Playoff hopes hinge on final eight games

It is safe to say the Sparks have had an up-and-down season.

After a 5-7 start, they parted ways with their general manager and coach Derek Fisher on June 7.

Then with a 12-15 record, they agreed to a contract buyout with star center Liz Cambage on July 26.

The Sparks are now 1216, needing several wins to secure a playoff berth and avoid missing the playoffs for a second consecutive season, which has happened only once in the organization's history — in 1997 and 1998, the first two seasons of the WNBA.

They still control their own destiny when it comes to making the playoffs, even at four games below .500.

“The sense of urgency is there,” said Sparks guard Kristi Toliver, a two-time WNBA champion, including in 2016 with the Sparks. “We're attacking every single game. We're just taking them one by one . ... We know we have games that we have to go get and go earn and I think in every situation and every game we will put ourselves in a position to win.”

The Sparks host Minnesota at 4 p.m. today at Crypto.com Arena, in what is most likely Lynx center Sylvia Fowles' last time playing in Los Angeles.

Fowles, who has announced

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Today: Lynx at Sparks, 4 p.m., SpecSN

this season, her 15th in the WNBA, will be her last, is leading the Lynx in points (14.9), rebounds (9.9) and blocks (1.1).

The Lynx (11-19) are two games behind the Sparks for the final playoff spot. The Sparks are looking to move closer to earning a playoff berth after losing their past two games against the Las Vegas Aces (84-66) and Phoenix Mercury (90-80).

“I get to play basketball and that's a win,” said Toliver with a smile on her face. “I think we can definitely take the momentum that we played with in the second half of that game (against Phoenix) and carry that into Minnesota and this (four-game) road trip.”

Toliver returned to the starting lineup against the Mercury on Thursday, after recovering from a lingering calf injury that has limited her to 10 games this season. The 5-foot-7 veteran guard joined the Sparks in June after serving as an assistant coach for the Dallas Mavericks, who made the NBA Western Conference Finals.

Interim head coach Fred Williams said he does not expect guard Lexie Brown to play today as she recovers from a bruised heel. He's hopeful she will be ready to play next week on the road against New York.