Only two teams have been able to beat Los Angeles twice this season, and Seattle is one of them. The Storm, in fact, are 2-1 against the Sparks this season, including a win at the Staples Center. Seattle seems to match up well with Los Angeles and clearly isn't intimidated by the defending WNBA champion Sparks. Since the Storm seems so confident against the Western Conference champs, Los Angeles needs to come out and put pressure on Seattle from the beginning, making big stops that prevent Seattle from gaining even more momentum. The Sparks can't let the Storm play with them.

Los Angeles Sparks
West seed: 1. Record: 25-7. Home record: 12-4. Streak: Won 3.
Last 10: 7-3. Points for: 76.6. Points against: 69.8.

Skinny: The Sparks have all the ingredients to repeat, but the team's stars must play like stars come playoff time. Some critics have argued that Los Angeles is neither as physically intimidating nor as tough defensively as in the past. And quite honestly, the Sparks have looked a bit disinterested at times. Lisa Leslie must continue to stay focused. Tamecka Dixon must raise her level of play and DeLisha Milton must establish a presence. Against Houston on Thursday, the game was halfway over before she scored her first point. Right now, the Sparks should be looking to find their focus again to continue L.A.'s tough-as-nails reputation in the postseason.

While the Sparks are healthy -- one of the most important things to have on your side when the postseason arrives -- they also are struggling in some key statistical categories. L.A. is committing more turnovers than its opponents, getting outrebounded and allowing foes to shoot a higher percentage at the foul line.

Seattle Storm
West seed: 4. Record: 17-15. Home: 10-6. Streak: Lost 1.
Last 10: 7-3. Points for: 68.4. Points against: 65.8.

Skinny: The Storm made a tremendous run down the stretch to earn their first playoff berth in franchise history. But this team is all about Lauren Jackson and Sue Bird. These two players, who like Michael Jordan make their coach look like a genius, must continue to come up big with all-star type performances or Seattle's first postseason stay will be a short one.

Playoff schedule
Aug. 15: Los Angeles at Seattle, 10 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Aug. 17: Seattle at Los Angeles, 4 p.m. ET, NBC
Aug. 19: Seattle at Los Angeles, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN2 (if necessary)

Season series
June 18: Los Angeles 80, at Seattle 68
July 11: At Seattle 79, Los Angeles 60
Aug. 1: Seattle 81, at Los Angeles 76

1: Nikki Teasley vs. Sue Bird

	Bird

	Teasley

Teasley, Los Angeles: With so many other offensive weapons around her, Teasley doesn't look or need to score. She's very capable of hitting a 3-pointer (40 percent from downtown) and averages 6.5 points, but her role with this team is to get the ball to her teammates. As a rookie, she has done a very impressive job, and has a high assist-to-turnover ratio (she dishes out 4.5 assists and commits just two turnovers a game), which is really good for a first-year player, especially considering how much Teasley handles the ball.
Bird, Seattle: As the No. 1 overall draft pick, everybody knew she was good, but Bird has been phenomenal and had even a more dramatic effect that anybody expected. Bird averages six assists per game and has literally turned around games all by herself. Seattle's second-leading scorer, Bird also tops the Storm in steals and shoots 40 percent from 3-point range and 91 percent at the line, so she comes up big in the key statistical categories. The bad news for everybody else is that she's just warming up, and if a game is tight, Bird can make a difference.
Advantage: Bird. They're both rookies, but Bird is the Rookie of the Year candidate.

2: Tamecka Dixon vs. Adia Barnes

	Barnes

	Dixon

Dixon, Los Angeles: Some critics have questioned Dixon's performance this season because her scoring average has slightly dipped, but she's getting more out of less. Last season, she shot 17 percent from 3-point range. Now, her average is up to 35 percent, and her improved long-distance shooting has opened up her drive -- where she's also very effective. So she has done a good job taking care of the areas of her game that she needed to improve, and that's the mark of a pro. The bottom line is that Dixon, who ranks second on the team with 4.1 assists, is a consistent scoring threat who needs to come up big in this series.
Barnes, Seattle: At 5 feet 11, Barnes is bigger than Dixon, and fairly quick on the perimeter for her size, which makes this an interesting matchup. Barnes averages just 3.6 ppg, so she's not out there to give you a lot offensively. But she's gritty, gets on the boards, plays physical defense and hustles.
Advantage: Dixon. She's the All-Star.

