The Los Angeles Sparks can’t catch a break on the injury front. Kelsey Plum is the second player to hit the shelf due to injury, and she won’t be able to return for close to a month due to a leg injury.
The Sparks have had to deal with injuries for the entirety of the season thus far, but the recent spate of injuries has left LA without a number of key players, and it’s not about to get any better. Already without Cameron Brink and Kate Martin battling knee injuries, the Sparks will now be without their leading scorer for the next four weeks thanks to a leg injury.
This marks the third time this season that Kelsey Plum has been forced out of action due to a lower-body injury, the first causing her to miss three games and then one more game last week.
The injury was one of those bizarre knocks that seems to come on a nothing play.
Talking about the injury, Plum said this ahead of the Monday game against the Liberty:
“I mean, listen, the first one was a fluke,” Plum said. “I stepped on someone’s foot in practice. And then the other one is because I came back so fast from this one. So I’m not going to beat myself up about it.”
She finished the game with 12 points, seven assists and three rebounds as the Sparks beat the Liberty 98-97.
Kelsey Plum’s injury will be a tough blow to the Sparks’ season
Kelsey Plum being out of the lineup is going to cause some serious shuffling for the LA Sparks, too. She has spent much of the season taking up a heavy workload, and her game minutes have been at or above her season average in recent games due to LA’s recent injury trouble. Not only that, but with Plum out, the Sparks will head into some tough matchups.
What makes this most frustrating is that Plum has been one of the most durable players over the years, having missed only a handful of games throughout her career.
Plum is still in her prime, and she’s shown this season that she has a lot left to offer. Unfortunately, she leaves a gigantic hole in the lineup, one that isn’t likely to be adequately filled. If the Sparks do falter in the days and weeks to come, Plum’s injury could be pointed to as the key reason LA misses the playoffs for the sixth straight season.
The Sparks currently sit at .500 with 16 games played. They are 7-5 with Plum in the lineup and just 1-3 in the games she has missed. In 12 games this season, Plum is averaging 23.9 points and was firmly in the MVP conversation alongside A’ja Wilson.
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