NEW YORK — The Detroit Shock's bid for a second straight WNBA championship is looking anything but easy. They're without leading scorer Swin Cash, and they needed a win on the last day of the regular season to grab the final playoff berth.
Under coach Bill Laimbeer, the Shock engineered a worst-to-first turnaround a year ago, going from the fewest wins to a league-best 25-9 record en route to their first title. They went back to struggling this season, only winding up 17-17 by closing with three straight victories.
Detroit hosts the New York Liberty in Game 1 as the postseason starts Friday night. Los Angeles is at Sacramento in that night's other game, while the other series begins Saturday: Connecticut at Washington, and Seattle at Minnesota.
The Shock's Cash is sidelined for all of the playoffs with a torn ligament in her left knee. Sixth in the league in scoring average at 16.4 points, she averaged 6.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 32 games before hurting her knee at Phoenix on Sept. 11.
"We have a significant injury. However, we have other great players," Laimbeer said. "You look at the Eastern Conference, and our interior post play, we think, is the best, with Cheryl Ford, Ruth Riley and Barbara Farris. That's going to be our strength."
Indeed, the Shock still have three double-digit scorers in Riley — Cash's U.S. Olympic teammate and last year's Finals MVP — and All-Stars Ford and Deanna Nolan.
"They are a great team, even with Cash out," New York coach Pat Coyle said. "They are defending champions, and we have great respect for them."
The Liberty (18-16) also finished the season with three wins to be seeded No. 2 in the Eastern Conference, one year after missing the playoffs for just the second time. Coyle replaced the fired Richie Adubato in July after New York lost eight of nine games to drop to 7-9.
With a figure skating show scheduled at The Palace of Auburn Hills, the opener of the best-of-three series will be at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. Second-seeded New York will then host Game 2 and, if necessary, Game 3. The teams split their four games this season, with each team winning twice at home.
In the West, the Los Angeles Sparks (25-9) overcame an injury to one of their key players and a midseason coaching change to finish with the league's best record.
They're aiming for a fourth straight trip to the WNBA Finals: The Sparks won consecutive titles in 2001-02, then lost to Detroit in the championship series last year.
Michael Cooper left midway through his fifth season as coach of the Sparks, joining the Denver Nuggets as an assistant. He was replaced by his assistants Ryan Weisenberg and Karleen Thompson, who became the Sparks' co-coaches. Los Angeles, 14-6 with Cooper, was even more dominant after his departure, winning 11 of 14 games.
Sparks star Lisa Leslie finished third in the league in scoring (17.6 points) and first in rebounding (9.9). Mwadi Mabika averaged 14.4 points, and guards Nikki Teasley and Tamecka Dixon barely missed averaging double-digits in scoring, too.
Forward DeLisha Milton-Jones, averaging 9.4 points and 4.7 rebounds, injured her knee just before Cooper left and skipped playing in the Olympics.