Culver City Observer -

The Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA started a five-game road trip last Sunday with a 85-79 loss to the Dallas Wings. On Friday, (today) they take on the best team in the WNBA, the Minnesota Lynx at 5 p.m.. At press time the Lynx were 28-6 and the Sparks were 26-8. They are the best two teams in the WNBA. After Friday’s game against Minnesota the Sparks travel to New York on Sunday, Washington on Wednesday and Chicago on Friday. The Sparks return home on Tuesday, August 22 to play San Antonio at the Staples Center at 7:30 p.m. The Sparks have four more regular season games to play before the playoffs start. Three of those four games are at home so if they can win most of their remaining games they still have a chance to catch Minnesota and claim the best record in the league. Having the best record is really important because that would give the Sparks home court advantage in the playoffs, although the Sparks won the championship last season in the final game of the series in Minnesota. The Sparks need to get consistent play out of their bench if they expect to repeat as champions. Tiffany Jackson-Jones, Jantel Lavender, Odyssey Sims, Sydney Wiese and Riquna Williams are all capable of putting up big numbers coming off the bench. Of all of the players coming off the bench Lavender is a key part of the puzzle. At 6-4 and 185 pounds she can compete inside for rebounds and tip passes but she is also one of the best outside shooting front court players in the WNBA. Sparks head coach Brian Agler says he is still trying to figure out the right combinations at the right time but the time is now. In the playoffs everyone takes their game to the next level so the Sparks’ bench needs to rise to the occasion.