Does David Stern have some serious dirt on the notoriously fickle gods who rule the world of sport?
First, he gets Michael Jordan, the hero of the generation, to lead the NBA to global glory, and then, when he decides to start a women's league, the first regular season ends with two overtime games that decide who's going to make the playoffs.
The most dramatic took place in Phoenix, home of the most rabid fans in the league. There, the Mercury used defense, its specialty all year long, to force the game into overtime, and got big plays from Marlies Askamp, Bridget Pettis and Jennifer Gillom to beat L.A. 78-73 and make the playoffs.
Speaking of Gillom, the 33-year-old from Mississippi dominated Olympic star Lisa Leslie, scoring 29 points and getting eight rebounds in 42 minutes. Leslie had 10 points and 14 rebounds, but turned the ball over six times (a season-long problem for the 6-5 center) and got a technical.
That may be the only complaint Stern has about the way the WNBA regular season played out, because the grand plan was to have New York and L.A. play in the major media market finals on national TV. Luckily, the Liberty hung on to make the playoffs, but the postseason favorite certainly looks like Houston. In fact, New York will struggle to make the finals, as the Liberty closed the season with a soggy thud -- as their last game, even though it was a win, showed.
In a game Cleveland had to win to make the playoffs, New York got the home fans going by jumping out to an early lead. Not only did the Rockers never lead, they never tied the game -- except at the end of regulation. The Liberty was ahead 17-2 early, 38-25 at half and 69-61 with 3:51 left. But New York went scoreless the rest of the way, struggling on offense just as it had during a seven-loss-in-nine-game stretch.
In overtime, though, Rebecca Lobo (who finished with 20) and Kym Hampton (season-high 19) helped the Liberty hold off the Rockers and win 79-72.
Meanwhile, Houston rested its starters while losing to lowly Sacramento by 10, but the Comets really didn't care. They'll play at home Thursday and most likely Saturday -- roadkill Charlotte, their first-round opponent, was 12-2 at home and 3-11 on the road -- and they'll have Cynthia Cooper, the only unanimous choice for the all-WNBA team.
Cooper led the league with a 22.2 points per game average, added 4.7 assists (fifth in the league), 4.0 rebounds, shot 47% from the field (41.4% from three-point distance) and made 86.4% of her free throws (third in the league). Leslie, despite her team's disappointing season, was named to 27 first-team ballots and Houston's Tina Thompson was third at 22. Thompson is the only true rookie on the first team, which was rounded out by Cleveland's Eva Nemcova and Sacramento's Ruthie Bolton-Holifield.
At this point, though, who's on the all-WNBA team isn't nearly as important as who's in the playoffs and who's not. The fact that the Sparks aren't is the biggest news, and the biggest surprise would have to be Phoenix, which got great performances from veterans Gillom, Bridget Pettis and Michele Timms. Can the Mercury beat New York? In Phoenix, they can, which they proved by winning 77-67 and 69-50 in the regular season. In New York, they were 0-2, but despite the Liberty's better record, the WNBA awards home-court advantage in the first round to conference winners, which in this case would be the Mercury.
That sets up a likely Houston-Phoenix matchup in the final, which isn't exactly what Stern had in mind, but it will do quite nicely. You've got Sheryl Swoopes, in her post-partum glory, coached by Van Chancellor, a well-respected college veteran, matched against the scrappy Mercury, coached by flamboyant Cheryl Miller, who burned a lot of collegiate bridges when she left USC. And there's Nancy Lieberman-Cline for a good Phoenix sidebar and Cooper, a great player and a great story, with Houston.
The ratings may not be as high as they would have with New York and L.A., but I don't think Stern will complain. After all, even his pull with the basketball gods can only do so much.
8/24/97