Did Cameron Brink finally have her coming out party with her first double-double last night in the Sparks 81-72 win over the Dallas Wings? Is Dearica Hamby ready to be HER on a playoff team? Is Rickea Jackson ready to consistently score over 10-15 a game? Can Lexie Brown become a reliable 3 point shooter? These are the questions that need to be answered for the Los Angeles Sparks in the coming weeks before the all-star break. And they are important ones. The Sparks are on the precipice of a decision: they need to decide to either “go for it” and really push for a playoff spot (honestly that would be a minor miracle as of June 7th – even after gathering their third win last night) or should they pack it in and try to get one of the top 2 draft picks: specifically Paige Bueckers (probably a long shot at this point with Washington eating that big donut in the W column and the Golden State Valkyries looming) or Kiki Iriafen (this is who I am rooting for as it would be great to see her reunite with Cam).

Tonight’s team that handled the decent but still probably “mid” Dallas Wings (still playing without Satou Sabally) and seemed to find their guts and grit in a second half that saw them rally back from a sizable deficit and loss of momentum at the end of the first half. Still there were some things that happened last night beyond Hamby’s double double (which frankly has become a near nightly occurrence) that were a bit out of the ordinary for the Sparks and Wings. After all, the Sparks are still 3-9. The third worst record in the league. They’ve suffered some brutal losses to the teams like the Lynx and even this Dallas team just two weeks ago. They would have dropped to second worst without the W, second only to the no-win Washington Mystics, as the Indiana Fever got their third win earlier in the evening. Maybe a closer look at the W and the true direction of this team is needed.

Lexie Brown, who at times has been ice cold this season, scored 16 and went 4 of 8 from 3. Guard play has been a MAJOR deficiency of the Sparks this season and Lexie having a decent game was an instrumental part of the win. Cam’s previously mentioned double double was equally important as she provided a real post presence and seemed to manage her foul trouble tonight while still getting buckets (something that has hindered her offensive performance in past games). Notably, Dallas’ All-Star, all-around bad*ss Arike Ogunbowale went just 10 of 28 for the Wings – a definite off night. And Dallas is having a real issue with their bench (which was outscored 24-0 by the Sparks bench in the first half). They inexplicably failed to give Jacy Sheldon meaningful minutes AGAIN (which is really starting to bug me but I will save that for another column). Still I won’t drag the Sparks for winning a game. After all Maddy Siegrest had a fantastic game (and she’s also having a fantastic season) and more than made up for a lot of the Wings’ deficiencies. And frankly, I was glad the Sparks put it all together before the clock hit zero. But we’ll have to watch a few more games to decide if this was a turning point or an outlier.

And even if this is a turning point, this is not a team that can compete with the WNBA’s top tier any time soon. They will continue to lose to teams like the Sun, Lynx, Liberty, or Aces – but maybe they can get enough W’s to string together a playoff run – or at least try to. That being said, as a Sparks fan I am ok with them falling out of the top 2, even top 5 in next year’s lottery. The top of the draft is forward heavy and there are plenty of great guards (again something they desperately need is guard play – Hamby and Rickea are doing great at the 4/5) in the 5-10 spot including players like Notre Dame’s Sonia Citron, UConn’s Caroline Ducharme, Georgia Amoore, Iowa State’s Emily Ryan (who I think will be a SUPERSTAR in the W and is being way underrated in early mocks), and TCU’s Hailey Van Lith (Cam’s 3 on 3 teammate and who would be a great fit to max Cam’s potential).

One thing that the LA Sparks are not shorthanded in is star power. But is this a good thing? And by that I mean – is the focus on the win column or the likes column? Their games are starting to sell out even Cam thanked the crowds at the end (which honestly got this reticent Sparks fan a little emotional – especially after attending to losses a few weekends ago). And last night Jimmy Butler was in the crowd – in addition to Leslie Jones, the Sparks’ version of Jack Nicholson, and Jason Sudeikis (who is really an Indiana Fever fan but we’ll take it). I’m happy for the crowds and the social media likes that Cam and Rickea regularly get but I do sometimes wonder if it is becoming a distraction. Like you can tell Cam wants to win most of all and in both her recent comments to the media about people getting behind the ENTIRE team – even if the fans are not entirely yet. And in the recent June resolutions REEL on IG, Cam seemed focused on winning – to the point of frustration coming through. It was great to see her vindicated after last night’s W and the crowd rocking because the TEAM had won. Let’s face it, this year’s WNBA season is a world away from what the league was like even last year – and everyone, including the fan base, is learning.