Alexander Shun

Web Editor Associate | @alexpshun

Minnesota Lynx (12-4) vs Los Angeles Sparks (3-13) | 7:00 P.M. CT

WHERE TO WATCH: NBATV, FS North

WHERE TO LISTEN: 106.1 BOB FM

The WNBA All-Star Break has come and gone; the second half of the season is set to begin, and it’s going to start with a bang.

The Minnesota Lynx and Los Angeles Sparks face-off tonight at Target Center, and both teams will have reason for excitement.

For the Lynx, the second half of the season started with a blockbuster trade that brought in three-time All-Star and two-time Defensive Player of the Year Sylvia Fowles from the Chicago Sky. Fowles is set to make the Western Conference leading Lynx an even better team than before, especially defensively.

The Lynx will also be welcoming back guard Lindsay Whalen. Whalen missed Minnesota’s last game (snapping a 106-game starting streak), as well as the All-Star game due to an eye injury suffered in a game against the Tulsa Shock. With Whalen back at the helm and Fowles getting herself acclimated with the team, the Lynx will be tough to beat.

As if they weren’t tough enough to beat, forward Maya Moore has been making the Lynx near impossible to beat.

Coming into tonight’s game, Moore has scored 20+ points in eight straight games (a franchise record) and is riding high after a 30 point performance in the All-Star game in which she grabbed All-Star Game MVP honors. Despite the string of injuries that Minnesota has dealt with of late, Moore has steadied this team and kept them on pace to contend for a championship.

The Lynx are definitely a good team, however, the Sparks are ready to make their run to the playoffs.

Sitting at a dismal 3-13 and dead-last in the Western Conference, the Sparks playoff aspirations are slim, but they are getting a player back tonight that could very well revive such hopes.

Three-time All-Star and two-time WNBA MVP Candace Parker is set to return for Los Angeles tonight after missing the first half of the season so that she could rest. Parker is one of the most dynamic players in the league and last season she averaged 19.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists while leading the Sparks to the playoffs.

Getting Parker back could be just the ‘spark’ needed to set Los Angeles on a playoff course, but will need to get through an improved Lynx defense and stop a streaking Moore to do so.

Forward Nneka Ogwumike has done her best to keep Los Angeles relevant but has struggled to carry the load herself. Ogwumike is averaging 15 points and 7.7 rebounds this season but has struggled getting shots to fall consistently at times. The Sparks are going to need a big game from Ogwumike if they hope to contend with a loaded Lynx frontcourt.

LAST MEETING

The Lynx and Sparks last met on June 16 in Los Angeles. The Lynx flexed their proverbial muscle and showed off their stellar defense, beating the Sparks 67-52.

The Sparks were held to just 24-of-61 shooting from the field, including 3-of-18 from beyond the arc and only two Los Angeles players scored in double-figures. Minnesota’s defensive clinic began in transition, where the Lynx allowed Los Angeles no fast-break points; a huge factor in not allowing the Sparks easy baskets or allowing them to get comfortable offensively.

Forward Maya Moore scored a game-high 22 points to go with her four rebounds and four assists while guard Seimone Augustus chipped in 20 points on a 10-of-16 shooting night.

Center Jantel Lavender led the Sparks scoring 12 points and grabbing 13 rebounds while center Marianna Tolo added 10 points in the loss.

KEY MATCHUP: MAYA MOORE VS. CANDACE PARKER

This may seem like the easy choice but that’s only because it is easily the best matchup on the court.

Lynx forward Maya Moore enters tonight’s game having scored 20+ points in each of her last eight games and has been the most consistent player for Minnesota all season long. With injuries suffered to guards Lindsay Whalen and Seimone Augustus, Moore has had to carry the weight of the team while attempting to balance a collection of different starting lineups. Moore is averaging 20.7 points (second best in the league), 7.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists and is making a push to repeat as league MVP.

Speaking of league MVPs, Los Angeles Sparks forward Candace Parker knows a thing or two about winning such awards having won two in her career to this point. Parker decided to sit out the 2015 season to rest after playing so many years non-stop, both in the WNBA as well as in Europe in the offseasons. Surprisingly though, Parker decided that she had rested enough and wanted to return to action this season. The Sparks will certainly welcome that. Parker is an extremely dynamic and talented player and will help a struggling Los Angeles team make a push for the playoffs.

Both Moore and Parker will have a profound impact on this game and it will be great to see such great players competing head-to-head. These two will definitely put points on the board and there is a good chance that one of them will hit the shot that decides the fate of the game.

 PROJECTED STARTERS

Lynx: PG – Whalen, SG – Cruz, SF – Moore, PF – Brunson, C- Fowles

Sparks: PG – Toliver, SG – Phillips, SF – Ogwumike, PF – Lavender, C – Tolo