The Rockers and the Sol forced their respective first round series with the Sting and the Liberty to three games before falling in WNBA Playoffs 2001. Now the coaching staffs in both Cleveland and Miami have been gracious enough to share their insight into the Eastern Conference Finalists with us.

Lisa Boyer has been an assistant coach with the Rockers for two years and has 19 years of experience coaching women's basketball. Jenny Boucek actually played for the Rockers for two years until a back injury forced her to retire. She then turned to coaching and spent a season in Washington before becoming an assistant coach with the Sol in 2000.

#2 New York vs. #4 Charlotte

Season Series Review: Charlotte won series 2-1
June 12 @ New York: New York 79, Charlotte 70
July 3 @ Charlotte: Charlotte 66, New York 61
Aug. 11 @ Charlotte: Charlotte 80, New York 60

Player vs. Player Matchups: Scouting Report

Boucek:
What a great Conference Finals matchup!!! This is going to be an all out war! These teams have a lot in common, such as veteran point guards, wings that can get their own shot, versitile fowards, and imposing centers. Neither team is clearly better, so the little things and the intangibles become very important. Execution and mental toughness will decide this matchup.

Three keys for the Liberty:

Boyer:
Must have the ability to contain Andrea Stinson from penetrating into the paint.

Contain Charlotte's versatility at post with Charlotte Smith and Shalonda Enis's ablity to score facing the basket at three-point range.

Make Charlotte's post players play post defense early and often. Challenge them to stop solid post moves.

Boucek:

Hammon

A fourth scorer -- Tari Phillips, Vickie Johnson and Crystal Robinson have been consistent scorers for New York all year, but to beat Charlotte they are going to need someone else to step up. So far in the playoffs it has been Tamika Whitmore, but Becky Hammon is very capable as well. New York will need to score to beat Charlotte. New York is 20-1 when shooting a better field goal percentage than their opponent and they are 30-0 in regular season games where they score over 70 points. New York is very tough to beat when they are scoring in transition and early offense.

Free throws -- Charlotte is second in the WNBA in free throw percentage, while New York is 15th. During the regular season, New York only shot 500 free throws to their opponents' 640.

Keep the games close -- Charlotte may be the hottest team in the WNBA right now, so New York must try and stop the train from rolling. New York has not had any overtime games this year, but they are 5-1 in games decided by three points or less. New York has a lot of confidence they can and will win close games. Charlotte is 0-3 in overtime games this year.

Three keys for the Sting:

Boyer:
Limit the number of good looks that Tari Phillips gets at the basket.

Take away easy transition baskets by stopping the ball early and challenging the spot-up shooters.

Must have the ability to score in the paint to put more pressure on the defense and therefore get better looks for Allison Feaster, Andrea Stinson, and Dawn Staley on the perimeter.

Boucek:
Win the first game! -- New York is 5-0 in do-or-die games in the Garden. Charlotte was 7-9 on the road in the regular season and 1-1 in the playoffs (although they did take the big one in Cleveland) Charlotte will be hard pressed to win two in a row in New York.

Edwards

Bench production -- Charlotte's depth has been instrumental in their success. They bring talented, experienced players off the bench that can score. Enis, Tonya Edwards, Clarisse Machanguana were huge in the first round. In New York's three playoff games, the starters have scored 166 points, while the bench has only scored 18.

Take care of the ball -- Charlotte is 10-3 when having less turnovers than their opponents. They don't force a lot of tunovers (13th in the WNBA in opponent's turnovers), so they can't afford to give New York extra possessions. New York is second in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio, with two players in the top five (Crystal Robinson No. 1, Teresa Weatherspoon No. 4).

X-Factors:

Boyer:
Both teams are going to have to be able to produce offense against zone defenses as well as rebound the ball out of their zone defense.

Staley and Weatherspoon both have the ability to control the tempo of the game at both ends. It will be one's will over the other.

Bench depth is on Charlotte's side especially in the post area, but New York is more experienced at this position. Early foul trouble could become a factor.

Boucek:
Tammy Sutton-Brown needs to stay out of foul trouble. But overall, Charlotte has more depth than New York does.

Home court advantage will be a big asset to New York in this series, as well as point guard play off the bench -- especially if Hammon steps up.

Bottom Line:

Boyer:
Rebounding the basketball at both ends of the floor will ultimately decide which team wants to win this series the most. Both teams have seasoned veterans and solid leaders who will welcome this challenge. Home court is nice but both teams have the ability to win on the road. They will both be prepared and expect both teams to have their "A" game ready for the entire series.