Los Angeles Sparks Will Be a Menace Down the Stretch

If you're wondering what the second half of the WNBA is going to look like, quit peeking at the Minnesota Lynx and New York Liberty. Stop wondering about the Indiana Fever and Las Vegas Aces.

The idea - as it's always been - is to figure out which team came out of the All-Star break, sitting somewhere in the bottom five, that will become a menace for everyone else.

I'll get right to it, as I don't want you stumbling over yourself as you make your wagers. The Los Angeles Sparks are about to make life miserable for plenty of teams.

Heading into Sunday, the bottom of the standings, looking at the playoff picture from the outside, is as follows:

Now, it would be easy to earmark the Valkyries, since they've pulled off some incredible wins and been in the mix all season, but losing forward Kayla Thornton to a season-ending knee injury is going to hurt this team.

And as the Valks try to figure out what to do without one of their key players, the surging Sparks should finally be getting Cameron Brink back. She was lost early last season to a season-ending knee injury, and was cleared just this past week.

Los Angeles has won five straight after knocking off the defending champion New York Liberty on Saturday - in Brooklyn - and will have a couple of days to rest before hosting the Las Vegas Aces on Tuesday.

During their five-game win streak, since July 13, the Sparks rank No. 1 with 97.2 points per game and are the only team shooting better than 50 percent from the floor, at 51.0%. They're also the only team hitting 40 percent or higher from 3-point range, at 40.4%.

And I want you to think about this roster, and who were talking about here.

There's a WNBA championship pedigree with Kelsey Plum, Dearica Hamby and Azurá Stevens. If you want to include Emma Cannon, we're talking about someone who has won multiple titles overseas.

Rickea Jackson has turned into one of the most dangerous scorers in the league, with 13 double-digit scoring nights in the 20 games she's appeared in. Saturday, her buzzer-beating shot in Brooklyn showed us she doesn't get rattled.

Again, Brink is coming back, and Rae Burrell has been back.

And oh by the way, Lynne Roberts knows her X's and O's, and for all the flak she's caught this season, while managing a banged-up roster, she's a player's coach and should be earning her respect across the league.

With 19 games left on the schedule, make note that 11 of them are at home.

Want an underdog to pay attention to the rest of this season, look no further than the Sparks.