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Originally Published: September 13, 2009

Momentum, injuries to impact playoffs

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By Mechelle Voepel
Special to ESPN.com
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The final day of the WNBA regular season was rendered essentially meaningless, since the last piece in the playoff puzzle was put into place Saturday. Instead, it was a day to wonder and speculate about what's next for the eight teams that will continue.

AP Photo/Elaine ThompsonIf Seattle can avoid losing in the first round for the fifth straight year, the Storm will need Lauren Jackson in uniform.

If you look only at regular-season results, the quick conclusion is that the East's first-round series are lopsided and the West's are dead even. Indiana won all four of its games against Washington, while Atlanta went 3-1 against Detroit. Meanwhile, Phoenix-San Antonio and Los Angeles-Seattle split their regular-season series.

Ah, but it's quite a bit more complicated than that. Two factors -- injuries and, to a lesser degree, momentum -- have to be more carefully considered when attempting to break down which four are going to survive.

Not to be a jinx, but right now among the teams that seem the most healthy are the ones who met in ESPN2's broadcast Sunday afternoon: the Sparks and the Mercury. L.A. won this matchup 81-78 in Phoenix, but that really doesn't tell you much because Mercury star Diana Taurasi sat out the game, resting for the playoffs.

Other than reserve Nicole Ohlde, who missed time at the start of the season with a foot injury and then had a wrist injury in July, the Mercury have been pretty healthy. Penny Taylor, who didn't play for Phoenix in the Olympic year of 2008, returned to the franchise in August, so she should be fresh for the playoffs.

Phoenix looks like a team at pretty much full steam going into the postseason, but the same could be said of the Sparks. They started the season with Candace Parker out on maternity leave and later were without Lisa Leslie during an 11-game span she missed with a knee strain. But those two have been terrific down the stretch.

Regular-season awards

Taurasi

The Mercury, Diana Taurasi and the Dream dominated Mechelle Voepel's picks for the WNBA regular-season awards and all-league first and second teams. Story

Leslie had a quiet game Sunday (two points), but in her home "farewell" game Friday, she scored 19. Parker had 24 points and 14 rebounds Sunday, giving the Mercury a taste of what it's going to be like to try to stop her now if those two end up meeting again in the Western Conference finals.

San Antonio also seems relatively injury-free now. But with at the other five teams, there are injury question marks.

The biggest is center Lauren Jackson, who's out with a stress fracture in her back. She hasn't played since Aug. 27, and it's pretty obvious that without her, Seattle will be in great danger of losing in the first round for the fifth consecutive year.

The thing about LJ is that it takes a lot to keep her down when it really matters. She has proved over and over that she will endure a lot of pain in order to play. Seattle's Sue Bird (sore neck) and Katie Gearlds (knee) also have been battling injuries.

Over in the East, everybody has someone to worry about. Or at least it seems that way. Perhaps Indiana is basically healthy at the moment -- or as healthy as any team can be at the end of the season -- but Katie Douglas did miss a couple of games at the beginning of September with an ankle sprain. That said, she had 25 points Thursday against Chicago.

Ebony Hoffman has been dealing with tendinitis in her ankles. She played just 10 minutes in Sunday's loss at Connecticut, while Douglas and Tammy Sutton-Brown, who missed some time with a toe injury earlier this season, rested.

Detroit has been without Katie Smith (back injury) since Aug. 27. And considering the Shock were in the heat of the playoff race, you know Smith really wanted to play. We'll wait to see if she can make it back for the postseason. Of course, Detroit has been without Plenette Pierson all summer, as she injured her shoulder in the Shock's opening game.

Atlanta's Chamique Holdsclaw is a question mark for the playoffs, as she has been out since Aug. 20. She had arthroscopic surgery on her right knee Aug. 25. Rookie guard Shalee Lehning, who has been a good floor general for the Dream, hurt her shoulder in Saturday's game against the Mystics but is expected back.

And as for Washington, star Alana Beard has had an ankle sprain and played in only two of the Mystics' past five regular-season games, scoring six points in both.

So … if your whole body is hurting right now after reading about all these aches and pains, we'll offer this positive note: In most cases, somebody else has stepped forward to fill the gaps as best as possible.

Lindsey Harding had 25 points Saturday in the win Washington needed for a playoff spot (combined with Chicago's loss to Detroit). Angel McCoughtry has filled in so well for Holdsclaw in the Dream's starting lineup that she has added to a solid case for herself as rookie of the year.

It's no surprise that Detroit has leaned on Deanna Nolan so much with Smith out, but it's still notable how well she has responded. Nolan has averaged 22.6 points in the seven games Smith missed, and she is as responsible as any one player in the league for pulling her team out of danger and into the playoffs.

Which brings us to the momentum factor … or lack thereof in some cases. Considering that some teams were able to rest key players in the final day(s) of the season, the results of this past weekend aren't necessarily indicative of how everybody is really playing now.

Nevertheless, if you are looking for a "hot streak," the Sparks have won three in a row, with their victory Sunday ending the Mercury's streak of three straight. And if all this still leaves you thinking, "OK, but who the heck is going to win this thing?" … well, you're accurately describing what this season has been like.

Phoenix and Indiana are the respective champions of the West and East, and both certainly won their titles with relative room to breathe. But that ends now. Even the conference champs have to take a deep breath before going into these playoffs.

Mechelle Voepel, a regular contributor to ESPN.com, can be reached at mvoepel123@yahoo.com. Read her blog at http://voepel.wordpress.com.