The Los Angeles Sparks have one game remaining on their current road trip against the Phoenix Mercury. Presently, they are 0-6 on this trip. But if the Sparks want to salvage this trip and get a win, they're going to have to do so short-handed. The Sparks have a lengthy injury report for Friday's game including Lexie Brown who will be out indefinitely due to Crohn's.
In addition to Lexie Brown, the Sparks have another new addition to the injury report in Layshia Clarendon who was also ruled out to due illness and is currently not with the team. The Sparks were already without Cameron Brink who suffered a torn ACL, and Azurá Stevens who has yet to play this season due to an arm injury she suffered playing in China during the offseason.
Brown missed the majority of the 2023 season due to illness. In the offseason she was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. She had began the season as the team's starting shooting guard, but had since been moved to the bench. She will be out indefinitely and reevaluated following the Olympic break. The WNBA will pause their season after the All-Star game on July 20 and resume on Aug. 15.
This is Brown's third season with the Sparks after arriving in a trade with the Chicago Sky ahead of the 2022 season. Brown had recently signed a two-year contract extension with the team. She had appeared in 16 games so far, including eight starts, in a little over 23 minutes per game.
She had been averaging 8.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.1 steals with splits of 32.1 percent shooting from the field, 30.4 percent shooting from the three-point line and 88.9 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
Internal development becomes crucial for the Sparks
It may be a little too early to consider this a lost season for the Sparks, but it's trending in that direction. But even before the rash of absences, the Sparks number one priority needed to be on development. They made it clear that this season was going to be about the future when they acquired a second lottery pick before the WNBA Draft.
With Lexie Brown out indefinitely, that would appear to open up minutes for second year guard Zia Cooke and third year wing Rae Burrell. Both players have seen sporadic minutes this season, but have recently been given more of an opportunity.
During the Sparks game against the New York Liberty on June 20, Brown was limited to only seven minutes and was ruled out for the rematch just two days later. In both games against the Liberty, Cooke played a season-high 17 minutes. Burrell tied a season-high of 22 minutes.
It is imperative that the Sparks see and evaluate what they have in these two guards to get a better idea of if they fit the team's future plans. The Sparks have made it clear they want to get back to the days when the franchise was a perennial contender in the WNBA. They need to see who among this group is capable of being part of a contending core.
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