Still a Big Problem for East

The winning conference does not get home-court advantage in the playoffs. So what is on the line in today’s WNBA All-Star game, which tips off at 1 p.m. in New York’s Madison Square Garden?

Is it two hours of run-and-gun fun to see if either team can break 100 points? Or does the game take on the grim determination of the league finals?

Or is the Eastern Conference finally going to beat the Western Conference in something, be it an All-Star game or the WNBA finals?

If the East is going to win this game for the first time in five tries, it will have to fill a tall order.

Even though its roster is revamped -- starters Cynthia Cooper and Tina Thompson, from Houston, won’t play because of injuries -- the West has five players standing at least 6 feet 3 or taller, starting with San Antonio’s 7-2 center, Margo Dydek. The tallest East player is 6-3 Detroit center Cheryl Ford, the daughter of Karl Malone.

East Coach Richie Adubato, from the New York Liberty, acknowledged the difficult task his All-Star team will face. But, he said, that won’t deter the squad.

“We are going to give up some height,” Adubato said. “But the addition of Natalie Williams, as a result of the trade that sent her to Indiana, gives us a powerful force at 6-2. My [Liberty] center Tari Phillips is 6-1, but she plays bigger, she’s very active and she’ll take the challenge most of the time.

“I would hope we’re in it to win because the West has won every time. There is a certain pride factor just like in the NBA.... I feel we have a lot to play for.”

West Coach Michael Cooper, from the Sparks, also believes the game is more than an exhibition. But he wants an All-Star game that is more Showtime than Slowtime.

“We are here to compete and win,” Cooper said. “I think the players are thinking the same thing. I think the fans want to see a high-scoring, exciting, scintillating basketball game and that’s how we’re going to do it.

“I’ll put a little ploy out there for our team; let’s score 100 points. Let the players show their true athleticism without putting too many constraints on them.”

Along with the game and its peripheral pageantry, there are some interesting subplots.

* Ford is the lone representative of the 2003 rookie class. She is one of three players in the league, along with Washington’s Chamique Holdsclaw and the Sparks’ Lisa Leslie, averaging double figures in points and rebounds. She’ll have to be big on the boards for the East to have a chance.

“I think she’ll hold her own,” Adubato said. “She’s a strong rebounder, she’s proven that. [The West] has a great rebounding team, so we’re counting on Ford to contribute her strength, which is rebounding.”

* Will there be a dunk? Leslie threw down the only jam in WNBA history last year in a regular-season game against Miami. She’ll also have Spark teammates Nikki Teasley and Tamecka Dixon, both guards, on the West team.

Of more interest is whether Dydek will dunk. She dunked in practice Friday but never has in a game. Although it’s not unusual for her to set up 10 to 12 feet away from the basket and shoot jump shots, she is playing in the low post more this season.

“We’re going to set her up to get something. But that is up to Margo,” Cooper said.

* Can Leslie and Seattle’s Lauren Jackson, who is replacing Thompson in the starting lineup, get along as teammates? They have one of the most bitter rivalries in the WNBA, dating to 2000 when Jackson pulled out some of Leslie’s hair extensions during an international game between the USA and Australia. Every meeting between the two since has been an audition for the cast of “Rollerball.”

“We had a situation last year where they played well together,” Cooper said. “They give us another versatile lineup to go with. Both can play outside of their original positions, which is up under the basket.”

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

WNBA All-Star Facts, Figures

ROSTERS

*--* Player Team Pos Hgt PPG

*--*

EAST STARTERS

*--* Chamique Holdsclaw Washington F 6-2 18.6 Tamika Catchings Indiana F 6-1 19.3 Tari Phillips New York C 6-1 10.7 Teresa Weatherspoon New York G 5-8 2.6 Dawn Staley Charlotte G 5-6 6.4

*--*

EAST RESERVES

*--* Swin Cash Detroit F 6-2 16.7 Cheryl Ford Detroit C 6-3 11.5 Shannon Johnson Connecticut G 5-7 14.5 Deanna Nolan Detroit G/F 6-0 12.7 Nykesha Sales Connecticut G/F 6-0 15.7 Natalie Williams Indiana F 6-2 12.8 Note: Sales replaced New York’s Becky Hammon, who is out with an injury

*--*

WEST STARTERS

*--* Sheryl Swoopes Houston F 6-0 15.3 Lauren Jackson Seattle F 6-5 19.7 Lisa Leslie Sparks C 6-5 18.9 Sue Bird Seattle G 5-9 13.3 Tamecka Dixon Sparks G 5-9 15.2

*--*

WEST RESERVES

*--* Margo Dydek San Antonio C 7-2 12.2 Marie Ferdinand San Antonio G 5-9 14.5 Yolanda Griffith Sacramento F 6-4 16.2 Katie Smith Minnesota G 5-11 19.7 Nikki Teasley Sparks G 6-0 10.1 Adrian Williams Phoenix F/C 6-4 12.2

*--*

Note: Jackson and Dixon replaced Houston’s Cynthia Cooper and Tina Thompson, both out with injuries, in the starting lineup. Teasley replaced Cooper and Ferdinand replaced Thompson on the roster.

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HOW THE WEST HAS WON

A recap of the first four WNBA games, all won by the West:

1999 at New York

West 79, East 61

MVP: Lisa Leslie, Sparks (13 points, five rebounds)

The West rolled to a 43-29 halftime lead and won easily behind Leslie, Natalie Williams (14 points) and Yolanda Griffith (10).

2000 at Phoenix

West 73, East 61

MVP: Tina Thompson, Houston (13 points, 11 rebounds)

Thompson led a 60-40 West advantage in rebounding, and Leslie scored a game-high 16 points.

2001 at Orlando, Fla.

West 80, East 72

MVP: Leslie, Sparks (20 points, nine rebounds)

The East rallied from a 19-point deficit to come within six points late in the game before coming up short.

2002 at Washington

West 81, East 76

MVP: Leslie, Sparks (18 points, 14 rebounds)

Trailing by a point with a minute to play, the West won on four free throws by Thompson and two by Sheryl Swoopes.