Playoff picture sharpens as WNBA nears World Cup break

With the WNBA's regular season entering its final week before the FIBA World Cup break, the postseason picture is becoming clearer. Seven teams have clinched playoff spots — Minnesota, Golden State, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Indiana, New York and Washington — while Dallas is not far from sealing the eighth and final place, as reported by both the Hartford Courant and TSN.

The seeding race remains unsettled. There is only a 1.5-game difference between second-place Golden State and fifth-place Indiana, and just a one-game gap between No. 6 New York and eighth-seeded Dallas. The top four teams will have homecourt advantage in the opening round of the best-of-three playoff series; the semifinals are best-of-five and the WNBA Finals are best-of-seven.

Teams will take a break for the World Cup from Monday, Aug. 31 to Thursday, Sept. 17.

Indiana Fever's road-heavy stretch

The Indiana Fever, currently in fifth place, are coming off a demanding stretch that included road games in Atlanta, New York, Dallas, Toronto and Chicago. They finished that run with a 3-2 record.

"Every game already feels like a playoff game," Fever coach Stephanie White said before her team lost to New York on Saturday night.

Indiana closes out the season with three of its last five games at home, including a home-and-home set with Minnesota to finish the regular season.

Phoenix parts with Bonner

The Phoenix Mercury bought out DeWanna Bonner's contract, allowing the 17-year veteran a chance to play for a contending team. Bonner, who helped the Mercury reach the WNBA Finals last season, expressed gratitude for her time in Phoenix.

"Being able to return to Phoenix and play in front of the best fans in the WNBA these past two seasons has been an incredible experience," Bonner said. "At this stage of my career, I don't know what the future holds, but I'm grateful to the Mercury for giving me the opportunity to play in what could be one of my final postseason opportunities."

The Mercury were eliminated from playoff contention last week.

Power poll and player honors

In the latest AP power poll, Minnesota held onto the top spot as the unanimous number one after winning at Golden State and Washington last week. Las Vegas moved up to No. 2, switching places with the Valkyries, and Atlanta jumped to fourth from seventh.

Angel Reese was named AP player of the week, averaging 24 points, 11.3 rebounds and 3.7 steals to help the Atlanta Dream win all three of their games.

Off-court notes

Portland and Toronto unveiled their mascots this week: the Fire have a dragon named Rose, while the Tempo have a tortoise named Dez and a hare named Dot.

The game of the week is Minnesota at Atlanta on Sunday.