RANKS: Empire State of Mind for No. 1 New York
Connecticut Sun star Alyssa Thomas (l.) defends New York Liberty sharpshooter Sabrina Ionescu in a WNBA game on Saturday, June 8.
PHOTO CREDIT: Brandon Todd/New York Liberty
By W.G. RAMIREZ
And then there were none.
The Connecticut Sun are no longer undefeated, and it took the defending Eastern Conference champion New York Liberty to do the deed.
The Liberty ride a seven-game win streak into the week and rise to the top of the rankings after enduring an exhaustive run of five games over eight days, including back-to-back victories Saturday and Sunday at Connecticut and over winless Washington, respectively.
There is no doubt about the top four teams in the league - two from each conference - but from there the picture is blurry.
The No. 1 question has to be about two-time defending champion Las Vegas, as the Aces plummet four spots this week, and appear to be as vulnerable as we've seen from Becky Hammon's group since she took over as coach.
Even during a 2-3 stretch late last season, nobody believed the Aces were as troubled as they’ve appeared of late. This year, however, with Chelsea Gray missing the team's first nine games and opponents looking anything but intimidated against Las Vegas, the WNBA title race looks wide open.
Off we go, to my updated rankings as we head into Week 5:
1. New York Liberty (11-2, previous 2) - The Liberty take hold of the top spot, making their debut atop the rankings after going 2-0 last week. They finish the Commissioner's Cup race 5-0 and will defend their 2023 title at home against the winner from the Western Conference on June 25. They'll head into the week with the No. 1 scoring offense (85.8) and No. 3 scoring defense (75.9). They'll have five days off until their only game of the week, in Las Vegas on Saturday.
2. Connecticut Sun (9-1, previous 1) - You didn't expect the Sun to go 40-0, did you? Saturday's 82-75 home loss to the Liberty was just the fourth time this season they allowed more than 80 points. When doing so, they're 3-1, but their point differential is just +2 points. Point being, when you're ranked last in in the league in pace (75.4 possessions per 40 minutes) and score only 79.7 points per game, it'd be advisable not to allow 80 or more.
3. Minnesota Lynx (8-3, previous 4) - The Lynx went 2-1 this week, but get a bump from the fourth spot after taking out the Seattle Storm on Sunday, 83-64. It was an impressive bounce-back win after the way they lost in Phoenix on Friday. Analytically speaking, this might be the best team in the league. On offense, they rank No. 1 in field-goal percentage (45.4%), 3-point percentage (40.5%) and assists (24.2), while ranking third in scoring (85.5) and steals (9.7). At the other end, they rank No. 1in FG% (39.2%) and 3FG% (27.5%) and No. 2 in scoring (75.1).
4. Seattle Storm (7-4, previous 5) - The Storm are back in the Top 4, in the same spot they debuted this season. Even with Sunday's loss in the Twin Cities, the Storm are enjoying a 6-1 win streak since May 22. And in that span, they rank third in scoring (84.0) and also in scoring defense (74.0). Seattle's impressive turnaround since a 1-3 start to the season has seen it go from being outscored by 6.0 points per game to outscoring teams by 10.0. It's a 16-point swing that can attributed to a stringent defense that is limiting teams to a league-best 38.5% shooting clip during the seven-game stretch.
5. Phoenix Mercury (6-6, previous 7) - We have the streakiest team in the league in at No. 5, as the Mercury back to their winning ways. They opened their season 3-1, then lost five of six, and have now won two straight with an impressive home win over the Lynx and Sunday's road win in Dallas. Has it been the return of Brittney Griner? And that's on and off the ball. In the two games she's played, it's seemingly allowed Kahleah Copper to find space on the perimeter, to the tune of 31.5 ppg. in those outings. Vegas and Seattle visit The Valley this week. Should be interesting.
6. Atlanta Dream (5-4, previous 6) - After a 1-1 week, this is one of only two teams that stands still from last week's placement. After losing at home to the Liberty on Thursday, the Dream grabbed an 89-80 win in Chicago. Coach Tanisha Wright's crew has improved its defensive efficiency, from allowing teams to shoot 43.0% from the floor in the first four games of the season, to 40.2% in the last five. The problem for the Dream is they've been outscored by 3.4 points in that same span. Perhaps they'll find their offensive groove against the Mystics, Fever and Sparks this week.
7. Las Vegas Aces (5-4, previous 3) - Didn't see this coming, did ya? Neither did I, not this far of a dip. But without Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young and Kierstan Bell, the Aces lost in Los Angeles on Sunday and finished the week 1-2. Who were they supposed to finish in front of when they've lost three of their last four, including games to Atlanta and Seattle? Since May 31, the Aces have allowed 83.3 points per game, fifth-most in the league. Overall, they're scoring 84.9 and have allowed a league sixth-highest 82.1. Perspective: through their first nine games last season the Aces ranked No. 1 in scoring 91.3 and No. 2 in scoring defense (79.1).
8. Los Angeles Sparks (4-7, previous 10) - After opening the week with a home loss to the Lynx, the Sparks responded with impressive wins over Dallas and Las Vegas. They deserve a jump and move to eighth. Now comes their gauntlet of a schedule. After playing seven of their first 11 in Los Angeles, the Sparks will play their next seven on the road, including four in the Eastern time zone. Los Angeles' defense continues to improve, as it's gone from allowing teams to connect on 43.8% of their shots in its first five games, to 42.7% in its last six. It's minimal, but it's improvement and it's 3-3 in those games.
9. Indiana Fever (3-9, previous 11) - After losing eight of their first nine games, the Fever have won two of three, including their lone game last week, in D.C. Did time off do the Fever good? We're about to find out, as it's gone from playing 11 games in 20 days to just one in eight days. They will visit Connecticut with fresh legs on Monday before playing three straight in Indianapolis. Per Caitlin Clark on Sunday, "We still have a month of games where we have a lot of opportunities to win a lot of games." Sounds like a renewed mentality after being spurned by the Olympic selection committee.
10. Chicago Sky (4-6, previous 9) - Down a spot for the Sky, who finished the week 1-2 with the losses coming in Chicago. The lone win? At the winless Mystics. Offensive production has dipped since a 3-3 start that saw the Sky average 80.8 points on 42.2% shooting, to 76.0 points on 39.4% shooting during a 1-3 slide that began with that headlining 71-70 loss in Indianapolis. Three games on tap this week for the Sky, starting at home Wednesday against No. 2 Connecticut, and ending with road games in D.C. and Indianapolis. A 2-1 week is not impossible.
11. Dallas Wings (3-7, previous 8) - This was a top-four team that finished 22-18 last season, and is on pace to finish 12-28 after going 0-3 this week. Injuries have plagued this team, and there's no telling if it'll be too late once Jaelyn Brown, Natasha Howard and Satou Sabaly return. Sunday's double-overtime loss to the Mercury in Dallas might have been a backbreaker considering the Wings have No. 4 Seattle and No. 2 Connecticut this week, before leaving for four games in three cities the following week.
12. Washington Mystics (0-12, previous 12) - The Mystics look like anything but a winless team. They've conceivably been in nine of their 12 games, either leading, tying or trailing by four or less after three quarters of action. Washington's average scoring differential through three quarters is -2.8 points. Another team that's battled injuries, which they won't use as an excuse considering they've been in striking distance. Ranking third with 20.3 assists per game would look better with a healthy roster and additional scorers. They visit Atlanta on Tuesday and host Chicago on Friday. Which one is winnable?
