Slumping Mercury go to Sparks with Kelsey Plum unavailable to face outdated staff

Kelsey Plum won’t be able to compete against her former teammates when the Phoenix Mercury visit the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday.

The Mercury (12-22) acquired Plum on Aug. 2 in exchange for second-year guard Monique Akoa Makani as well as draft picks in 2027 and 2028. The five-time All-Star scored 20 points in her team debut the next night and has played in four games for Phoenix.

However, following a 25-point performance in a 75-72 loss on Friday at Connecticut, Plum shot 2 of 7 from the floor and finished with five points in just 14 minutes of a 95-75 loss Sunday at Washington. She did not play the second half with what the team called left calf tightness.

Come Monday’s injury report, the Mercury ruled Plum out with a lower left leg injury. She missed about six weeks for the Sparks this summer with an injury to the same leg.

It’s more unwelcome news for Phoenix, which has lost three straight amid a five-game road trip. The Mercury finish the extended jaunt Tuesday in a game that will be played at the University of Southern California’s Galen Center.

Ahead of the quick turnaround to Los Angeles, Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts was asked what the team would lean on as they tried to reset.

“I think the biggest thing is just pride,” Tibbetts said. “Just want-to, competitive spirit and continuing to play.”

Los Angeles (12-19) slowly has come to life after going 2-9 from June 25-July 29. That run included a six-game losing streak before the Sparks earned a 106-101 road victory over the Portland Fire on Aug. 2.

Los Angeles lost 95-88 on the road against the Sky on Wednesday before pulling off an 89-82 upset of the WNBA-leading Minnesota Lynx on Thursday. The team returned home Sunday with an 84-78 setback against the Golden State Valkyries.

The 78 points Sunday marked Los Angeles’s lowest scoring effort since an 84-62 home loss to the Seattle Storm on July 6.

The Sparks are aiming to get back on track with seven weeks remaining in the regular season and a six-game gap to close in order to catch the eighth-place Dallas Wings for the league’s final playoff spot.

“Everybody’s in the thick of things,” Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike said. “When you’re trying to put these games together, you really have to pay attention to those details.”

Ogwumike has delivered a team-best 17.1 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.

Kahleah Copper leads the Mercury at 20.9 points per game but has not recorded more than 16 in any of the three games during Phoenix’s skid. She is 4 of 16 (25.0%) from 3-point range over those three games.

–Field Level Media