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WNBA Power Rankings: Aces finding new heights as they further separate themselves from field – CBS Sports
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If you feel like you’ve read the same story about the Las Vegas Aces a million times this season, that’s because you have. And as long as they continue to play at this level, you’re going to read it another million times. This team is one of the best this league has ever seen and fully deserves all the coverage it has received and will continue to get over the next few months.
With their win over the Lynx on Saturday, the Aces moved to 21-2 on the season, joining the 1998 Houston Comets and 2010 Seattle Storm as the only teams in WNBA history to reach that record. Both of those teams went on to win the title, and the Aces are heavy favorites to do the same this season (-400, per Caesars Sportsbook).
That win over the Lynx was also their fifth win in a row by at least 15 points, and they are the fourth team to ever record such a winning streak. Furthermore, this is already the second time this season that they’ve won five games in a row by double digits, and they are the only team in league history to pull that off multiple times in the same season.
Their 114.1 offensive rating and plus-19.2 net rating are both still on pace to be the best we’ve ever seen. They have three of the league’s top-10 scorers (A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum), the leading rebounder (Wilson), the leader in blocked shots (Wilson) and boasted four All-Stars (Wilson, Young, Plum and Chelsea Gray). And none of those accolades even include Candace Parker, a former two-time MVP.
After Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Sky, they will get into the toughest stretch of their schedule, with seven consecutive games against above .500 teams. If they roll through that without slowing down, you might as well start etching their name on the trophy.
Now, on to this week’s power rankings:
What is there to say about the Aces at this point? They just keep rolling along in totally dominant fashion, and have opened up a four-game lead in first place. They’ve won five in a row, all by at least 15 points, to become the fourth team in WNBA history to pull that off. In fact, this is the second time this season they’ve won five consecutive games by double digits, and they are the only team ever to have multiple such streaks in the same season.
One of the many impressive aspects of this Liberty team is that when they lose, they respond in emphatic fashion. They are 5-0 following defeats this season, with an average margin of victory of 16.4 points in those games. The Liberty also set a new WNBA record for the highest-scoring quarter of all-time when they poured in 44 points in the first quarter of their win over the Fever.
The Sun’s surprise loss to the Mercury in their first game out of the break was the first time all season they’ve lost to a sub-.500 team, which is a testament to their consistency. They bounced right back with two wins in a row against the Dream, thanks in large part to breakout offensive performances from Natisha Hiedeman. She scored a career-high 24 points in the first win, and became the first player in franchise history to hit at least five 3-pointers in back-to-back games.
With each successive game, it becomes easier to buy into this Wings group. They beat the Liberty on Wednesday to become the first team to beat the Aces and Liberty this season, and have now won five games in a row and seven of eight. Arike Ogunbowale has been playing some of the best basketball of her career during this winning streak, showcasing not only efficient scoring, but strong playmaking and even pesky perimeter defense. She’s averaging 23.4 points, 5.4 assists and 2.2 steals on 45.4% shooting over these five games.
Atlanta’s triumph over Minnesota to start the week ran its winning streak to seven games, which was the longest by any team besides the Aces this season and second-longest in franchise history. It came to a thudding halt, however, with two consecutive losses to the Sun, who the Dream will be glad to be done playing; they’re 1-3 vs. the Sun and 11-7 against everyone else.
Washington remains extremely beat up, but they’re scrounging up enough wins here and there to remain above .500 and in the middle of the pack in the standings. They’re doing so in large part thanks to Brittney Sykes who has had to take on a much bigger scoring role than expected and is thriving. She was signed as a defensive specialist but is averaging a career-high 14 points on 44% shooting from the field and 36.9% from 3-point land.
It was fitting that the Lynx closed this week with a win over the Sparks and a loss to the Aces, as they’ve had completely opposite experiences against those two clubs. They’re now 4-0 against the Sparks and 0-4 against the Aces, and the bad and good news is they don’t have to play either opponent again. Dorka Juhasz had the best game of her short career in that win over the Sparks, finishing with 16 points, 10 rebounds and three assists. She’s shown some flashes in the last month or so, and the Lynx may have gotten a steal in the second round.
The Sky snapped their four-game losing streak with a win over the lowly Storm, thanks to a strong all-around game from Alanna Smith, who has been one of their few bright spots this season. She finished with nine points, 17 rebounds, four steals and three blocks, joining Sylvia Fowles as the only two players in WNBA history to reach those marks in a game. For the season, only A’ja Wilson, Ezi Magbegor and Breanna Stewart are averaging more combined blocks and steals than Smith at 2.9 per game.
The Sparks returned from the All-Star break much healthier than how they entered it, but that wasn’t enough to get them back to winning ways. They’ve now lost eight games in a row, which is the longest losing streak in franchise history, have the second-worst offense in the league (96.2 points per 100 possession) and are two games back in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot.
Phoenix came flying out of the All-Star break, and the win over Connecticut was one of the most surprising by any team this summer. But when it takes you until late July to win back-to-back games for the first time, it’s hard to get too excited. Diana Taurasi left that game against the Sun with a quad contusion and toe injury and has not played since, so the race for 10,000 points has been put on hold. She’s at 9,929.
A win over the Mystics finally snapped the Fever’s eight-game losing streak, though they followed it up with a historically bad first quarter in a loss to the Liberty. This team can really score the ball, but until the Fever can figure out a way to get stops on a regular basis it’s going to be difficult for them to win consistently; their 106.8 defensive rating is the worst in the league. On the bright side, their schedule will lighten up considerably after a brutal few weeks.
The All-Star break was only a short reprieve for the Storm, who fell to the Aces and Sky this week and have now lost nine games in a row. That’s the longest losing streak in the league this season and the longest in franchise history. They are not only on their way to their first lottery appearance since 2016, but in danger of recording the worst season in franchise history. Their .182 winning percentage is on pace to be their lowest ever.
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