Through the first 20% of the WNBA season there are a bunch of teams that have struggled out of the gate.
The Chicago Sky, Connecticut Sun and Dallas Wings have combined for five victories so far. The Wings' lone victory came over the Sun while the Sky have beaten the Wings twice. Connecticut has the best two victories in the WNBA so far this season, topping Indiana and Atlanta, but also suffered the second-biggest blowout in league history in a 48-point loss to New York.
All three teams have new coaches and are experiencing the learning curve of new systems.
The Wings also have been missing No. 1 draft pick Paige Bueckers for their last few games while she dealt first with a concussion and then an illness. She should be back soon.
The Sky just suffered their own injury setback, with veteran guard Courtney Vandersloot going down for the season with an ACL tear in her right knee. The injury occurred Saturday night during their game against the Fever. It's a major blow to the Sky, who now need to find a point guard to fill in for Vandersloot. The 36-year-old had returned to Chicago this season after helping New York win its first WNBA championship last year.
The Liberty are on the other end of the spectrum, picking up right where they left off after winning the title. New York hasn't lost yet this season and is one of two undefeated teams along with WNBA Finals runner-up Minnesota.
Power poll rankings
New York led the way as the No. 1 team in the power poll again this week. Minnesota was still right behind in second. The national voting panel chose Seattle third, Phoenix fourth and Atlanta fifth. Indiana was sixth with Las Vegas seventh. Golden State, Washington and Los Angeles were the next three. Chicago, Connecticut and Dallas rounded out the poll.
