The Phoenix Mercury's "All In" theme of the 2009 WNBA Playoffs couldn't be more fitting as we head into the Western Conference Finals. 

Undoubtedly, the Mercury/Sparks series will be touted more for the epic match-up of two of the greatest in the game, Candace Parker vs. Diana Taurasi. Heck, it’s already being written about on a national level, and perhaps rightfully so. It’s the Lebron vs. Kobe showdown of the WNBA. However, it is my belief that the series will be determined by other key factors, rather than each team’s respective superstars. 

Don’t get me wrong, the Mercury and Sparks will need huge games from Taurasi and Parker to advance to the WNBA Finals. But this series will ultimately be won by the team who gets the best play out of their supporting cast. 

For the Sparks, they’ll need players other than Leslie, Parker, and Thompson to step up to counteract the depth of the Mercury. Players like Betty Lennox and DeLisha Milton-Jones will be relied on heavily not just on the defensive end, but offensively as well. Even though we hear a lot about the height and size of the Sparks, the Mercury can throw a big lineup on the court if need be, as we saw in the last 4 minutes of game 3 against the Silver Stars. Cappie played the 1 and was the smallest person on the court for the Mercury. “I can get big,” Gaines said at practice Tuesday. “Maybe not as big, but I can go longer. I can even get bigger too and put Diana at the point, Penny at the 2, DB [DeWanna] at the 3, Tangela at the 4, and Ohlde at the 5. But we run either way so it doesn’t matter.” 

The Sparks’ success this season has come from finding an exploitable weakness of the team their facing and using it to their advantage. However, that one-dimensional approach doesn’t necessarily always work, especially in the playoffs. “What they do is try to take advantage of mismatches,” Gaines said. “But you also have to understand that by doing so, they’re taking away from the flow of their game. Let’s say, for instance, that DeLisha wants to post up down low all game. Then they’re taking away one of the best post up players of all time, Leslie, away from the basket.” 

For the Mercury, it will be business as usual – running their butts off. “Everyone says in playoff ball, you don’t run as much,” Gaines said. “For us, we go faster. It’s the opposite for us. The other team will tend to buy into the pace of play a little bit more and get caught up in the game.” That means that players like Penny Taylor, DeWanna Bonner, Ketia Swanier, Kelly Mazzante, and Le’coe Willingham will need to have productive nights both offensively and defensively for the Mercury to get the win. It will certainly be difficult to match the Sparks size down low, but Tangela and Nicole have proven they can get the job done this year, contributing to the Mercury’s victory on the boards 8 out of the last 10 opponents they’ve faced. 

With the tremendous play of Diana Taurasi in the Silver Stars series, a somewhat forgotten player was Cappie Pondexter. Cappie did a fantastic 1 on 1 job against Becky Hammon and disrupted her from getting her teammates involved, which makes her one of the most deadly players in the league. This energy spent on the defensive end didn’t allow Cappie to be as aggressive offensively as she normally is, but that certainly shouldn’t take anything away from her fantastic play. Against the Sparks, however, Cappie should be due for one of her phenomenal games of 25-30 points with the match-up problems she creates for the Sparks defense. Her highest scoring game against the Silver Stars was 18, but expect that to be one of her lowest scoring totals in the Sparks series. And let’s not forget the importance of Temeka Johnson to this Mercury team. She’s had great games against her former team this year, essentially willing the team to a victory in their first match-up in the regular season. Most importantly, Meek only has 3 turnovers in her last 4 games combined. Her vision and leadership on the court will be invaluable during the Sparks series. 

Another unique situation for both teams will occur in game 1 when the Sparks, technically, won’t be playing at ‘home’ due to scheduling conflicts. Instead, they’ll play at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion. When asked if that was actually to the Mercury’s advantage, Gaines shrugged it off. “Not unless they turn the lights off, or lower the rims,” said an indifferent Gaines. “I mean, last time I checked it’s still a gym so it won’t matter.” Still, the Staples Center is no easy place to play basketball in, and the majority of the Mercury’s victories there have come during the last couple of years (including 2 this year with Candace not 100%). Although the game is still in Los Angeles, the Mercury should feel a little bit better that they avoided a raucous Staples Center. 

One last thought – I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed hearing the “Beat L.A.!” chants last night at US Airways Center; and I’m sure there will be 10,000 plus fans there on Friday doing the same.