WNBA: Los Angeles Sparks and Connecticut Sun set for next chapter of titanic semi-final series
Watch Los Angeles Sparks @ Connecticut Sun Game 2 live on Sky Sports Arena on Thursday night from 11:30pm
Thursday 19 September 2019 08:37, UK
The Los Angeles Sparks and Connecticut Sun continue their heavyweight slugfest in Game 2 of their WNBA playoff semi-final. Huw Hopkins reveals what we learned from Game 1 and how that will influence the remainder of the series.
Live WNBA: Los Angeles Sparks @ Connecticut
The heavyweight boxing division at present is a battle between four of the best. You have a favourite, a rival, a challenger, and a champion.
It's a similar sense in the WNBA, one keenly felt when the playoff semi-finals began on Tuesday night, as the four teams left vying for the championship contested slugfests in their respective Game 1s.
The Washington Mystics and the Las Vegas Aces (if you will allow the metaphor to continue) echoed the Deontay Wilder versus Tyson Fury match-up - a few points either way and a controversial ending deciding an encounter in which the road team were narrowly denied.
There will be much more to come from that 'slobber knocker' of a series later this week, but for now we will focus on the co-headlining clash from the WNBA's final four between the Los Angeles Sparks, a strong, experienced Anthony Joshua-like titan, and the Connecticut Sun, playing the Andy Ruiz Jr role of disrespected opponent.
Role players
Sun point guard Courtney Williams is known for gassing herself up. She is a cheerleader for herself and her team, and the swagger with which she walks, let alone runs a basketball team, generates confidence.
Coming into the series, there was talk about how the Sun lack star players and that their roster only comprises role players.
If this were the case, then these role players stepped up in a big way during Connecticut's 84-75 Game 1 win. The nine-point gap was not entirely indicative of the game's tight scoreline throughout the majority of the contest, but Connecticut shone during the opening quarter.
More specifically, anyone with the second name of Thomas was fully engaged in playoff mode despite a nine-day break as the first and second rounds took place.
Jasmine Thomas and Alyssa Thomas scored 17 of the Sun's 21 first-quarter points. Alyssa was particularly dominant in the game, hitting 9-of-17 shots, grabbing 10 rebounds, five assists and four steals, and on the defensive end she caused issues for Candace Parker throughout the game.
For the most part, Connecticut coach Curt Miller stuck with his starting unit. He played Alyssa the full 40 minutes.
In a tight game, this is understandable. Connecticut had not won a playoff game since 2012. The city needed this. And at home? Against a team featuring a star (Chiney Ogwumike) who forced her way out of the team last year? No brainer. You use every trick in the book to get this one.
It felt like the Sparks didn't face the same look on consecutive offensive possessions. The Sun would sag into a man-to-man defense using zone-help characteristics, then on the next defensive possession they would play tight to their player but scramble back when they were beaten. On other occasions, they overplayed for steals, and then would dare Los Angeles to shoot from distance.
It was a masterclass from Miller, and if this were a Game 5 to win the championship, it would totally make sense to empty the chamber like he did. But Sparks coach Derek Fisher now has it all on tape.
The stars were out
The Sparks have been very proud of how well their team grew throughout this season. In a new system under a first-time WNBA coach, the team showed their veteran leadership to remain competitive until healthy. At full strength, this squad has been a juggernaut that had a six-game win streak going into the first game of the semi-finals.
With two league MVPs - Candace Parker and Nneka Ogwumike - on the roster, multiple players that have won championships and a coach who has been a point guard on NBA title-winning teams, there are plenty of cool heads to go around.
This is still early in the series, and for large swathes of the game, the Sparks looked like they were putting together runs that, had LA struck the decisive blow, would have eclipsed the Sun.
Fisher made good use of his bench. Sydney Wiese, who didn't score a single point all last season, poured in eight and was probably the Sparks' best guard down the stretch. However, Riquana Williams and Chelsea Gray struggled - combined they were outscored by Wiese.
Instead, Los Angeles had to lean heavily on Parker and Nneka Ogwumike. The team has good defense from Chiney Ogwumike and Tierra Ruffin-Pratt, but neither offered much support in the scoring column.
Despite this, the Sparks were still in with a chance, partly because of the team's star power, but also thanks to their experience.
Connecticut have been the best team in the league at home during the regular season, tied with one other team at 15-2: Los Angeles.
The Sparks lost the opening game of this series, but they are still technically better than the Sun on paper.
Parker and Ogwumike should put on good performances again, and no one would bet on Gray having two bad games in a row when she returns to action in Game 2 on Thursday night, live on Sky Sports Arena.
Connecticut's Jonquel Jones took some time to get going in the series opener. The 6ft 4in center hit two threes en route to 16 points, but she was well schemed by Fisher's team and there were times you forgot she was out there.
Forget the characterisation of the Sun roster as a collection of role players, Jones is a legitimate star. But to be considered one of the best, there will be moments in this series where she has to impose her will on the game.
Los Angeles are still slight favourites in this contest, but Connecticut rocked the former champs in this first bout, and they stand a more than a puncher's chance of taking that next step by winning this series and moving on to fight for the WNBA's heavyweight title.
Watch Los Angeles Sparks @ Connecticut Sun live on Sky Sports Arena on Thursday night from 11:30pm