3: Mwadi Mabika vs. Amanda Lassiter

	Lassiter

	Mabika

Mabika, Los Angeles: This first-time All-Star is having her best season yet, and dethroned Lisa Leslie as the Sparks leading scorer (17.2 ppg) this summer. Mabika's stat line reads like it belongs to Scottie Pippen -- 43 percent from the floor, 37 percent from 3-point range, 83 percent from the line, 5.0 rebounds, almost three assists and a steal a game. She has it all and is really coming into her own.
Lassiter, Seattle: She's long and lanky but also young, inexperienced and streaky, shooting 37 percent from the field and 31 percent on 3-pointers. Lassiter has potential but must be more consistent for Seattle.
Advantage: Mabika. She's super athletic, has great range, ups and is a great defender. She also has experience and a mature game.

4: DeLisha Milton vs. Lauren Jackson

	Jackson

	Milton

Milton, Los Angeles: The Sparks' second-most accurate shooter (50 percent from field) has played well during the second half of the season. Milton, also second in rebounds with 7.0 a game, takes good shots and has expanded her game where she can now step out and take a 3. Milton's most impressive stat? In her first year in the league, she shot 0 percent from downtown. In her second season, she shot 25 percent, followed by a 34 percent effort last summer. Now, she's shooting 43 percent from beyond the arc, which says she has worked hard on taking her game away from the basket. Defensively she's just as good, and that huge wingspan is very intimidating. She's very physical, tough and savvy.
Jackson, Seattle: The 2001 No. 1 overall draft pick is playing great, great basketball, and she and Bird have connected instantly on the court. Like Bird's former UConn teammates, Jackson has great hands and takes care of the ball and is able to handle Bird's passes. Jackson, Seattle's leading scorer, averages almost 2.8 blocks per game, shoots 34 percent from 3-point range and grabs 6.7 boards. And if you foul her, Jackson's 75 percent accuracy at the free-throw line makes you pay.
Advantage: Jackson. These are two talented, great players, but Jackson can take you inside, outside and off the dribble, and could even probably play point guard.

5: Lisa Leslie vs. Kamila Vodichkova

	Vodichkova

	Leslie

Leslie, Los Angeles: The talented MVP candidate comes up big in big events, whether it's the WNBA playoffs, the Olympics or the All-Star game. Leslie is great on the low block, and can score from outside, from the foul line and even from 3-point range. She's not scoring as much as a year ago, but she's still a tremendous player and everybody would love to have Leslie's game, which pretty much amounts to a double-double and three blocks every night.
Vodichkova, Seattle: The Storm's unsung player is having a career season. Everybody talks about Bird and Jackson, but Vodichkova has come up big for Seattle this season. She is averaging 5.5 rebounds and 9.0 points, up from just 5.2 ppg last season.
Advantage: Leslie. She's the best post in the world right now.

Bench
Seattle finally has a bench with Simone Edwards, Kate Starbird, Felicia Ragland and Michelle Marciniak. But they're not as deep and don't have nearly as much postseason experience as L.A.'s reserves.
Advantage: Los Angeles.

Coaches

	Dunn

	Cooper

Michael Cooper, Los Angeles: Through the draft and trades, Cooper has positioned L.A. for success. However, the Sparks aren't playing up to their potential, and must get back to basics. The Sparks lead the league in scoring, and to do that, you need the ball in your hands, so L.A. must start boxing out and rebounding, something that's critical for a team that likes to run. The Sparks have to cut down on turnovers, too. In the last four or five games, they've been giving up the ball a lot. Finding a way to beat Seattle's trapping defense is the key, and for L.A. that means spacing and making the extra pass are imperative.
Lin Dunn, Seattle: The Storm are playing well down the stretch, and must now find a way to keep L.A. off balance by pressuring the ball handler. Strategically, the Storm should keep the ball out of Teasley's hands as much as possible, and make Dixon, L.A.'s secondary ball-handler, bring the ball up court. Defensively, Seattle should try to take time off the clock with its backcourt pressure. If the Storm are able to turn L.A. in the backcourt, the Sparks will only have 20 seconds to set up its halfcourt offense.
Advantage: Los Angeles. Cooper has the ring and the experience.

ESPN analyst and Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman is a former WNBA coach, general manager and player. She is a regular contributor to ESPN.com's women's basketball coverage.