RANKS: Top 4 look the same, but in different order

Courtney Vandersloot (22) and the New York Liberty went 3-0 last week to improve to 7-2 and move back to No. 2 in the weekly power rankings.

PHOTO CREDIT: Brandon Todd/New York Liberty

By W.G. RAMIREZ

Three teams went undefeated last week, including top-ranked Connecticut (8-0), which remains undefeated after winning all three of its games. I already can't wait for the Sun to visit Las Vegas on June 21. Got a sitter for my dog and everything.

The New York Liberty responded to a couple of losses with three wins, and the Seattle Storm went 2-0.

Underway and continuing this week is the annual Commissioner's Cup, which has been reconfigured this season. The structure for the WNBA’s in-season tournament will see each team play a total of five Commissioner’s Cup games, one against each of its in-conference rivals.

All games played during the two weeks from June 1-13, 2024 will be Commissioner’s Cup games. The team from each conference with the top record in Commissioner’s Cup games will compete for a half-million dollar prize pool in the championship game, which will be played on June 25 at the arena of the team with the best record during Cup play.

Through Sunday, Connecticut and New York are both 1-0 in the Eastern Conference, while Phoenix and Minnesota are each 1-0.

Now, let's peep the updated rankings as we head into Week 4:

1. Connecticut Sun (8-0, previous 1) - The Sun completed a 3-0 sweep for the week with Sunday's 69-50 win in Atlanta, and became just the seventh team in WNBA history to start the season 8-0. They continue to stymie opponents, as they lead the league in scoring defense allowing just 70.6 points per game, and a league-low 28.3% shooting from 3-point range.

2. New York Liberty (7-2, previous 4) - The Liberty also went 3-0 last week, including Sunday's 104-68 demolition of the Indiana Fever, and leapfrogged the defending champs back into second. New York boasts the second-best effective field-goal percentage (51.9%) in the league and ranks third in the league with 13.9 fast-break ppg. This week will test them with four games in six days, the first three on the road, ending at No. 1 Connecticut on Saturday.

3. Las Vegas Aces (4-2, previous 3) - The Aces have played the fewest games in the league, just six, and played just two last week. They were the teams' first two road games, and they split with a win in Minnesota and a loss in Atlanta. The champs no longer allow the second-most points per game, but they're still giving up 80.7 points per contest, the sixth-highest. Their 3-point defense is the worst in the W, as they're the only team in the league to allow opponents to shoot higher than 37% from long-range, a 41.3% clip.

4. Minnesota Lynx (6-2, previous 2) - This team is a menace, and the only reason it needed to drop two spots from its season-high No. 2 slot was because the Aces went into the Twin Cities and looked dominant. The Lynx still took two of three, including Sunday's 87-76 victory over No. 8 Dallas. Minnesota continues to show consistency at both ends, ranking second with 86.4 ppg. on offense and allowing 77.4 on defense.

5. Seattle Storm (5-3, previous 7) - Alas, the team I've been waiting to emerge and show us its mettle. The Storm head into the fourth week of the season on a four-game win streak, with three of the wins by at least nine points and an overall margin of 14.3 points per win. That said, those victories came against Indiana twice, Washington and Chicago. We're about to learn more about that mettle, as the Storm host Phoenix before visiting Las Vegas and Minnesota.

6. Atlanta Dream (4-3, previous 8) - Yes, the Dream ended their week with a loss on Sunday, but it came against No. 1 Connecticut. In winning two of three this week, including a victory over Vegas, I'm confident Tanisha Wright's group deserved a bump. Defensively, Atlanta limits fast-break points, allowing a league-low 8.0 ppg., which is a good thing considering it's got Chicago and New York this week. The Sky are tied for the league lead in fast-break points (14.0) while the Liberty rank third (13.8).

7. Phoenix Mercury (4-5, previous 6) - The Mercury snapped a four-game skid Sunday with an impressive 87-68 home win over No. 11 Los Angeles. It was their lone win during a 1-3 week, but I'm only dropping them one spot, as the Wings didn't do enough for me to keep them above Phoenix. Not when you consider the Mercury's three losses were all on the road, at No. 1 Connecticut, No. 2 New York and No. 4 Minnesota, in a span of four nights. Time to level up.

8. Dallas Wings (3-4, previous 5) - The Wings lost their only two games this week, at No. 1 Connecticut and No. 4 Minnesota. They also just played five in a row away from Dallas. They lead the league in offensive-rebounding percentage (41.0%) which has resulted in a league-leading 19.7 second-chance ppg. Arike Ogunbowale, Monique Billings and Sevgi Uzun are holding it down, but I'm sure coach Latricia Trammell will appreciate having a healthy squad on the floor at some point this season.

9. Chicago Sky (3-4, previous 9) - Is it safe to say the Sky are doing their damnedest to overtake Connecticut as the most physical team in the league? I will say, Chennedy Carter's check on Caitlin Clark ranked right up there with some of the hardest hits we've seen during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Good news is three of Chicago's next four games are at home. Bad news is they're against a revenge-minded Liberty squad that hasn't forgotten about a 90-81 home loss on May 23, a very scrappy Dream team, and still the most physical Sun.

10. Los Angeles Sparks (2-6, previous 11) - The Sparks might have gone 1-2 last week, but they also started with a victory in Indianapolis, and that means they swap spots with the Fever. Among veterans (3+ years experience), Sparks forward Dearica Hamby was the only player last week to average at least 21.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game. She has to lead the Most Improved Player race, right?

11. Indiana Fever (2-9, previous 10) - The Fever dropped three of four this week, and in the first 20 days of the WNBA season has completed 27.5% of their games. There isn't another team in the league that played 10 games through Sunday, let alone 11. They've now traveled to and from Indianapolis roughly 8,000 miles, with trips to Connecticut, New York, Seattle, L.A., Vegas and back to New York, while sandwiching five games in between. Whaddya know, they're off until Friday. Now let's hope the medical evaluations of Clark and Aliyah Boston on Sunday will turn out OK.

12. Washington Mystics (0-8, previous 12) - After going 0-2 last week, the Mystics have four more chances to get their first win this week. It starts Tuesday at top-ranked Connecticut, an unlikely spot they get their first dub, but then host Chicago and Indiana on back-to-back nights, Thursday and Friday, respectively. It's not out of the realm to believe they win one or both of those games. They do rank fourth in the league with 18.1 points off turnovers and the Fever allow the fourth-most points off TOs (17.9). Anything helps, right?