The Sparks are going to have to get through another stretch without Kelsey Plum.
Plum, who missed three games with a right ankle sprain earlier this season, is out with a lower left leg injury and will be re-evaluated in four weeks, the team announced Wednesday morning. That means she will miss at least the next 10 games, taking the Sparks to the WNBA All-Star break.
It had seemed like Plum was out of the woods after she came back from her ankle injury. Plum scored 43 points in a game against the Phoenix Mercury on June 14 and didn’t miss a beat in her return. She is second in the WNBA in scoring with 23.9 points per game and sixth in the league with 6.4 assists per contest.
Without her, the Sparks (8-8) have struggled to score in an already inconsistent campaign. They are 7-5 with Plum in the lineup and are 1-3 in games she has missed.
Head coach Lynne Roberts and several Sparks players have referred to Plum as the “head of the snake” of the team’s offense. She is shooting an efficient 52.7% from the field and 38.3% from three-point range this season.
When Plum previously missed time, the Sparks started a backcourt featuring Erica Wheeler and Ariel Atkins with Rae Burrell as the small forward. Wheeler has started next to Plum often for a double point guard backcourt, but without her they have to change the way they play offense again.