RebKell's Junkie Boards

[Shades]

This thread is intended for published power rankings.

Starting off with CBS Sports
https://www.cbssports.com/wnba/news/wnba-power-rankings-sky-storm-and-sun-lead-list-of-contenders-after-2022-free-agency/

1. Chicago Sky
2. Seattle Storm
3. Connecticut Sun
4. Las Vegas Aces
5. Phoenix Mercury
6. Washington Mystics
7. Minnesota Lynx
8. Los Angeles Sparks
9. New York Liberty
10. Dallas Wings
11. Atlanta Dream
12. Indiana Fever

_________________
Nnekalonians 1:14 - Thou shalt not accept that which is not earned

[mercfan]

Aces at 4??? Above Phoenix?

allllright.

Minnesota also too low, imo.

[johnjohnW]

[PUmatty]

I have a lot of trouble figuring out what to do with Chicago. Sure, they won the title last year, but they were a .500 team throughout the season and the best player in the world missed the play-offs with injury. The added Meesseman, but other teams also added players and Parker is entering the season 36 years old.

I don't know what to make of the team.

[Shades]

Here is one from Odds Sharks. There is no indication on how they arrive at these. Are they based on bets? Not many WNBA analysts would rate Dallas that high.

https://www.oddsshark.com/wnba/power-rankings

1. Connecticut Sun
2. Phoenix Mercury
3. Las Vegas Aces
4. Minnesota Lynx
5. Dallas Wings
6. Seattle Storm
7. Chicago Sky
8. Washington Mystics
9. New York Liberty
10. Los Angeles Sparks
11. Atlanta Dream
12. Indiana Fever

_________________
Nnekalonians 1:14 - Thou shalt not accept that which is not earned

[pilight]

Atlanta is probably too high

_________________
I'm a lonely frog
I ain't got a home

[zune69]

My Power Rankings:


1. Connecticut Sun
2. Phoenix Mercury
3. Seattle Storm
4. Minnesota Lynx
5. Los Angeles Sparks
6. Chicago Sky
7. Washington Mystics
8. Las Vegas Aces
9. New York Liberty
10. Dallas Wings
11. Atlanta Dream
12. Indiana Fever

[root_thing]

[pilight]

[PUmatty]

[root_thing]

[bballnut901]

Mine is:

Title Contenders:
1. Seattle-good core of talent back, if Stewart is healthy I still think Seattle is the team to beat. Will play extra motivated to send Sue out with a title.

2. Connecticut-Williams back is a big boost if she fits in like she did during 2019. Connecticut is super hungry for a title too and has the pieces to finally get one.

3. Chicago-most major pieces are back and they bring in Meesseman.

4. Phoenix-4 Olympians in the lineup, should contend for a title.

5. Aces-another team that's been on the brink for a while. Losing Liz might help this team long term. Curious to see how Hammon does with this squad.

Likely in the playoffs but won win it all
6. Lynx-well coached, Fowles is back, I like the wing trio of McBride, Angel, and Powers. Might get Collier by mid-late season.

7. Washington-EDD's first real season in 3 years, pieces are there for Washington to rise higher, especially if Smith/Howard hit the ground running.

Fighting for last playoff spot
8. New York-I think Ionescu blossoms this year

9. Los Angeles-tons of talent, too many personalities

10. Dallas-super young roster that doesn't seem to have much cohesion


Praying to get #1 pick next year
11. Indiana-they should have enough to finish ahead of Atlanta

12. Atlanta-ooph

[J-Spoon]

Most will have NY and Dallas 9 and 10
makes sense on paper but

NY and Dallas will make the playoffs (IMO)
figuring out which team get hit by injuries or age catches up with or has a chemistry problem is a little tougher with all the super teams
but it will happen to a couple of them
it does every year

[johnjohnW]

[root_thing]

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

As a NY fan, the big thing in looking around the league is that a lot of teams are better or in position to get better. There are also teams like Vegas and Seattle that lost a few pieces but still have top tier players. The two teams at the bottom, Indiana and Atlanta, seem like they are going to have a disproportionate amount of the league’s losses.

