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Liberty-Shock Preview

Aug 3, 2009 - 4:44 PM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

New York (6-12) at Detroit (6-10), 7:30 p.m. EDT

Neither the Detroit Shock nor the New York Liberty thought they'd be in this position.

After meeting for the Eastern Conference title last season, the teams hold the bottom spots in the East this year as they prepare to meet Tuesday night at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Detroit (6-10) ousted New York (6-12) in three games in last year's conference finals en route to its second WNBA title in three years. Both clubs figured to be contenders in 2009 again with the bulk of their rosters intact.

Instead, they're the only teams in the East with losing records and reaching the playoffs will be a challenge for both. Detroit and New York have endured difficult years that include coaching changes.

Detroit's Bill Laimbeer resigned on June 15 to pursue an NBA job, with assistant Rick Mahorn replacing him. New York fired Pat Coyle on Friday, naming assistant Anne Donovan - a former coach with Seattle - on an interim basis.

Both clubs are struggling for answers.

"We are defending champions but that doesn't mean nothing," leading scorer Deanna Nolan told the Shock's official Web site. "That was last season. This is a different season."

New York won 80-64 in the first meeting between the clubs on July 2 behind 25 points from All-Star guard Shameka Christon. The Shock own the worst conference record in the East, and know they must turn around that poor mark.

"It has a lot of significance because we're 1-8 against the East," Mahorn said. "If we're trying to make the playoffs, if we're in a tie, we'll lose on a tiebreaker because they're going to use games against the teams in the East.

The Shock fell to 0-5 at home against conference foes with Sunday's 83-65 loss to Connecticut. Nolan scored 20 points for Detroit, which trailed by as many as 24.

New York, meanwhile, lost its fourth straight Saturday in Donovan's debut, 89-83 at Atlanta. The Liberty committed 26 turnovers that led to 31 points for the Dream.

"We turned it over and it leads into what Atlanta likes to do, which is run," Donovan said. "The 31 points off of our turnovers was really our demise."

Christon scored a game-high 23 as New York opened a season-high five-game road trip.

The Liberty, one of the league's original franchises, have had just two losing seasons in their first 12 campaigns. The Shock have not missed the playoffs since winning their first title in 2003.