Fast Finish Makes Comets Formidable at the Right Time
It’s been said for most of the season--or ever since the Sparks defeated Houston for the first time--that the rest of the WNBA is catching up with the Houston Comets.
Well, we’ll see about that.
Consider how the Comets finished the season.
They played four games in six days, the first three on the road. They not only won all four, the closest margin was 13 points, which they achieved twice. One of the wins was a 76-63 victory at Sacramento, their opponent in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
Houston, at 27-5 the Western Conference runner-up to the Sparks, plays third-place finisher Sacramento (21-11) beginning Saturday in Sacramento.
The Sparks meet the fourth-place Mercury at Phoenix tonight.
In the East, first-place New York (20-12) plays at Washington (14-18) in Saturday’s opener. Runner-up Cleveland (17-15) plays at Orlando (16-16) tonight.
All three playoff rounds are best-of-three. The championship series will be played Aug. 24, 26 and, if necessary, Aug. 27.
However, many are calling the anticipated Los Angeles-Houston Western Conference final the real championship series. New York and Cleveland were the only East teams to finish above .500.
Richie Adubato, the New York Liberty coach, seems to favor the Sparks.
“L.A. looks to me like the team to beat because of their athleticism, their great defense and the fact they play like they believe they’ve arrived,” Adubato said.
Houston Coach Van Chancellor agreed.
“I think all those Eastern Conference games will all go three games, and they’ll all be decided in the last minute,” he said.
“I give New York a little edge, but I don’t know that anyone is ready to beat L.A. I think Phoenix will struggle there.”
Around the WNBA
WNBA regular-season attendance has taken a major hit. The average crowd was 9,074, down from 10,207 last season. Washington led with 15,259, New York was next with 14,498. Washington attendance was down slightly, New York’s up slightly. . . . If Lisa Leslie is named the league’s most valuable player--the winner will be announced during the playoffs--she’ll receive $25,000. Each first-team member of the all-WNBA team will earn $10,000. Washington’s Muriel Page will earn $10,000 for having the top field-goal percentage (59%). Utah’s Jennifer Azzi will earn the same for leading the league in free-throw percentage (93%).