Atlanta vs. Detroit, Thursday August 27

Who: The Atlanta Dream (15-12) take on the Detroit Shock (12-14) as Atlanta begins a five-game road trip.

The Dream have Angel McCoughtry (12.1 ppg) as well as All-Star Team members Sancho Lyttle (13.1 ppg) and Erika de Souza (11.0 ppg). Deanna Nolan (14.9 ppg) leads the Shock, which have the old in Katie Smith (13.8 ppg) and the new in Shavonte Zellous (11.6 ppg) to vex opponents.

What: The final game of the four games this year against the Shock. The Dream are 3-0 against the Shock this year, winning 96-86, 98-95 and 90-75.

Where: The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

When: Tipoff is 7:30 pm Eastern on Thursday, August 27. The game is available on WNBA Live Access.

Why: If you had bet me $100 on the Dream to potentially sweep the defending WNBA champions this year, I might have taken the bet against. Detroit looked like it had enough going into 2009 to have a shot at repeating. Then Plenette Pierson got hurt five minutes into the 2009 season, Bill Laimbeer folded his coaching tent, and the Shock went into a tailspin.

However, Rick Mahorn might have been underestimated as a potential head coach. He was a head coach in the Continential Basketball Association for one year and led his team to a 15-7 record. He has experince as a Hawks assistant. And now, it looks like Mahorn has the Shock playing good basketball again.

Of course, part of one's comeback depends on the players. Like Los Angeles and Sacramento, the Shock are playing hot right now, with the Shock winning three straight and crushing Connecticut 90-70 in Uncasville. The Shock could still go to the playoffs and they don't want to be swept on their home court.

Chamique Holdsclaw is now day-to-day, or so I've heard. She is coming with the Dream on the road swing; whether or not she'll play is another story. Until then, we'll just have to be happy with Angel McCoughtry's performance - she has scored in double-digits in her last 10 games.