The Shock, who won titles in 2003 and ’06, appear to be the favorites in the tighter Eastern Conference. All-Star game MVP Cheryl Ford and Deanna Nolan are the faces of the franchise now, along with veteran star Katie Smith.

“We want to win the East and get to the finals,” Shock coach Bill Laimbeer said. “That’s our goal every year, and we’ve done it twice in a row and three of the last five. We’re certainly capable of doing it again.”

Chicago had a nine-win improvement after setting the WNBA record with 29 losses in its inaugural season the year before. The Sky have a new coach again — former assistant Steven Key — their third head coach in three years. However, after adding 6-foot-6 center Sylvia Fowles with the No. 2 overall pick in the draft, Chicago is poised to push for a playoff run.

“I think you have to watch every team,” New York coach Pat Coyle said. “There’s so much parity in this league now, everybody’s gotten better. There aren’t any cupcakes anymore, you can get beat every night.”

The Liberty are also on the upswing two years after enduring the worst season in franchise history. New York bounced back last year, earned the East’s fourth and final playoff berth and nearly beat Detroit in the first round.

“The expectation for this organization every year is to win a championship,” Coyle said. “Who knows what is going to happen, but we want to be better than we were a year ago.”

Indiana, another team with a new coach after former assistant Lin Dunn was promoted to replace Brian Winters, could also be tough. It will depend on the health of Tamika Catchings — perennially the team’s leader in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals. Catchings is still recovering from an Achilles’ tendon injury sustained in Game 3 of the conference finals against Detroit, and will miss the early part of the season.

Two-time All-Star and Indiana native Katie Douglas, who averaged 17.0 points and 4.6 rebounds last year for Connecticut, was acquired to bolster the Fever’s offense, but will be the focal point at the start.

The league is back up to 14 teams with the expansion Atlanta Dream, the second new team in three years, joining the Eastern Conference one season after the Charlotte Sting folded.

A rule change for this season allows a player to inbound the ball into the backcourt from the midcourt line or frontcourt during the final minute of the fourth quarter and the final minute of any overtime period. Also, officials will be required to use video review after flagrant fouls that result in ejections, and other player altercations.

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