Sparks look for a turnaround
The Sparks’ Tina Thompson, one of the most decorated players in WNBA history, has a problem she doesn’t know how to fix. She’s not sure why her team, one of the league’s most successful franchises, can’t seem to win.
“If I knew, I’d definitely let everyone else know so we could fix it,” said Thompson, a four-time WNBA champion, two-time Olympic gold medalist and eight-time All-Star. “We feel like we’re coming out and playing hard.”
The Sparks, who once captured back-to-back championships behind three-time league most valuable player Lisa Leslie and who last season made it to the Western Conference finals, are 3-11 and have lost eight of their last 10.
Some quick answers: They no longer have Leslie, who retired at the end of last season, and are now without Candace Parker, the team’s top scorer, and the indomitable Betty Lennox, a tough veteran shooting guard.
As the team prepared to host conference rivals over the next six days — the San Antonio Silver Stars on Thursday, the Seattle Storm on Saturday and the defending champion Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday — General Manager Penny Toler appeared reluctant to make a move.
“Do we make changes just to show people we’re trying to do something?” Toler said. “Or do we keep the players we have and show them we have faith in them and try and turn it around?”
Thompson said she would like to see the Sparks acquire a center to replace Parker, who is out for the season after shoulder surgery, and a shooting guard to replace Lennox, who had knee surgery last week to repair a torn meniscus.
“We’re only playing with nine players now,” Thompson said.
Meanwhile, the Sparks’ announced attendance at home is down so far this season. Through Tuesday’s game, the team is averaging 8,577 fans per game — a pace that if it continues would be a 17.4% decline from last year’s average of 10,387. Attendance, of course, is down across the league — through June 24 the WNBA averaged 7,222 fans per game, down 12% from the same time last year.
The Sparks opened the season struggling to find their identity as Jennifer Gillom, with little experience as a head coach, took over for Michael Cooper and Parker took over for Leslie.
Soon the team was 1-6, the worst start in franchise history. Then things got worse. On June 13, Parker went up for a rebound and had to leave the game. Within days, her dislocated shoulder was repaired and the Sparks tried to adjust.
But Toler fears that losing Parker, the 2008 rookie of the year and league MVP, could hurt attendance even more.
“She’s one of the most visible players, not only in the WNBA, but in the world,” Toler said. “We’d be crazy not to be concerned that we’re going to lose fans because Candace is out.”
However, Sparks co-owner Kathy Goodman said she doesn’t think attendance will keep falling because the WNBA attracts “different [fans] than other sports.” She points to 2007, when announced attendance increased even though Leslie was on pregnancy leave and Chamique Holdsclaw unexpectedly quit five games into the season.
“WNBA fans come to see a team,” Goodman said. “They like the passion of our players and the brand of basketball the WNBA offers.”
But Goodman acknowledged that if the Sparks don’t start playing better, the franchise could have major problems.
“I’m far more concerned about how we played the other night than not having Parker,” she said, referring to last week’s 68-53 drubbing by the Washington Mystics. The Sparks had 21 turnovers, were outrebounded, 34-24, and shot 35.8%.
“I don’t think that’s indicative of the team,” she said at the time. “If I thought that was our team, I’d trade everybody away.”
In the next game, the Sparks blew a 16-point lead and lost to the Atlanta Dream. In their most recent loss, to the New York Liberty, the Sparks were outrebounded, 35-22.
“I’m frustrated,” said Olympian and two-time WNBA champion DeLisha Milton-Jones. “Very, very frustrated.”
After Parker’s injury, Gillom publicly pushed to get Courtney Paris, a free agent, who was a star center in college but has been underused in the WNBA.
Toler, who could fill Parker’s spot through a trade or free agency, was unmoved.
“Right now, we play with what we have,” Toler said. “There’s not a player out there who’s better than the ones we have on our team.”
The Sparks could still get into playoff contention, but the players know they have to start pulling out wins.
“If we could just put together two or three wins,” Milton-Jones said, “we’re right back in the hunt.”
Sparks attendance
The average announced attendance for Sparks home games has slipped a bit so far this season.
2006: 8,311 (17 dates)
2007: 8,695 (17 dates)
2008: 9,508 (17 dates)
2009: 10,387 (17 dates)
2010: 8,577 (seven dates)
