It’s About Showtime vs. Slowtime

East against West.

Grits vs. Glitz.

No matter how you describe it, the WNBA championship series between the Sparks and the Charlotte Sting is a contrast in styles as wide as the coasts the teams play on.

Charlotte Coliseum is the site for tonight’s Game 1 to determine the first WNBA champion that doesn’t come from Houston.

At Wednesday’s practice sessions, both teams said the usual things. How hard work and perseverance got them here. How they respect the opponent. What a great opportunity this is.

There is more going on here.

WNBA officials don’t publicly root for either team. But it’s not hard to envision how much happier they would be to see the banner hanging from a major market city like Los Angeles rather than one from a smaller market like Charlotte.

The Sparks have won 56 games the past two seasons but have yet to take home the big prize. By his own admission, Coach Michael Cooper has relentlessly driven his team to the brink of a title. If the Sparks come up empty again, do the players keep responding without wondering if it’s worth the sacrifice?

The Sting, which lost both regular season games to the Sparks, wants to bring some respect to the Eastern Conference.

If Charlotte wins, other teams may gravitate to the tortoise half-court offensive game and combat defensive style favored by the East rather than the high-scoring, run-to-daylight games more prevalent in the West. A style that isn’t TV-friendly.

And if those aren’t enough subplots for the next Woody Allen caper, add the fact the teams made an off-season trade that was supposed to bring them players that would make the difference between champion and the rest of the pack.

Last November the Sparks sent Allison Feaster and Clarisse Machanguana to Charlotte for Rhonda Mapp and E.C. Hill (who was later waived).

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Mapp has seen her reserve role diminish as the season went on, averaging 4.2 points and 13.2 minutes a game. But she and Latasha Byears (acquired from Sacramento) brought muscle and moxie to the Sparks, qualities they lacked last year even though they won the same number of games (28) they did this season. Which is why they reached the finals for the first time.

Feaster, who averaged 11.4 points and started all 32 regular-season games, brought long-range shooting and a quiet toughness that contrasted nicely with Sting star Andrea Stinson’s overt leadership. Machanguana brought high energy and a veteran’s wisdom off the bench, which paid off later in the year when Charlotte overcame a 1-10 start to make the playoffs and reach its first championship series.

Neither Mapp, Feaster or Machanguana expressed hostility over the trade Wednesday.

“When I played here in Charlotte, we always dreamed of experiencing a championship situation,” Mapp said. “I’m looking at it that we’re all sharing it together. Unfortunately, someone will have to lose. But to have the experience is positive.”

“I had the best time when I played in L.A.,” Machanguana said. “I hold no hard feelings against them. I was asking for, and hoping for, a trade. I thought I had learned everything I had to learn in L.A., and I was ready to go to another team and be able to play more minutes and help. It has nothing to do with revenge.”

“I have a lot of respect for [the Sparks] coaches and players,” Feaster said. “I do see the irony of playing them. This is just a perfect situation. I never thought it would play out this way. I’m sure they didn’t think Charlotte would be in the WNBA finals. But here we are.”

Charlotte, a fourth-place team (18-14) in the regular season, got to the finals after bouncing Cleveland and New York from the playoffs. It is a team that doesn’t scare anybody on paper, averaging 64.2 points, 29.6 rebounds and 14.6 assists. But the Sting has become the ultimate gate-crasher to the WNBA’s postseason party.

Los Angeles averaged 76.3 points, 34.5 rebounds and 18.6 assists while compiling the league’s best record (28-4) for the second consecutive season. The Sparks became the first WNBA team to eliminate Houston in the playoffs, then outgunned Sacramento to reach the finals.

*

WNBA FINALS * SPARKS AT CHARLOTTE

TONIGHT, 5, ESPN2

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

WNBA FINALS

SPARKS vs. CHARLOTTE STING

* BEST OF THREE SERIES

Game 1: at Charlotte, tonight, 5 p.m. PDT, ESPN2

Game 2: at Staples, Saturday, 12:30 p.m., Ch. 4

Game 3: at Staples, Sunday, 12:30 p.m., Ch. 4 (if necessary)

*

GUARDS

Dawn Staley and Andrea Stinson vs. Tamecka Dixon and Ukari Figgs. Stinson will be a handful for Dixon because Stinson is usually the first offensive option for the Sting. Stinson is the better passer, Figgs the better three-point threat. Staley can score if needed. She had 17 points against New York on Monday.

Edge: Charlotte.

FORWARDS

Allison Feaster and Charlotte Smith vs. DeLisha Milton and Mwadi Mabika. Feaster and Mwadi are streaky shooters. Milton is the Sparks best defender and may slide over to defend Feaster. Smith has not been much of a scorer since coming over from the ABL.

Edge: Sparks.

CENTER

Tammy Sutton-Brown vs. Lisa Leslie. Sutton-Brown is a rookie from Rutgers. Leslie is the WNBA’s Most Valuable Player.

Edge: Sparks.

BENCH

Latasha Byears and, to a lesser degree, Rhonda Mapp give the Sparks size, strength, and scoring. Nicky McCrimmon will spell Dixon or Figgs, but Coach Michael Cooper will not go deeper than that unless the game is out of hand. Tonya Edwards, Shalonda Enis and Clarisse Machanguana are more apt to defend than provide much offensive punch for Coach Anne Donovan.

Edge: Sparks.

KEYS TO VICTORY

There is no way the Sparks can discourage the Sting with a quick lead, no matter how large. But Los Angeles will cause problems if it can dictate the tempo against Charlotte, which is more inclined to slow the pace. The Sting has proven to be opportunistic on offense and must take advantage of the one or two lulls the Sparks seem to have every game. Both teams have been very good on the road, but the Sparks are definitely the better home team. If it comes to a third game, the odds swing heavily in the Sparks’ favor with their record at Staples Center.