The Los Angeles Sparks’ woes this season trace back to the ones they had last season as well. Cameron Brink and the team faced a persistent defensive flaw last season, finishing with one of the worst ratings. That issue hasn’t gone anywhere so far this season, as well. It has prompted WNBA analyst Caroline Fenton to sound the alarm for them.

“Useless and disappointing. It’s kind of how I feel about the Sparks’ defense,” Fenton said on the Yahoo! Sports Daily. “We’ve been waiting for this defense to get better. We talked about this in our season preview pod.”

“Like, if the Sparks’ defense is just average, it doesn’t have to be the best in the league, doesn’t have to be top five, just needs to be middle of the road, improved a little bit, and this could be a legitimate championship contender. Yet, it’s still not there.”

Fenton’s assessment is backed to the hilt. The LA Sparks are one of the best offensive teams in the league. Their numbers this season reflect that perfectly. For instance, the Sparks are fourth in the league in terms of ppg (88.7).

Additionally, they have a certain Kelsey Plum, who is averaging 24.8 points currently and is second in the league among scorers. With players like Nneka Ogwumike, Dearica Hamby, Brink, and Ariel Atkins, they have the roster that can score on any opposition.

Given their roster strength, they should find themselves among the top teams in the WNBA. However, they are currently 6-6 in the season, with the worst defensive ratings [112.1].

Due to their offensive strength, they have not really focused on the defensive side of things, and that is why they only have a .500 record.

The bitter truth is that the LA Sparks have just not been getting the defensive stops. They even have one of the lowest averages in blocks (3 per game), despite having Cameron Brink on their roster, who is fifth on the blocks leaderboard and averaging 1.5 blocks per game. This speaks a lot about Sparks’ overall contribution to the team.

“Like they are top of the league in every offensive statistic there possibly could be,” Fenton added. “But the defense is such a glaring hole. It absolutely is. Their defensive rating is 111.8, worst in the league by an entire two points. Worse than the Connecticut Sun, which is saying a lot coz the Sun have sat at the bottom for quite a while now.”

The LA Sparks camp has also acknowledged its defensive flaws.

“Very frustrating, but we’ll fix it,” Head coach Lynne Roberts said, as per John W. Davis YouTube channel. “You can do two things with frustration. You can stay in it, or you can continue to grind and fix it, and that’s what we’re doing. We’ll fix it, but it’s frustrating for sure.”

There have been signs of improvement in recent games. Cameron Brink and the team restricted the Portland Fire to just 72 points, which is the fewest they have conceded all season. They also won their next game against the Seattle Storm, and Brink was quick to express her feelings about her team after the win.

Cameron Brink Expresses Pride in Her Team After a Narrow Win Over Seattle

While the Seattle win marked the LA Sparks’ two-game winning streak, the defense remained mediocre. The Sparks allowed Seattle to score 30 of 64 for 47% from the field. They did manage to restrict Seattle to just 31% from deep, but even they scored just 26% from the 3-point line.

It was a chaotic game that saw 15 lead changes. However, in the end, the Sparks took away the win to give them their sixth victory. After the game, Cameron Brink spoke about what she felt about the team.

“I mean, we’re such a great team, and we’re putting all the pieces together,” Brink said via USA Sports. “But I am just really proud of our fight tonight, and you know, really proud of this time.”

Despite not starting, Brink had the highest plus-minus on her team at +10. In just 18 minutes of game time, Brink recorded 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks against the Storm.

For the defense to function, the Spark will need more than just Brink to lock in. The veteran players need to step up more going forward, because, at the end of the day, the LA Sparks are too good a team to be lingering in mid-table.

Brink and the team face the Phoenix Mercury up next on June 13 at the Mortgage Matchup Center. They will be hoping to carry their momentum into the game and secure the