As the race to the playoffs heats up, top teams look to solidify their position, but a few of them are still fighting for a spot. Tonight, Phoenix will enter as the quiet fourth seed with a record of 22-14. The squad has won three of its last five games. More importantly, they hold a 2-0 head-to-head lead over L.A. so far this year. But the Sparks are sitting at 17-18 and fighting for playoff contention. They have had some big wins lately, but remain a volatile team. Their performance tonight could also decide Indiana’s fate, so let’s dive deep into this high-stakes LA Sparks vs Phoenix Mercury…

Where to Watch the LA Sparks vs Phoenix Mercury?

• Date: Tuesday, August 26
• Time: 10:00 PM Eastern Time (ET)
• Venue: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California
• Streaming services: WNBA League Pass, FUBO, YouTube TV
• Cable services: CBS Sports Network, WTHR Channel 13, Spectrum SportsNet

Injury Report

Here’s good news for hoops fans: tonight’s matchup is serving up a rare treat as both squads are walking in with clean injury reports. Yep, not a single name on the list. That means we get to see two fully loaded rosters going head-to-head with nothing held back.

For head coaches Lynne Roberts and Nate Tibbetts, that’s basically a dream scenario. No patchwork rotations or forced minutes. So expect the lineups to be as close to “ideal” as you’ll get this late in the season. Here’s how the starting fives are likely to shake out

Predicted Starting Lineup

Los Angeles Sparks

Phoenix Mercury

How the LA Sparks vs Phoenix Mercury Might Go Down…

The Mercury’s edge in their older meetings has been their balance. They won the first two games by five and three points, as Satou Sabally led one of the games with 25 and 24 points, respectively. Additionally, Alyssa Thomas did her usual Alyssa Thomas things, contributing nearly 19 points and 7 assists in that first matchup game. Their last five games also show some resilience, with gritty wins over Seattle and Golden State, plus a 98-point explosion, even though they also had a couple of narrow losses to Vegas.

L.A., however, is still a dangerous team. Kelsey Plum, their scorer, is averaging 20.4 points per game, along with Rickea Jackson and Dearica Hamby, who always act as the engines. This allows them to score slightly more per game (86.4) than Phoenix does (82.9). But the key issue is that they give up nearly nine points more than Phoenix allows, and their rebounding (while close) is often streaky. The Sparks’ recent five-game stretch also shows these flashes of potential. It includes a win over Seattle and two wins against Dallas, but it also featured a 9-point loss to Washington and a home stumble against New York.

With both teams healthy and rotations wide open, Phoenix can fully leverage Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally. While L.A. will lean on Kelsey Plum and Dearica Hamby. Ultimately, defense might decide this game, as Phoenix is giving up just 80.0 points per game compared to L.A.’s 88.5. This is why, even with the Sparks having home-court advantage, ESPN Analytics only tilts slightly in their purple-and-gold favor. It gives L.A. a 53% chance to win versus Phoenix’s 47%.