For Seattle, I think losing Canada is an underrated loss from a pace and defensive tempo standpoint. Yeah I know her lack of shooting hurt, and I understand why with the salary structures team turnover is greater. But I also think now you’re going with Bird, January and Piph as your potential PGs. How many minutes will Bird play? This looks like a slower-paced group to me. OTOH Gabby Williams has the potential to be a nice add. Giving more of a defensive presence, kind of like what they had in Clark.

Vegas losing Liz is interesting bc she didn’t play a ton of minutes for them anyway. But, when she did play, you had to really evaluate who you were going to double team, etc.

If Howard is DC’s choice, that gives them some impressive wing depth. It also puts Howard on the team with one of the best offensive coaches. That would seem like a good mix.

LA has all that on paper talent.

Looking at it from the NY standpoint, they have 440k of cap space invested in Sami, Allen and Dolson. I’d struggle to believe that the three of them will average 30 ppg. For NY to be better, I think Sabrina, Laney and Howard need to play more like a true big 3. I also think one of their young wing players has to take a step forward and play impactful minutes. Out of who they have, I’m hoping for Willoughby to do that, but it’s anyone’s guess right now.

_________________
The poster formerly known as LibWNBAFan.

[Bob Lamm]

[Rock Hard]

It's going to be a LONG HOT SUMMER in Phoenix if Griner can't get out of Russia. 108 degrees in the shade hot. Good luck, Tina.

_________________
You can win, as long as you keep your head to the SKY! Be OPTIMISTIC!

[Iluvacc]

[DFWub2018]

[Shades]

Rankings from Zack Ward, Sabreena Merchant, Cat Ariail, and Avery Wiggins
https://www.swishappeal.com/wnba/2022/4/22/23033212/wnba-power-rankings-chicago-sky-sun-storm-aces-mercury-lynx-mystics-liberty-sparks-wings-dream-fever

1. Chicago Sky
2. Connecticut Sun
3. Seattle Storm
4. Las Vegas Aces
5. Phoenix Mercury
6. Minnesota Lynx
7. Washington Mystics
8. New York Liberty
9. Los Angeles Sparks
10. Dallas Wings
11. Atlanta Dream
12. Indiana Fever

_________________
Nnekalonians 1:14 - Thou shalt not accept that which is not earned

[Stormeo]

[root_thing]

I think it's kinda like the draft -- you have a Big Three (Chicago, Connecticut, and Seattle) and then everybody else. I know fans love constructing their projected depth charts, but in the end it's still a team game. No matter how these rosters look on paper, actual performance will depend a lot on team chemistry.

Las Vegas lost Cambage and they have a first-time head coach who brings a very different philosophy. Those are major changes. Maybe it works, but usually in these situations the team needs time to gel. I expect them to get off to a slow start. Similarly with Phoenix, they lost Griner and they're adjusting to a new coach -- someone who has never been a head coach above the high school level. Yes, they added Tina Charles, but it's still going to be very different without Griner's defensive presence. Again, a slow start is likely. New York also hired a new coach. They're completely changing the way they play. A transformation of that kind will certainly be disruptive - although in this case, NY is going from weird basketball with a young coach to normal basketball under an experienced coach. To that extent, the adjustment could be easier and might even come as a relief. LA has the same coach, but they're adding a couple of talented new starters with big personalities and questionable history. The situation screams boom or bust. Dallas is loaded with young talent and they've been knocking on the door for a while. Is this the year eveything finally comes together?

_________________
You can always do something else.

[pilight]

Only once in league history has a team won the championship with a head coach in their first season as a WNBA head coach. That was 1997, when every coach fit that description.

_________________
I'm a lonely frog
I ain't got a home

[readyAIMfire53]