East finals preview: Why top-seeded New York isn't the favorite

— -- The conference finals open Wednesday in the East (ESPN2, 7 p.m. ET) when New York plays its second game at Madison Square Garden in as many days.

No. 1 New York (23-11 in the regular season) vs. No. 3 Indiana (20-14)

No offense to Washington, but from a league visibility standpoint, having New York in the Eastern Conference finals is a boost to the WNBA. But can the Liberty make it to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2002? The team trying to stop them has more playoff experience as a franchise -- 11 consecutive postseason appearances -- and beat the Liberty four of five times during the regular season. Key matchup: The Fever offense vs. New York defense. The Liberty were the league's top defense during the regular season, allowing 71.1 PPG. But the Fever scored at least 80 points in each of their four victories over the Liberty, and 79 in their loss. In their first-round series victory over Chicago, the Fever scored 89 and 100 points in their two victories.