Erica Wheeler didn’t hide her frustration. Rae Burrell didn’t either, even as she pushed through a postgame interview with visible emotion still on her face.
Los Angeles Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts addressed that frustration directly before facing the Indiana Fever this week, admitting her team looked disconnected in a recent loss and pointing to a lack of consistent toughness as the root issue, not the absences of Kelsey Plum and Cameron Brink.
“There’s an element of toughness and effort that isn’t consistent,” Roberts said. “Last night we just looked disconnected. Maybe that’s because we sat out eight days, didn’t play. But I don’t like using excuses. We’ve got to be better. We’re pros.”
Plum is out with a lower leg injury, and Brink is dealing with an ankle issue, leaving Los Angeles without its two best two-way threats for weeks. Roberts made clear she isn’t interested in leaning on that as a crutch.
“We have the talent needed, even with KP out, even with Cam out, to be more competitive than that,” she said.
Rather than run through plays in practice, Lynne Roberts opted to keep the Sparks off the court entirely and focus on film. She wanted the message to land without first wearing her players down physically.
“It’s mentally having the focus and the intensity needed to execute,” Roberts said. “It’s that simple. Now, it’s hard to do, but I’m not saying it’s simple to do, but it’s a simple fix.”
With Plum and Brink sidelined, Lynne Roberts has leaned harder on her bench, and she wants more than just minutes from that group.
“They’ve got to bring life off the bench, play with some confidence,” she said, naming Kate Martin, Kiana Williams and Emma Cannon among the reserves she is counting on.
Lynne Roberts Explains The Weight Of Ariel Atkins’ New Role
One of Roberts’s more pointed answers centered on Ariel Atkins, who signed with the Sparks this offseason as one of the roster’s marquee additions. Roberts described a player who is coachable but carrying too much pressure on her own shoulders.
“I think with her, she’s got to bite off little chunks, not see the big picture,” Roberts said. “She’s an achiever. She wants to do right. She wants to win. I’m trying to take a little pressure off of her, take some air out of the tires, so that it’s not such a bumpy ride.”
Roberts also pointed to the broader shift happening across the league as players sign bigger contracts.
“Now players start getting paid real money, it changes the expectation level a little bit,” she said. “You’ve just got to plow through it. There’s no way around it, but through it.”
The response arrived quickly. Los Angeles beat Indiana 106-92, snapping a three-game losing streak behind exactly the kind of connected effort Roberts had been demanding. Nneka Ogwumike led the way with 24 points and eight rebounds, and all five Sparks starters reached double figures.
Burrell was the biggest story. After managing just five points on 2-of-11 shooting two nights earlier, she erupted for 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting, adding four assists, three rebounds, and a steal. Over her last eight games, Burrell is now averaging 16.2 points a night, exactly the kind of bench-to-starter jump Roberts had asked for.
“I just was trying to be aggressive,” Burrell said afterward. “I have so much belief from my staff and my teammates. That just really helps me to keep going and keep being who I am.”
Los Angeles still sits well outside the playoff picture, and Plum and Brink remain without a firm return date. But if Wednesday’s response is any indication, Lynne Roberts may have found the fix she was looking for, not in her rotation, but in her locker room’s mentality.
