RANKS: Healthy Aces return to top of rankings
The Las Vegas Aces are 7-1 since point guard Chelsea Gray’s return to the lineup. In that stretch, since June 19, the Aces are scoring a league-leading 93.1 ppg.
PHOTO: David Becker/NBA Photos via Las Vegas Aces
By W.G. RAMIREZ
LAS VEGAS — They don't have the best record in the league, but let's not be coy, the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces are the best team in the league. Fully healthy, with the best player in the world, the Aces return to the No. 1 slot in these power rankings after winning three of four last week.
The Aces' lone loss was in Los Angeles, playing their third game in four nights and the second of a back-to-back after trouncing the Washington Mystics in Las Vegas the night before. Then the champs returned home, A'ja Wilson made franchise history and they routed the Dallas Wings on Sunday.
After their 6-6 start to the season, the Aces are 7-1 since June 19 while scoring a league-leading 93.1 points while allowing 80.8 points per game.
The New York Liberty stay put at No. 2, while the Connecticut jump back into the top three after going 3-0. The Seattle Storm also stay put, holding tight at No. 4, and the previous No. 1 Minnesota Lynx dip to No. 5.
From here is where the real fun begins because everyone knows the top five, for now, is locked in. But it's the race for playoff spots six through eight that will be fun to watch as the teams race toward the All-Star and Olympic Breaks.
The current sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth place teams are separated by 3 1/2 games. But the distance between the current eighth and last-place teams who are both tied for 11th and 12th is just 4 games.
"I think this is the most kind of evenly matched that the league has been in a few years," Phoenix Mercury veteran Natasha Cloud said. "In my first few years, used to be able to walk into certain games and be like, we literally just have to lace up and we're gonna be good. That's not the case anymore. That's the growth of our game. That's the growth of this league over the last few years. It's the growth of the rookie class coming in and adding to what was already established here."
As it stands after Sunday's games, the top eight teams are: New York (17-4), Connecticut (17-4), Minnesota (15-6), Seattle (14-7), Las Vegas (13-7), Phoenix (11-10), Indiana (9-13) and Chicago (8-12).
From there, the bottom four are Atlanta (7-13), Los Angeles (5-16), Washington (5-17) and Dallas (5-17).
But to show how strong the bottom four teams can be on any given night, proving Cloud's point, one need only look at some of their wins over current playoff teams.
Atlanta has beaten Las Vegas, Chicago and Connecticut.
Los Angeles has beaten Indiana and Las Vegas, twice.
Washington has knocked off Chicago, and Dallas has beaten Chicago, Phoenix and Minnesota.
"And it's really fun to play every single night, you have to bring your best game," Cloud added. "We're doing that every single day and we're just trying to get better.
This is a beautiful time for women's basketball as a whole, but especially in the W. So if you're not supporting the full W - the full W - then man, you're missing out on some really great basketball and some really great and badass women being here."
Now, let's get to the updated rankings as we head into Week 9:
1. Las Vegas Aces (13-7, previous 3) - Capping their 3-1 week, the Aces saw Wilson score 28 points and grab 10 rebounds to lead them past Dallas 104-85 on Sunday. Wilson established a new franchise scoring record on Alumni Day with 4,301 career points, surpassing Sophia Young-Malcolm (4,300), who was sitting courtside.
2. New York Liberty (17-4, previous 2) - At 17-4, the Liberty are off to the team’s best start in franchise history. They're one of three teams in the league that have three players ranked in the top 20 in points per game. A battle for supremacy and the overall No. 1 seed awaits, as the Liberty travels to Connecticut on Wednesday.
3. Connecticut Sun (17-4, previous 5) - After losing three of four following their 13-1 start to the season, the Sun turned in a 3-0 sweep last week with victories in Phoenix and Minnesota and Sunday's home win against Atlanta. The Sun hit a season-high 10 3-pointers in Sunday's win, hitting 43.5% from beyond the arc, much better than their 31.7% season average.
4. Seattle Storm (14-7, previous 4) - The Storm took two of three last week, including Sunday's revenge-win over Chicago after the Sky won the first meeting two nights earlier. Since losing back-to-back games in Phoenix and Las Vegas in mid-June, the Storm have won five of six behind the league's second-highest scoring offense in that span, with 86.8 points per game. The Storm also boast the league's No. 1 scoring defense (74.0) over the same stretch.
5. Minnesota Lynx (15-6, previous 1) - All five of the top teams have experienced a lull this season, and last week it was Minnesota's turn. The Lynx lost two of three, falling in New York and at home to Connecticut before closing out the week with a seven-point home win over the Mystics. During a 2-3 slide since June 27, the Lynx have the league's lowest-scoring offense with just 74.4 points per game.
6. Phoenix Mercury (11-10), previous 7) - After opening the week with a home loss to Connecticut, the Mercury won two road games in Dallas and Los Angeles. The wins send Phoenix into the week with a bit of momentum after losing three of their previous four. Keep an eye on their status reports, as Diana Taurasi, Bec Allen and Charisma Osborne missed Sunday's game. The Mercury are off until Wednesday, when they host Dallas before hitting the road for their last three games (in Indiana, Connecticut and D.C.) before the break.
7. Indiana Fever (9-13, previous 6) - The Fever split their two games last week, with a loss in Vegas and a home win over the Liberty - the first in coach Christie Sides' tenure. Caitlin Clark's triple-double against New York was the first-ever by a rookie. While Clark continues to dominate the headlines with this team, the underlying storyline to follow is that of veteran Kelsey Mitchell, who ranks 13th overall in July with 18.5 points per game this month.
8. Chicago Sky (8-12, previous 9) - Holding down the final playoff spot, for now, the Sky continue to get incredible production from Angel Reese, who continues to make a strong case for Rookie of the Year. Reese, who averaged 18.7 points, 14.3 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, 1.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game last week, tallied her 13th consecutive double-double in a win against Seattle on Sunday, setting a new WNBA record.
9. Dallas Wings (5-17, previous 10) - If there is one team to feel sorry for this season, it has to be the Wings after all the injuries they've endured. It's amazing they're sitting in ninth, one place below the final playoff spot, but there they are with a good chance at moving up after the break, once they're fully healthy. Dallas visits Phoenix before home games against Los Angeles and Indiana send it into the break. The Wings' 15 games after the break will be most interesting to keep an eye on.
10. Washington Mystics (5-17, previous 11) - The Mystics opened the season 0-12, but have split their last 10 games behind a resurgent offense that ranks in the upper half of the league during that stretch. Washington's 83.4 points per game since June 11th ranks sixth in the W, while its defensive rating (102.0) ranks fifth in the league. They also have the league's fourth-best effective field-goal percentage (53.7%) during the 10-game span. This is another team that could pose problems once fully healthy.
11. Atlanta Dream (7-13, previous 8) - After what the Dream showed us last season, and what the offseason acquisitions they made before the start of this campaign, it's arguable they've been the most disappointing team to date. Atlanta went 0-3 last week and are now 3-11 since opening the season 4-2. In that timeframe, which dates to June 2, the Dream have the second-worst net rating (-9.9), with the injury-plagued Wings (-14.2) the only team worse. Dallas gets a pass with what it's endured, but the Dream should be much better than what we've seen.
12. Los Angeles Sparks (5-16, previous 12) - Yes, a 1-2 week included a win over the Aces, but Los Angeles caught them in a vulnerable spot, playing their third game in four nights when the Sparks had two days off to prepare. Los Angeles hasn't won back-to-back games since early June - the only time it's strung two wins together this season - and heads into the week mired in a 1-9 slide since June 11, worst in the league.
