Road Warriors

Considering that the Shock won the other two, they still like their chances.

“Yeah, we have a hard stretch right now,” head coach Bill Laimbeer said before Detroit’s 77-67 win over Seattle. “We’re playing four teams that are all former champions so they all have a good mind-set about them, so this is a very big stretch for us.”

The Shock begin their West Coast series with a back-to-back against Sacramento (’05 champs) and Seattle (’04). Then they have three days off in Los Angeles before a highly anticipated matchup with the Sparks. Thanks to No. 1 pick Candace Parker, L.A. is as potent as it has been since the ’02 title team. The trip wraps up with a nationally televised matinee against the Phoenix Mercury in a rematch of last year’s WNBA Finals.

The Shock (6-1) will arrive in Sacramento as the league’s first six-win team. They were 7-1 entering this trip last year, but that team was healthier and faced less roster turnover than the current squad, which has five new players.

“I’m pleasantly surprised,” forward Katie Smith said. “I think that we’ve come out of the gates without a lot of practice time with players [together], and we’ve really just found a way to win. It’s not always pretty. But I think we’ve been battling and competing.”

The Shock opened the 2007 trip with three straight victories over L.A., Seattle and Phoenix before losing to Sacramento. That loss precipitated the roughest stretch of the year, with one win in five games. Knowing that the road can take a lot out of his team, Laimbeer is excited about stockpiling early wins.

“I feel really good about where we’re at, record-wise,” Laimbeer said. “A lot of room for improvement, we’re still learning how to utilize our bench a little bit more. We need to rebound a little bit stronger. That’s been our forte in the past, we need to pick that up a little bit. But other than that, record-wise, we’re very happy with where we’re at.”

Health-wise, things could be worse for the Shock. But they could be better, too. Deanna Nolan, already icing a hyperextended elbow and sprained ankle, momentarily left Wednesday’s victory in the third quarter with a thigh contusion. She laughed it off afterwards as “something else to add to the collection of injuries.”

With her body paying a heavy toll, Nolan has not scored at the rate she did when she earned All-WNBA First Team honors in 2007. But she has adjusted her game, quietly ranking among the league’s assist leaders. Though she’s never ranked among the top 10 during her seven-year career, she’s No. 3 right now at 6.0 assists per game. That’s double her career average (3.0 apg) and one of the biggest reasons the Shock are still winning. She had eight assists Wednesday, a season high she’s reached three times already this year.

“We’re in a good situation but we want to be in a better situation, especially with the injuries, trying to get at 100 percent with those injuries,” Nolan said. “But at the same time we’re going out west and we know that’s going to demand a lot of focus from our end and that we go out there and really play as a team.”

It was on this trip in 2007 that the Shock first learned how to play without All-Star forward Cheryl Ford, who played only at Seattle. Days before the trip Ford suffered the initial setback that ultimately led to modified microfracture surgery on her left knee in the off-season. Previously an iron-woman who played in no fewer than 31 regular-season games, Ford suited up just 15 times before the playoffs.

Ford has returned from the lengthy rehabilitation, but she’s had to rediscover her feel for the game on the fly. Though her scoring and shooting percentage are down, Ford is averaging 9.6 rebounds, nearly double anyone else on the team. Plenette Pierson (5.0 rpg) is second.

“Cheeky (Ford’s nickname) didn’t play for eight months and she’s out here rebounding and doing what she can,” Smith said. “I know she’s not confident in everything she’s doing because she hasn’t played, so I'm just proud of her.”

Detroit’s “win first, practice later” modus operandi likely will remain in effect until the team returns home. After that, they have five days off before hosting Minnesota June 20.