Chasing L.A.

Despite a horrible regular season to this point, the Tulsa Shock is just a handful of games behind the Sparks for the final playoff spot out West.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 11:52 am

By: News On 6

Originally Published: Jul 27, 2010 9:50 PM CDT

Bobby Lewis
Oklahoma Sports Mobile Journalist

TULSA, Oklahoma – Playoffs?!!

Apologies to former Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Mora, but PLAYOFFS?!! Did a Tulsa Shock player really just utter the ‘P’-word?

Actually, more than one did.

The Shock oozes optimism, despite a conference worst 4-20 record. The maddening thing about it is, even after losing a league-high 12 games in a row at one point this season and 17 of its last 18 overall, the team is just four games back of the Los Angeles Sparks for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Playoffs?!!

“At this point, everything is believable,” said Shock guard Kiesha Brown. “It’d only be just a sweet ending to the story.”

The story started pretty well for the Shock. Tulsa won 3 out of 4 games at one point to pull even at 3-3 on the year.

Then, things went sour.

The Shock lost 12 in a row, including seven games by 14 points or more. The team, slipped in the standings, saw fewer fans show up to the BOK Center and traded away some of its top scorers.

“If you think about the top two teams in the league right now, they’re the top two for the most part because they are consistent in their lineup and consistent in their roster,” Brown pointed out.

Through it all, the team stayed resilient.

“We continue to go back to practice and work on things,” said guard Ivory Latta. “Just making the playoffs would be great. It’d be great!”

Playoffs?!!

Tulsa has just four home games remaining in the regular season. The Shock will host San Antonio Friday at 7 p.m. Tulsa beat the Silver Stars 75-70 on July 16th.