The cluster of teams on the playoff bubble gives me anxiety just to look at. Los Angeles and Toronto are just outside the end of the postseason picture, and every win is crucial for their season. You can count on the Sparks and Tempo throwing everything they’ve got into this game.
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET. The Sparks are 1.5-point road favorites with -110 moneyline odds on DraftKings Sportsbook. A Tempo upset is priced at -110 with the game total set at O/U 180.5 points.
Let’s get into a pick and prediction for this Sparks-Tempo game.
Sparks vs. Tempo Preview
It’s been a rollercoaster week for the Los Angeles Sparks. They pulled out an incredibly gutsy 98-97 win over the New York Liberty, getting back to .500 and staying within striking distance of the eighth seed. But it came at a cost; Kelsey Plum’s leg injury is going to sideline her for quite some time.
It’s going to be awfully tough to navigate this month without Plum. LA’s defense has been pretty atrocious all season long, but their offense has kept them in games largely because of Plum’s scoring off the dribble and playmaking skills. Without her, it’s a heavy burden on the rest of the team to pick up the slack.
Solving that problem starts with Nneka Ogwumike. LA’s second-leading scorer needs to get back to her ball-dominant ways, exploiting mismatches inside the arc and knocking down threes when available. Erica Wheeler, the de facto shooting guard, will move into more of a point guard distributor role, and I assume Rae Burrell will start as a run-and-gun wing. Rookie guard Chance Gray figures to get some increased usage off the bench as well.
Much to head coach Sandy Brondello’s chagrin, the Toronto Tempo are one of the only teams with a worse defense than the Sparks. They’re dead last in defensive rating and opponent points per game, and in every sense, they look like an expansion team. So much of this comes down to their presence in the paint, or lack thereof; Toronto has been one of the worst rebounding teams in the league, and allows the most two-point attempts in the league while ranking 14th of 15 teams in opponent two-point percentage. That’s going to be a problem against a team with Nneka, Dearica Hamby, and Cam Brink.
To overcome the frontcourt issue, they need to press their advantage in the backcourt. Brittney Sykes and Marina Mabrey are very talented shot-creators, but the efficiency hasn’t been there. Rookie Kiki Rice’s absence has placed even more pressure on those two veterans. Sykes’ drives will be awfully important here, especially when Cam Brink is off the floor and LA’s paint protection is subpar. If they can’t get prolific scoring performances out of their backcourt, it’s going to be a long night for Toronto.
Now we know what to make of these two teams. Who is going to take home the win?
Sparks vs. Tempo Pick, Best Bet
It’s tough to ignore Plum’s absence here. With their MVPlum on the floor, LA is the better team to me, but I’m not so sure with her on the sidelines. This matchup screams shootout, and it’s awfully hard to win that kind of game without your best scorer and passer. I’ll take the value on Toronto as the home underdogs.
