LOS ANGELES -- The Detroit Shock aren't a typical Eastern Conference team. They like to run as much as the two-time WNBA champion Los Angeles Sparks do.

ARE SPARKS THE UNDERDOG?

LOS ANGELES -- The Sparks had the WNBA's best record the previous two seasons and went on to win championships. This season, they finished a game behind Detroit, giving the Shock home-court advantage in the Finals beginning Friday night at Staples Center. "They have the better record, so I think we are the underdogs,'' Sparks All-Star center Lisa Leslie said. Leslie and coach Michael Cooper were particularly annoyed that commentators and even Detroit coach Bill Laimbeer picked Sacramento to reach the Finals without mentioning the Sparks. "We weren't chosen to be here, so that's another motivation factor for us,'' Leslie said. "We take offense to that because we are the defending champions.'' Said Laimbeer: "This is going to be the hardest games that we've played against the most talented team with a great mind-set. They think they're the best, so do we. That's what makes great series.'' --The Associated Press

The Sparks' previous championships came against Charlotte and New York, teams that play slow-down, half-court games like most teams in the East.

"We are young and running is our game,'' said Shock forward Cheryl Ford, the league's rookie of the year and Karl Malone's daughter. "They get up and down the floor well, but we're not going to let them take us from our game.''

This season, the Sparks defeated uptempo teams Minnesota and Sacramento to reach the WNBA Finals, and they look forward to matching Detroit's speed when the best-of-three series opens Friday night at Staples Center (8 ET, ESPN2).

"They have what we want and that's a championship,'' said Detroit's Swin Cash.

Sparks center Lisa Leslie, last year's finals MVP, said a key for Los Angeles will be staying out of foul trouble.

"Obviously, they have the same quickness that we do with the guards,'' Leslie said. "They're big and strong inside and we're thin, wiry and quick, so we have to play to our advantage.''

Detroit's frontline of 6-foot-2 Cash, 6-3 Ford and 6-5 Ruth Riley is taller and bigger than the Sparks' trio of DeLisha Milton, Mwadi Mabika and Leslie. Ford alone weighs 215 pounds, making the 165-pound Mabika seem downright skinny. Riley outweighs Leslie by 25 pounds.

"I can't put on 20 or 30 pounds in the next day or so,'' Leslie said. "I have to play to my advantage and that's being 6-5, being faster, and obviously trying to outsmart the post players.

"They're going to plant these girls behind us, they're probably going to try and beat up on us, lean on us. That's something we pretty much faced when we played New York in the finals last year. I've been able to adapt my game to whatever style of play it is.''

Leslie also will have to adapt to being triple-teamed.

"She's the corner of that basketball team. Take that out and then what?'' Ford said.

The championship series matches the league's two top teams and former NBA rivals Michael Cooper and Bill Laimbeer, who have a prickly relationship.

"Everyone has been pointing toward this matchup all season long,'' said Detroit's Laimbeer, the league's coach of the year.

With talent spread equally on both sides, Cooper predicts strategy will be more important than usual.

"What you do with the shot clock, your timeouts -- you want to make every play a big play,'' the Sparks' coach said. "You mess a play up early in the game, it could come back to haunt you at the end of the game and cause a loss.''

The teams played once during the regular season, and Detroit won 87-78 in overtime at home. The Shock overcame a 16-point deficit, then outscored the Sparks 11-2 in overtime.

"We don't really remember the victory,'' Laimbeer said. "We're a much more confident team now. Back then, we were just learning about each other.''

The victory eventually gave Detroit, which had the league's worst record last season, the WNBA's best this year by one game over the Sparks and homecourt advantage for the finals.

"We might lose this one and have to win two back there,'' Cooper said.

The Sparks are 0-2 on the road in the playoffs this season, having dropped the first game in each series against Minnesota and Sacramento. They came back to win the final two games at home both times.

"Those two playoff losses don't mean anything to me. I feel comfortable going out on the road,'' Cooper said, citing the Sparks' better record on the road than at home this season.

Detroit's post play has been a strength all season, and the Shock back it up with solid perimeter shooting.

"I've been talking about playing for the championship from the opening of training camp,'' Laimbeer said. "We believe we're going to win. That's a large part of the battle.''

Indiana Fever coach Nell Fortner gives the edge to the Sparks because of their two championships.

"They know how to win. Lisa Leslie is the best player in the world,'' she said. "Detroit will give them a run for their money, but it comes down to inexperience against experience.''