The Caitlin Clark-less Indiana Fever will look to conquer the Los Angeles Sparks again, as they square off for the second time this season. Both teams are coming off losses, adding some intrigue to an already interesting matchup.
Catch this game live on Sunday, June 28, 2026 at 8:00 AM, Manila time
Away: Los Angeles Sparks (8-9, 5-3 Away)
Projected Starting Five:
- Ariel Atkins
- Erica Wheeler
- Rae Burrell
- Nneka Ogwumike
- Dearica Hamby
The Sparks got under .500 again after getting stunned on the road by Marina Mabrey and the Toronto Tempo on Friday. Mabrey went full-Bam Adebayo on the banged-up Los Angeles side, as she dropped a record-tying 53 points to deal the Sparks a 125-97 loss.
The Sparks have now lost three of their last four outings and will have to find a way to turn things around this Sunday without both Kelsey Plum and Cameron Brink. Neither star will see action in this rematch against the Fever due to injuries.
Still, Los Angeles has the duo of Nneka Ogwumike and Dearica Hamby. Ogwumike is averaging 16.1 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, while Hamby is chipping in 14.1 points. When the Sparks lost to Indiana at home (87-78), they got 25 points from Plum, so Ogwumike and the rest of the healthy LA players have quite a void to fill in this upcoming matchup.
Home: Indiana Fever (10-8, 7-4 Home)
Projected Starting Five:
- Kelsey Mitchell
- Sophie Cunningham
- Lexie Hull
- Monique Billings
- Aliyah Boston
The most important thing to know about the Fever for this game is that they will not have Caitlin Clark out there. The former Iowa Hawkeyes star has been ruled out in advance for the meeting with Los Angeles due to a back injury she suffered in the second half of Thursday’s 111-109 loss to the Phoenix Mercury on the road. It’s not very ideal for the Fever, but they can always lean on Kelsey Mitchell, who is coming off a stellar performance.
In the loss to the Mercury, Mitchell went off for 30 points on 11/16 shooting from the field and 7/9 from deep. It’s unlikely for her to erupt for 53 points against Los Angeles, but the aforementioned scoring outburst by Mabrey speaks a lot about how vulnerable the Sparks’ defense is. Los Angeles is just 14th in the league with 89.2 points allowed per 100 possessions and 15th with a defensive 54.5 eFG%.
Even without Clark, the Fever should be able to find a way to take advantage of that seemingly porous defense.
Picks
Spread: Indiana Fever (-6.0)
Over/Under: Over (177.0)
