Los Angeles Sparks Basketball Team

After playing for Pat Riley in the Lakers' Showtime era, Sparks Coach Michael Cooper says he has followed one philosophy regarding the postseason. "Coach Riley used to say the playoffs don't start until the other team wins on the other team's home court," said Cooper, whose team has a 1-0 lead entering Game 2 tonight at Seattle in the Western Conference's best-of-three semifinals. "We're trying to get this second one and hopefully we won't have to make adjustments after that."

This was the matchup Lisa Leslie had hoped the Sparks wouldn't have in the first round of the WNBA postseason. Yet, she also knew that facing the Phoenix Mercury was inevitable if the Sparks were going to win the West. The inevitable is now. Phoenix, seeded No. 1 in the West, visits the Sparks for Game 1 of the Western Conference finals at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion tonight, boasting the league's top offense (92.8 points per game). "I don't have any magical formula where we do one, two or three things and we'll win," said Leslie, who could be playing in her last home game before retiring after a storied 13-year career.

After the final buzzer sounded, Sparks forward Candace Parker untucked her jersey in frustration. She had seen the Sparks fluctuate between two phases: allowing Phoenix to dictate its fastbreak system before the Sparks fought to chip away the deficit. The end result -- a 103-94 Game 1 loss Wednesday to the Mercury in the Western Conference finals in front of 6,389 at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion -- was a reflection of what Parker described as "allowing them to play their game." It also resembled a broader theme, one she and other teammates noticed throughout the season when the Sparks sputtered to an 8-13 record despite boasting five Olympians.

Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury are heading to the WNBA finals, and Lisa Leslie is heading off to retirement. Taurasi scored 15 of her 21 points in the second half and added seven rebounds and three assists to lead the Mercury past the Sparks, 85-74, on Saturday night in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals. The Mercury, seeded No. 1 in the West, will open the best-of-five WNBA finals at home Tuesday against Indiana, top-seeded in the East and a 72-67 winner over Detroit earlier Saturday.

VS. MINNESOTA When: 7:30. Where: Staples Center. On the air: Webcast on wnba.com. Records: Sparks 10-13, Lynx 11-13. Record vs. Lynx: 1-1. Update: The Sparks play host to Minnesota in the team's third set of back-to-back games within a week. The Lynx and San Antonio Silver Stars are jockeying with the Sparks for the final two playoff spots in the Western Conference. Tonight's winner will hold the series tiebreaker. -- Mark Medina

WNBA general managers, in a survey conducted by the league, predict the Sparks not only will win the WNBA title but the top two player awards will also belong to the Sparks. Five of the 12 general managers participating in the survey picked the Sparks to win their third league championship, while the Seattle Storm and defending champion Phoenix Mercury tied for second with two votes each.

PHOENIX -- Candace Parker had some jitters in her WNBA debut. It sure didn't show. Parker scored 34 points, the most in a WNBA debut, and grabbed 12 rebounds to help the Sparks beat the defending champion Phoenix Mercury, 99-94, on Saturday. The previous high in a WNBA debut was 25 points by Cynthia Cooper in 1997. "It obviously was better than I expected," said the 6-foot-4 Parker, who led Tennessee to back-to-back national titles. "Coming out, I just wanted to play hard.

ATLANTA -- Eight days after a record-breaking 34-point debut by rookie Candace Parker, the Sparks went back to routine business Sunday with a 74-56 victory over the expansion Atlanta Dream. DeLisha Milton-Jones scored 15 points, Lisa Leslie added 14, and Parker and Marie Ferdinand-Harris each had 12 for the Sparks (2-0), who led 41-21 by halftime and never trailed. Leslie also contributed 10 rebounds and six blocked shots.