Sparks express indifference about playoff game in UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion

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With the Sparks hosting Game 1 of the Western Conference finals tonight at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion, guard Noelle Quinn admits she’s not exactly a Britney Spears fan. ‘Nope,’ Quinn said, laughing.

That’s because a Spears concert Wednesday night at Staples Center is preventing the Sparks from playing their home game there. Quinn, a former UCLA standout, doesn’t mind returning to her alma mater. Neither does forward Candace Parker, who also experienced playing at USC’s Galen Center for last season’s Western Conference finals.

‘I’m not worried about it,’ she said. ‘We’re stepping on the court to play basketball. I don’t believe in all that other stuff. Go out there and play. The basket is the same height. They’re playing on the same court we are.’

Not quite. Parker and Sparks Coach Michael Cooper thought the depth perception makes Pauley Pavilion’s court appear smaller than the one at Staples Center. Quinn also noted a difference in the rims.

‘It’s really bouncy,’ she said. ‘If you get the shot up over the rim, you’ll get most of them in.’

Quinn says she shouldn’t have a problem with it, given her experience as a Bruin. But if any of the other Sparks do, Parker says too bad.

‘They’re playing on the same court we are,’ Parker said of Phoenix. ‘So we can’t make excuses.’

-- Mark Medina