of late, and give LA an unexpected opportunity to get an upset road win?

Who to Watch

Los Angeles Sparks

If LA does get this kind of upset opportunity, the player who will likely be behind it is Hamby. She's averaging just over 17 points a game to go with almost 10 rebounds, so she'll likely be leading the charge. Rickea Jackson is a capable shooter who can also get it going, as she's hitting at over 46 percent from the field while posting a very capable 37 percent from beyond the arc. Rae Burrell got hot in that win over New York, too, shooting 8 of 9, so she's another name to watch.

Indiana Fever

All eyes will be on Caitlin Clark, as usual, but the specific number to watch is her turnover count. Sides has watched her post a couple of seven turnover games recently, so she'll want Clark to keep that number under control. Kelsey Mitchell could also have yet another big game here, and expect Aliyah Boston to be her usual steady, reliable self as the Fever try to avoid looking ahead to Minnesota's arrival on Friday.

This article was originally written by Bob McCullough