Kelsey Plum’s scoring-passing balance lifts Sparks to win

Kelsey Plum powered the Los Angeles Sparks to their first win of the season, finishing with 27 points and nine assists against the Toronto Tempo. Ahead of a second straight matchup, Sparks coach Lynne Roberts praised Plum as the WNBA’s best one-on-one creator,

LOS ANGELES — The Sparks were 0-3 to start the season when Kelsey Plum took over last Friday, scoring 27 points to help Los Angeles grab its first win and avoid an 0-3 start that could have defined the opening stretch.

Fifteen of Plum’s points came in the fourth quarter as the Sparks held off a late rally by the Toronto Tempo. She also finished with nine assists, and it was the mix of those two roles — playmaking and scoring — that put the game in focus for coach Lynne Roberts.

On Sunday. before the Sparks faced the Tempo for a second consecutive game. Roberts laid out why she believes Plum is the WNBA’s best one-on-one player.. “She’s a talent.. I think she’s the best one-on-one player in the league in terms of crediting her own shot or shots for others.. Her shooting ability makes her a really tough guard.. And then her skill. she’s just crafty and so she’s figuring out how to lead this group with her playmaking either for herself or others. ” Roberts said.

Roberts also described what she saw from Plum in the win.. “I thought she did a good job Friday, she was kind of getting everybody involved.. And in the fourth quarter she kind of took over.. I think that’s the perfect scenario of using her passing ability or skill. but when the team needs her to go get buckets. she’s able to do that.. I think she can play the point or the two.”

Before Plum joined the Sparks last season, she shared the backcourt with Chelsea Gray with the Las Vegas Aces. In that setup, Gray was the point guard, while Plum played off-guard. With Los Angeles, Plum initially began the season at point guard.

At her introductory press conference, Plum set a goal of finishing in the top-five in the WNBA for assists.. She ended up doing just that, essentially tying with Sabrina Ionescu and Jordin Canada for No.. 5 with 5.7 dimes per game.. But Los Angeles couldn’t fully unlock its offense until Roberts inserted Julie Allemand as the on-ball playmaker. with Plum settling back into her familiar shooting guard role.

This season, Plum has returned to the primary point guard role after the Sparks acquired Ariel Atkins, a more natural off-guard. The past two games, however, have put Plum’s playmaking back under the spotlight again because Atkins has been sidelined due to being in concussion protocol.

Even with the Sparks dropping the game to the Tempo on Sunday, Plum’s fourth-quarter ability didn’t disappear. She scored 10 points in the fourth quarter as she tried to will Los Angeles into consecutive wins, blowing past opposing defenders and getting to the basket at will.

After Friday’s win, Plum pointed to a key element behind her production: her teammates gaining more comfort with the Sparks’ system. She plans to keep leaning into the balance between scoring and facilitating, taking what the team needs most.

“It’s funny. I think the first game on film I had like 18 potential assists and we only made two shots. and the next game was like 16.. So to be honest, I’ve been playing the same way, we just made them,” Plum told reporters.. “That’s just basketball … we’re just trying to find our rhythm and things. but I thought we did a got job of just catching and shooting. not putting it down on the ground.

“In this system, once you start getting comfortable, shots become a little big easier, you kind of know where to expect them. And then it’s a lot more of a flow … My goal is to play like this the whole year in terms of just trying to be very patient and just take what the defense gives us.”

Kelsey Plum Los Angeles Sparks Toronto Tempo Lynne Roberts WNBA Ariel Atkins Julie Allemand Chelsea Gray Las Vegas Aces concussion protocol Sabrina Ionescu Jordin Canada