Three left
Nneka Ogwumike announced last month that this would be her final season. The maths is simple now. Los Angeles host the Portland Fire on Sunday, and after that she has two games left as a professional.
She is not limping to the finish. Ogwumike is averaging 17.2 points and 8.8 rebounds, numbers that would look perfectly normal on a playoff team. The Sparks are 15-26 and were eliminated weeks ago.
“I’m very grateful to have been able to do this on my own terms,” she said. “And also have the opportunity to come back.”
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Two teams with nothing to play for, and reasons anyway
Both sides came back from the FIBA World Cup break and stumbled. Los Angeles were beaten 97-77 at Dallas on Thursday, which ended a two-game winning run built on victories over Washington and Seattle before the hiatus.
Portland have lost three straight and six of seven. Phoenix edged them 94-91, then Golden State handled them 82-66 on Friday. The Fire sit 16-26 in their first season as an expansion franchise, with a home game against Golden State on Tuesday to close it out.
Head coach Alex Sarama is choosing to look at the trend line rather than the standings. “I feel like every game, we’ve got better,” he said after Friday’s defeat. “That’s what we can ask for in the final games.”
Leite is the reason to watch Portland
Carla Leite has carried the Fire backcourt through year one. In her second WNBA season she leads the team with 15.8 points and 6.3 assists per game, and she scored 26 on Thursday.
She has already had a night against these Sparks. On Aug. 2 she put up 21 points and eight assists in a 106-101 loss, the game that snapped a six-game Los Angeles slide. Ogwumike and Dearica Hamby combined for 45 points in that one.
The same pair managed 32 against the Wings on Thursday, and Rae Burrell was the only other Sparks player in double figures with 12. Los Angeles have leaned on two players all year. They will lean on one of them for three more nights.
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