Players Grades: Sparks continue to struggle

The Sparks got revenge against the Fever but dropped a pair of Commissioner’s Cup games over the weekend.

It was another tough week for the Los Angeles Sparks. They won a game against the Indiana Fever but dropped their first two Commissioner's Cup matchups against the Chicago Sky and the Phoenix Mercury that followed, dropping them to 2-6 on the season.

The offense has struggled overall. The team's offensive rating is 96.1, which is fourth-worst in the league and it has had long stretches of scoring droughts in most games.

The greatest example of these offensive woes came in the second quarter of their 87-68 defeat to the Mercury, when they went scoreless for 6:37 and only managed seven points in the period.

Despite having another sub .500 week, certain players found grooves and were positives for the team.

So, let's grade this week's performances. As always, grades are based on expectations for each player. A "B" grade represents the average performance for that player.

Dearica Hamby

37.6 minutes, 21.3 points, 9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.7 steals, 24-43 FG, 5-6 3PT, 11-16 FT, -9

Hamby has consistently been the Sparks' best player this season. She's in the top five in points and rebounds in the WNBA and her 17-point performance versus the Fever helped the team earn their second win of 2024.

The Sparks may be 2-6 on the season, but if Hamby keeps this up, she may be looking at her third All-Star appearance and her first with Los Angeles.

Grade: B+

Cameron Brink

24.1 minutes, 5.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.7 blocks, 1.0 steals 6-17 FG, 1-5 3PT, 3-5 FT, -30

Brink's defensive performance was good, but her offense left a lot to be desired. She only attempted 17 shots spread out across three games and given the team's offensive struggles, they need more aggression from their No. 2 pick.

This also falls on head coach Curt Miller not including her in more offensive actions to get her quick looks at the basket, but Brink also has to look for her shot.

As a rookie, her offensive numbers have been a roller coaster and while this week was a dip, she will most likely have a bounceback sooner rather than later.

Grade: C

Kia Nurse

31.4 minutes, 17 points, 1.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.3 steals, 14-34 FG, 8-19 3PT, 15-20 FT, -26

This has to be what the Sparks envisioned from Nurse when they traded for her in the offseason. She was in double figures in points in every game and was far and away the best guard for Los Angeles this past week.

Nurse didn't have a consistently good running mate in the backcourt, but if she keeps this play up, it will lead to more winning in Southern California.

Grade: A

Rickea Jackson

26 minutes, 10.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.7 steals, 9-22 FG, 2-5 3PT, 11-15 FT, -17

With more minutes comes more responsibility. Jackson has moved up to the starting lineup with Layshia Clarendon out and the results have been underwhelming.

Her best performances still came from the earlier parts of the season where she was an offensive lighting rod coming off the bench. Now, she is asked to do more and while her rebounding numbers have improved greatly, everything else has plateaued.

Still, Jackson is a rookie playing a big role and holding her own for the most part. Hopefully, as the season progresses, her scoring will only continue to increase while other parts of her game develop.

Grade: B

Aari McDonald

26.7 minutes, 9.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1.3 steals, 8-19 FG, 5-13 3PT, 7-9 FT, +5

McDonald's role continues to increase and she has improved the more room to play she is given. She's distributing the ball better, attacking the boards and shooting efficiently.

Her worst game was against Phoenix where she only mustered three points, but everyone played badly in that matchup. So, I give that some grace or understanding that no one for the Sparks played a good game.

Grade: B+

Lexie Brown

14.2 minutes, 2.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.3 blocks, 0.3 steals, 2-10 FG, 1-5 3PT, 2-2 FT, -33

It was just a rough week all around for Brown. She was banged up during the game against the Fever and injured her ankle against the Mercury, ruling her out for most of the contest.

In the minutes she did play, she struggled to score and looked like a shell of herself, but I'm chalking that up to the injury earlier and not a cause for concern moving forward.

The main issues now is how severe is her ankle injury and when will she be close to fully healthy. Once she is, you can expect Brow to be the best 3-point shooter in Los Angeles.

Grade: C-

Li Yueru

10.4 minutes, 2.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.3 blocks, 4-7 FG, -4

As the week progressed, we saw Yueru play fewer and fewer minutes. Still adjusting to the league, she has looked, at times, slow, passive on offense and struggling with the physicality.

She has great size and, in flashes, looks like a big who can grow into a bigger role. So far, Sparks fans have been more excited about what Yueru can be than what she actually is.

Grade: C

Zia Cooke

11.3 minutes, 3.3 points, 1.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.3 blocks, 2-10 FG, 2-7 3PT, 4-6 FT, 0

Cooke has not broken out in her sophomore season as she struggles to find her role. Coach Miller has given her more run, but the return in that time sink hasn't come to fruition.

Her defensive effort has been good, but that's not enough, given this team's current offensive struggles.

Grade: C

Stephanie Talbot

10.3 minutes, 1.7 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.3 steals, 2-6 FG, 1-3 3PT, +1

Talbot is one of the veterans on this team and will likely play a shift or two max each game. Anything more is too much for her to handle at this point in her career.

As long as she holds her own defensively and can relieve some players by eating up some regular season minutes, that's all you can ask of her.

Grade: C

Rae Burrell

8.1 minutes, 3.0 points, 0.3 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.3 blocks, 1.0 steals, 2-5 FG, 2-4 3PT, 3-4 FT, -2

Burrell is starting to play more minutes and had a strong showing against the Fever, scoring eight points in her 16 minutes of play in the win. Can she become a reliable backup who gets double-digit minutes? It remains to be seen, but she showed promise this week.

Grade: B-

Curt Miller

The offense being stagnant for extended periods of time has got to fall on the coach. There's enough talent that going five, six, seven minutes without a point is unacceptable.

Miller has to ensure Brink and Jackson get better looks and that the team has actions they execute when they are in a slump to score.

L.A. may not be as talented as other teams, but they can't perform this poorly, or it will be a long and frustrating summer.

Grade: C

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.