Why Sparks are making an early lineup change amid Ariel Atkins’ return

As the Los Angeles Sparks embark on a four-game road trip that will carry them through the end of the month, they are getting Ariel Atkins back on the court after a stint in the WNBA’s concussion protocol. But upon Atkins’ return, the Sparks will make a change in the starting lineup with Rae Burrell moving to bench, head coach Lynne Roberts revealed ahead of the team’s game against the Phoenix Mercury on Thursday.

With Atkins missing the last two games, veteran point guard Erica Wheeler moved in the Sparks’ starting lineup in the meantime. One of the key reasons why Lynne Roberts wanted to shuffle the Sparks’ rotation a bit is help get Kelsey Plum more off-ball, a dynamic the team had last season with Julie Allemand.

“She [Ariel] is going back in for Rae. The decision to bring Rae off the bench, it’s not really about Rae. Rae’s done a good job. But it’s to get Ariel, who is our best on-ball defender for a lead guard, we’ve missed that the last couple of games, we need her out there,” Roberts said during he pregame press conference.

“And then having KP [Kelsey] off the ball, off the one to start to get the ball movement really going. And then to have some firepower off the bench. So those are kind of the reasons, but their roles and their impact doesn’t really change.”

Burrell has been a key reserve for the Sparks, starting only eight games out of the 65 total she’s appeared in the last two seasons. But with the team’s roster construction this year, it seemed natural that Burrell would move into a starting role.

She’s played well up to this point despite the team’s 1-3 start to the regular season. She’s been averaging 7.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists while shooting 45.8 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from the 3-point line and 83.3 percent from the free-throw line. Her field goal percentage is a career-high and her 3-point percentage is the second-highest mark of her career.

But the Sparks have struggled this season to get off to good starts and they have also struggled with consistent bench production. Having a productive player like Burrell with the second unit could help with lulls when the starters get rest, and allowing Plum to not have to worry so much about facilitating can help the Sparks get off to better starts.

The Sparks tried similar lineups last season pairing Plum with veteran point guard Odyssey Sims before settling on Allemand after Sims was eventually cut by the team.

With the team getting off to a disappointing start, it was clear something needed to change. But only time will tell if this was the right move or not.

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