Sparks can’t catch Atlanta, suffer 1st loss

No matter baggage Chennedy Carter was presumed to have introduced along with her to L.A. this offseason, the Sparks need her to unpack and get snug. It’s Derek Fisher’s intention that the flashy 23-year-old guard who goes by “Hollywood” keep awhile.

A few hours earlier than the Sparks’ 77-75 loss to Carter’s former crew in Atlanta on Wednesday, L.A. exercised the fourth-year rookie scale choice for Carter value $86,701 subsequent season, per herhoopstats.com.

And though Carter struggled in her first recreation in opposition to her former squad, the Sparks harbor excessive hopes for her function in seasons to come back.

“We simply really feel like she’s been excessive with gratitude, with respect for her teammates and only a willingness to study and get higher each day,” Fisher, the Sparks’ coach and common supervisor, stated through Zoom. “She’s hungry although, and he or she needs extra, however we like that.”

After the primary loss this season – regardless of trailing by as many as 9 factors within the first and fourth quarters, L.A. gave itself two cracks at tying the rating within the closing seconds however neither Chiney nor Nneka Ogwumike was in a position to convert – the Sparks all might be keen for an additional style of success.

Carter, particularly, after she was held scoreless on 0-for-7 taking pictures in opposition to the Dream, with whom she’d spent two turbulent seasons. She earned WNBA All-Rookie recognition, handled a season-ending damage that very same 12 months after which missed the latter half of final season after being suspended by the crew.

“She needs to be higher, she talks to us about it,” Nneka Ogwumike stated, noting how a lot the Sparks worth Carter’s expertise and potential and, actually, her “fireplace.”

“Clearly tonight, in the event you have a look at the field rating, that’s lower than her customary, and he or she communicated that to us after the sport. However like JC (Jordin Canada) stated: It’s not only one recreation.”

No, there might be one other on Saturday, when the Sparks’ fourth and closing cease on their season-opening street journey might be in Connecticut, in opposition to a rested Solar crew that can have performed just one recreation.

On Wednesday, Fisher stated he thought his squad seemed “slightly torpid.” After L.A. shot 49.2% within the season-opener in Chicago and 47.9% in a victory in Indiana, it completed simply 34.7% in opposition to a revamped Atlanta roster that features former Sparks Erica Wheeler and Nia Coffey – and No. 1 total draft decide Rhyne Howard.

The rookie from Kentucky led all scorers with 21 factors on 7-of-18 taking pictures, together with going 5 for 10 from deep earlier than a crowd of three,138 who got here to greet her on the Dream’s house opener at Gateway Middle Enviornment, the place they improved to 2-0.

Canada – one other of the Sparks’ key latest acquisitions within the backcourt – led L.A. with 19 factors, together with draining a few important free throws (she’s 16 for 16 from the foul line this season) to carry her facet inside 77-73 with 49 seconds left.

On Atlanta’s subsequent possession, Brittney Sykes stepped within the passing lane, picked off a move and ran it again for an additional two factors, slicing the Dream’s result in simply two with 33.5 seconds left.

Then Lexie Brown (eight factors, together with back-to-back 3-pointers that saved the Sparks inside placing distance within the fourth quarter) drew a cost on Howard – Atlanta’s third consecutive possession with a turnover – to offer the ball again to L.A. with 16.3 seconds left.

However after a Sparks timeout, Chiney Ogwumike couldn’t convert on a contested layup deep beneath the basket and after Nneka Ogwumike corralled the rebound, she missed her look from 14 toes on the buzzer.

Nneka completed along with her first double-double (and eightieth of her profession) with 17 factors and 15 rebounds; Liz Cambage completed with 16 factors, two rebounds and 5 blocked photographs.

For her half, Carter got here in taking pictures 52.9% by means of two video games as a Spark, however she struggled in opposition to her former crew – though she recorded three assists, a steal and a block in 14 minutes of labor.

In 2020, the Dream drafted Carter No. 4 total out of Texas A&M. As a rookie, an ankle damage restricted her to 16 video games – by which she averaged 17.4 factors on 47.5% taking pictures, grew to become the youngest WNBA participant to attain at the very least 30 factors in a recreation (she dropped 35 at age 21 years, 9 months).

Final season, she performed solely 11 video games (and averaged 14.2 factors) as a result of she was suspended in July for what Atlanta deemed “conduct detrimental to the crew.” On the time, The Subsequent reported she and one other Dream participant had a verbal change throughout what proved to be Carter’s final recreation with the crew.

The Sparks acquired her in a February commerce that despatched Wheeler, a 2022 second-round draft decide and a 2023 first-round decide to Atlanta.

Fisher stated Wednesday that it was his intent to ship a sign that Carter figures into Sparks’ plans for the lengthy haul.

“We are able to’t proceed to simply depend on free company each time to exit and save the day, so attempting to construct a little bit of a bunch of younger core gamers that may spend a while collectively over the subsequent few years,” he stated. “After we begin to consider Jasmine Walker and Olivia Nelson-Ododa, and Chennedy Carter and drafted Amy (Atwell) this 12 months, and Rae Burrell – a very good, core group of younger gamers that for 2, three, 4 years, as they get higher.”