WNBA Stats Update

Scary thought: By the end of this week, the Storm will be more than a third of the way through the 2008 campaign. The Storm and the Detroit Shock are the only teams in the league who have played nine games (three of them are sitting on six games so far), but this season is moving right along. Let's check in on the advanced numbers, shall we?

Team          ORating     Team          DRating
---------------------     ---------------------
Minnesota       110.7     Indiana          83.8
Connecticut     104.4     Los Angeles      91.0
Phoenix         104.4     Detroit          93.4
Chicago         104.1     Connecticut      94.5
Detroit         101.6     Seattle          96.3
Seattle          98.8     New York         97.1
AVERAGE          98.3     Chicago          97.4
Los Angeles      97.3     San Antonio      98.0
New York         97.2     AVERAGE          98.3
San Antonio      94.5     Minnesota        98.4
Houston          92.9     Sacramento      100.0
Washington       92.6     Washington      100.7
Sacramento       92.6     Houston         102.6
Indiana          92.6     Phoenix         108.4
Atlanta          91.6     Atlanta         115.1

It's not too early to begin discussing where the Indiana Fever ranks amongst the best defenses in WNBA history. It's also not too early to consider whether the Atlanta Dream is the worst defense this league has ever seen. Yikes! The Minnesota Lynx offense shows no signs of slowing, while it is the Connecticut Sun of all teams that has the league's best balance, ranking in the top four in both offense and defense.

How about the standings based on point differential and expected wins over the course of the 34-game season?

Team          ExpW    Team          ExpW
------------------    ------------------
Minnesota     25.3    Connecticut   25.0
Los Angeles   22.2    Indiana       24.3
Seattle       18.6    Detroit       24.1
San Antonio   14.8    Chicago       21.3
Phoenix       14.4    New York      17.8
Sacramento    11.2    Washington     9.2
Houston       10.0    Atlanta        0.0

Despite losing their first game, the Lynx remain the WNBA's best team in terms of differential. Indiana deserves great credit for playing so well without Tamika Catchings. The big surprise to me, however, is that the East has been so much stronger than the West in the early going ... although it probably doesn't hurt to get to play the Dream so frequently. Consecutive victories over Atlanta by a combined 35 points did wonders for Chicago's differential.

Let's look at the individuals.

Player              Tm   PER
----------------------------
Lindsay Whalen     CON  30.0
Sophia Young       SAS  26.6
Cappie Pondexter   PHO  26.3
Lauren Jackson     SEA  25.7
Diana Taurasi      PHO  25.1
Seimone Augustus   MIN  25.1
Candace Parker     LAS  25.0
Sylvia Fowles      CHI  24.7
Tiffany Jackson    NYL  24.4
Plenette Pierson   DET  24.1

How about some love for Lindsay Whalen? Whalen is, by my measure, the best passer in the league (just ahead of New York's rookie surprise, Leilani Mitchell). She's also pulling down nearly six rebounds per game from the point and shooting over 50% from the field. Can we get her a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team?

The combination of a strong week and several other players dropping off has Lauren Jackson up to fourth in the league in PER. That probably won't be where she tops out.

Can we quiet the Candace Parker for MVP talk a little? Parker is terrific, and it's a matter of when, not if she gets her first WNBA triple-double. However, Parker's efficiency leaves much to be desired at this point of her young career.

Most of the surprising players have dropped off a little lately, but New York's Tiffany Jackson has surged. Per 40 minutes, she's averaging 18.8 points, 11.3 rebounds and 3.3 steals.