The Los Angeles Sparks were unable to push the team's win streak to six games on Tuesday night, losing 89-74 to the Las Vegas Aces. Despite that, the team should feel encouraged about one important thing: Cameron Brink.
Brink made her season debut on Tuesday. One of the best shot blockers in the league to start her 2024 rookie year, an ACL injury ended that season prematurely and delayed Brink's second season until past the halfway point of the year.
In Brink's return to the floor, the second-year big played 14 minutes off the bench, going 1-for-3 from the floor with all three attempts from deep. She finished with five points, three rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block.
Los Angeles is smartly bringing Brink along slowly
The Sparks didn't throw Brink into the deep end on Tuesday. The team brought her off the bench and limited her minutes, using the game as a chance to just let her stretch her legs and begin the process of reacclimating to the WNBA.
Even then, she had some good moments. While ideally you'd like to see your bigs scoring inside, Brink was at least able to showcase her outside shooting game, hitting a big first-quarter 3-pointer off a step back pick-and-pop.
Meanwhile, her defense looked good, though maybe not great. Her one block showcased her athleticism as she chased down NaLyssa Smith from behind, though she only made that play after first letting Smith by her. There's definitely some rust that needs knocked off, but Brink deserves major credit for her ability to recover on that play.
The Sparks are firmly in the playoff hunt after winning five in a row before this game. The starting unit got off to a terrible start on Tuesday, which doomed the team's chances of winning, but Brink was able to slow down the bleeding once she was subbed in. While single-game plus/minus is such a hard stat to draw any real conclusions from, it at least feels good that Brink had the best plus/minus for Los Angeles on Tuesday, right?
Her return to the floor gives the Sparks one of the best big rotations in the league. Brink will likely come off the bench behind Azurá Stevens and Dearica Hamby going forward, but her presence will allow the team to get those two a little extra rest during games, and she can play both the four and the five depending on what the Sparks need.
So while Brink's return didn't get the Sparks a sixth win in a row, it still was an encouraging sign for both the short and long term future of this Los Angeles team.