Before the 11th season tips off Saturday as Detroit hosts Sacramento (ABC, 3:30 p.m. ET) in a rematch of last season's WNBA Finals, Nancy Lieberman checks in with her preseason power rankings:

2007 Power Rankings: Preseason
	RANK(LW)	TEAM	RECORD	COMMENT
	1	Shock	0-0	The Shock are the reigning WNBA champions and only got better with their offseason additions, signing veteran guard Shannon Johnson via free agency, drafting Ivory Latta from North Carolina and acquiring Katie Feenstra in a trade with San Antonio.
	2	Monarchs	0-0	After reaching the WNBA Finals two straight years, the Monarchs added to what was already a very complete roster and have a very solid, veteran team. Losing reserves Erin Buescher, the 2006 most improved player, and Hamchetou Maiga-Ba hurts, but the Monarchs got back Chelsea Newton, who played in Chicago last season after helping Sacramento win the 2005 title.
	3	Sun	0-0	To compete with Detroit in the East, you must have bigs. And though the Sun traded away Taj McWilliams-Franklin, they added 6-foot-5 Erika Desouza. Connecticut is solid at every position and is looking to get back to the WNBA Finals for the third time in four seasons.
	4	Fever	0-0	The Fever filled every spot that might have been perceived a weakness a year ago, adding key players via free agency and the draft and then re-signing free agents. All-everything Tamika Catchings is my preseason pick for MVP.
	5	Storm	0-0	Lauren Jackson, Sue Bird and Betty Lennox continue to be the big three that the Storm will build around. The key this season is that everyone is healthy, and with players like Wendy Palmer and Janell Burse at 100 percent, Seattle has some depth again. The Storm are talented and have tremendous firepower and have already proven they're championship caliber. Their goal is to get better defensively.
	6	Mystics	0-0	The Mystics, who lost to Connecticut in the first round last season, are an athletic and talented team with good shooters. Alana Beard continues to be Washington's star, but there's plenty of talent around her, especially after adding Bernice Mosby in the draft. The Baylor standout can play a traditional 4 or move away from the basket; she also runs the floor well.
	7	Mercury	0-0	The Mercury just missed out on the playoffs (again) last year but have the talent to go further this season. They'll miss the professionalism and solid game of Kamila Vodichkova, who is pregnant and will sit out the entire 2007 season. Phoenix, in fact, is actually down both its starting posts from a year ago after free agent Kristen Rasmussen departed for Connecticut. However, the Mercury traded for good role players in Tangela Smith and Olympia Scott and will play the post by committee.
	8	Silver Stars	0-0	The Silver Stars might be the most improved team in the league and, after winning only 13 games last season, could be bound for the playoffs. In addition to adding superstar Becky Hammon and 2003 WNBA Finals MVP Ruth Riley, the Silver Stars also get back Marie Ferdinand-Harris (she missed all of last season after giving birth to a son in June 2006), picked up guard Helen Darling in the dispersal draft and added Erin Buescher.
	9	Sparks	0-0	The good news? The Sparks added Taj McWilliams-Franklin, brought back coach Michael Cooper and Chamique Holdsclaw is playing fantastic basketball right now. Not-so good? Reigning regular-season MVP Lisa Leslie is pregnant and out for the season, chemistry is a big question (only one player on this season's roster played on Cooper's back-to-back championship teams) and point guard Temeka Johnson is out indefinitely after undergoing microfracture knee surgery.
	10	Comets	0-0	The Comets have three superstars in Sheryl Swoopes, Tina Thompson and Michelle Snow. But they also have a new coach for the first time in franchise history in Karleen Thompson and are an aging team. Also, neither Dominique Canty (free agent) nor Dawn Staley (retired) are coming back, and you don't win in this league without exceptional guard play, especially at point guard. Although Houston drafted Ashley Shields with the eighth overall pick, I'm not sure Houston fulfilled its point guard need.
	11	Liberty	0-0	Make no mistake -- the Liberty are rebuilding, not merely reloading. When they traded away Becky Hammon, it was almost as if the front office said, "OK, we're going to start from scratch." There's no one left from the original roster, and that's quite a group of legit stars who have come and gone. Yes, there's a tremendous amount of youth and potential, but a lot of unknowns at this point.
	12	Lynx	0-0	Who's not looking forward to seeing No. 1 overall draft pick Lindsey Harding playing alongside 2006 No. 1 selection Seimone Augustus? All five starters also are back to go along with a slew of new faces, including first-year coach Don Zierden, who takes over a team that won just 10 games last summer.
	13	Sky	0-0	The Sky are no longer new, but they are improved. After winning just five games in 2006, Chicago bolstered its roster by adding Monique Currie in the Charlotte Sting dispersal draft, selecting Armintie Price, who's already one of the top defensive players in the league, in April's draft and adding free agent guard Dominique Canty. Plus, the Sky got a terrific coach in Bo Overton.