Coming off of their sixth straight loss, the Los Angeles Sparks' offense continued to struggle as they lost to the Connecticut Sun on Thursday, 75-57.

After a poor offensive fourth quarter against the Lynx almost a week ago, the Sparks' lack of offense continued into the first quarter against the Sun. It wasn't until five minutes were left in that opening frame that Nneka Ogwumike finally got the Sparks on the board with a lay-up. The rest of the game followed that pattern and the Sparks were never truly able to get themselves out of that hole.

So what is wrong with the Sparks' offense?

Let's start with Nneka Ogwumike.

Congratulations are in order as Ogwumike has secured her spot in the ‘W25,' a list of all-time top WNBA players in the league. The list is a continued celebration of the WNBA's 25th season. She joins other Sparks greats like Lisa Leslie, Seimone Augustus, Candace Parker, Ticha Penicheiro, Cappie Pondexter, and Tina Thompson.

Now let's get into those offensive woes.

1. Nneka Ogwumike Needs Help

Ogwumike has no help. The Sparks are at the bottom of the WNBA offensively, averaging 72.6 points per game. Meanwhile, Ogwumike is the Sparks' leading scorer averaging 14.2 points per game. Besides Erica Wheeler, the rest of the squad is averaging less than nine points per game.

It's not that they lack passion or drive as they hustle and fight until the clock strikes zero, the ball is just not going in. Take their last game, for example. It wasn't until Ogwumike scored five minutes in that the offense got going for the Sparks. Every other Sparks player had failed to put anything in the hoop before that bucket from their leader.

Of course, Ogwumike has the occasional help but, it either comes in short spurts or when it's too late. Wheeler has been the Sparks' strong second, averaging 13.5 ppg and leading the undrafted WNBA players in the league.

Nia Coffey has also been helpful as she's been averaging 10 points per pop in the last three games. Yet, it has not been enough to get Los Angeles out of their losing streak.

2. Sparks Can't Stop Runs

The Sparks also get trapped during their opponents' runs and they can't seem to control them or find a way out.

In their loss against the Lynx, Minnesota went on an 11-1 run. It wasn't until Nneka Ogwumike got fouled that they were able to get a stop and convert off of the Lynx's mistake. The Sparks are capable of stopping runs, they just don't do it in time. In their last loss to the Sun, Connecticut went on a 12-0 run to start the game, while Los Angeles struggled to convert anything on the offensive side for half of that first quarter.

Derek Fisher had some insight on the lack of offensive momentum against the Sun acknowledging, that “When you can't physically execute what you know you can do, it messes with the players' psyche.” He also added that it gets to a point where “it's hard to do the most basic stuff,” like making a basket.

Fisher is not wrong, as they are now averaging a clip of 40.4% from the field, the lowest percentage in the league.

3. Injuries

Ultimately, it's hard to not acknowledge that the Sparks have struggled with injuries this season and that it has affected their offensive rhythm. No matter how much Fisher and the Sparks want it to not be an excuse, it really has impacted the team.

The Sparks were without their star player, Nneka Ogwumike, just a month into the season. Ogwumike suffered a left knee sprain that sidelined her until August 15th. A flurry of injuries happened during that time: Jasmine Walker suffered a season-ending knee injury while Chiney Ogwumike has dealt with a knee sprain throughout the season. Kristi Tolliver had a questionable eye injury at one point and now, she's out with a fractured pinkie.

They have not played with a full, healthy roster and it can be seen in these last games where they have struggled to find chemistry. Los Angeles has learned and adapted to play without a full roster, and now that they have what they were once missing, it's a struggle to make it work.

Learning where your teammate likes to take their shot, or where they like to cut, or simply where their sweet spots are, takes time to learn. And that feeling can only be found through playing games together. That is something that the Sparks have just started to do, a little too late into the season.

With just three games left, the Sparks' season rides on their ability to find that offensive chemistry.