After a Fall, Sparks Singularly Focused
Seven months have passed since that hot September night in Detroit when the Sparks’ WNBA championship was taken away by a younger, hungrier team.
Seven months for the Sparks to stew over all the things that had happened to them in the 2003 season. Seven months for them to decide whether they could rededicate themselves to making another championship run.
Judging by the intensity of their practices, the infusion of new players and their comments about what will happen this season, the Sparks aren’t ready to relinquish their status as one of the WNBA’s elite franchises.
“We lost that championship; we gave it away,” Coach Michael Cooper said. “I don’t think Detroit actually beat us, because in the crucial part of those games, we were always up.”
Said Teresa Weatherspoon, who signed with the Sparks as a free agent after seven seasons in New York: “I’m not going to say ‘if.’ I’m going off the limb. With this team, we will win. We will win. They might kill me for saying that, but when you’re around such great talent, a mentality that believes, a swagger that’s unbelievable, you know you can win it. It’s not about being cocky, it’s about being confident. This team is very confident.”
The changes made by the Sparks in the off-season were neither cosmetic nor cursory. They kept the starting group together and rebuilt their bench.
Weatherspoon isn’t the only New York transplant. Los Angeles also signed ex-Liberty forward Tamika Whitmore. Then the Sparks brought back two Italian League players, Laura Macchi and Raffaella Masciadri. The revamping was completed when rookies Christi Thomas and Doneeka Hodges were taken in the college draft.
Weatherspoon and Whitmore have brought new enthusiasm to the Sparks. “My excitement level is so high it’s unbelievable,” Whitmore said. “Look at us on paper -- hands down, we’ve got to be the best team in this league, position for position.... From the energy in practice, there is no stopping us.... “ That attitude has lifted the Sparks from the doldrums they fell into last season, one marked by scandal, drug allegations and injuries.
Latasha Byears was waived while under investigation for an alleged assault on a teammate, although no charges have been filed, and Rhonda Mapp was suspended for two years for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy.
The key injury was a deep bone bruise in Lisa Leslie’s right knee, the result of a collision with Detroit’s Swin Cash during the All-Star game. Leslie sat out the first 11 games of the second half and, despite averaging 18.4 points and 10 rebounds, never felt right the rest the season.
“When I came back for the five games before the playoffs, I probably was about 60%,” she said. “I won’t say I wasn’t cleared to play, but I probably shouldn’t have been out there. But we needed to win because we wouldn’t have made the playoffs otherwise.”
Other starters missing time with injuries during the season included Tamecka Dixon and Mwadi Mabika. Nikki Teasley played in all 34 games, but she had her aches and pains.
And it wasn’t only the starters.
“Sometimes, we only had six players for a practice,” Mabika said.
The Sparks won 24 games, but their 10 losses were the team’s most since 1999. They were second in scoring, to Detroit, at 73.5 points a game, but their 41.8% shooting was the second-worst in franchise history.
Most telling: The Sparks were the best road team during the regular season (13-4) but did not win a road game in the playoffs. Dixon said most others have focused on the team’s failure in the finals rather than making it there for the third consecutive season.
“That carried me through this whole off-season and gave me a little extra motivation to become a better player and bring something more to the table this year,” Dixon said. “I think this year, we’re a little more eager. We got it taken from us and we have to go get it back. If that doesn’t motivate us now, I don’t know what will.”
Cooper, beginning his fifth season with the Sparks, says he likes his new-look team. “I’m amazed, surprised and I’m excited,” Cooper said. “This is like two years ago, when I thought we were very talented, depth-wise. It’s the same kind of feeling. I think we’ve gotten younger, more athletic with our bench, and we’ve got some people who can come and be productive right away.”
Is it enough to push the Sparks toward a third title in four years? Teasley says yes.
“We have players who are very emotional and very hungry, especially with losing last year,” she said. “That left a bad taste in our mouths.... We’re looking forward to getting back to [the finals] and not letting it slip away this time.”
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2004 Spark Roster
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