We likely won't know until the regular season wraps up on Sept. 13 which teams will move on to the playoffs. With Detroit's win and losses by Chicago and Washington on Tuesday, the Shock, Sky and Mystics are locked in a three-way tie for the final playoff spot in the East. And in the West, San Antonio and Minnesota -- both of which are mired in long losing streaks -- are tied for fourth place. So far, Phoenix and Indiana are the only teams to have secured a postseason berth, but nobody is hotter than Los Angeles, which finally breaks into the top three. A look at this week's Power Rankings, as compiled by ESPN.com women's basketball editor Melanie Jackson (through Tuesday's games):

2009 Power Rankings: Week 12
	RANK(LW)	TEAM	RECORD	COMMENT
	1 (1)	Fever	19-7	The Fever could have clinched the league's first postseason berth by winning either of their past two games. Instead, they lost two straight road games (including a defeat at Sacramento) for their first back-to-back losses since the opening games of the season. Still, Indiana has an overwhelming lead in the East and the league's best overall record. The next three games are at home, including a Sept. 2 date with Phoenix.
	2 (2)	Mercury	18-9	The Mercury already have clinched a playoff spot, but they have a few chinks in their armor of late, too. Phoenix has lost three of its past five games, including a home loss to Washington last Friday. But the Mercury will have had six days off when they travel to Los Angeles on Thursday against one of the league's hottest teams. Just three of the Mercury's remaining seven games are against West opponents.
	3 (7)	Sparks	14-13	The Sparks have won six consecutive games to pass Minnesota and San Antonio and take over third place in the West. Three of the victories came on the road, where Los Angeles was a paltry 3-9 before the streak started. The remaining schedule is loaded with West opponents: two matchups apiece with Phoenix and San Antonio, plus a game with Minnesota.
	4 (4)	Storm	16-11	The Storm haven't lost since dropping back-to-back games at Connecticut and at Atlanta. This week, Seattle gets a shot at payback when both visit KeyArena, where the Storm are 11-3. Though Lauren Jackson's 36 points highlighted last week, balance has been a big boost in Seattle, where four different players have led the team in scoring in the last five games. The Storm have won three straight, including Saturday's win over Indiana.
	5 (3)	Dream	15-12	The Dream have lost just two games since the All-Star break, and winning seven of their last nine games, including Tuesday's victory over Sacramento, has propelled the Dream into second place in the East. But Atlanta has perhaps the toughest schedule of any team down the stretch: Six of its final seven games are on the road, where Atlanta has won just four games all season. And now leading scorer Chamique Holdsclaw has missed the past two games with a knee injury.
	6 (5)	Sun	14-13	The Sun have a 1½-game lead over the logjam behind them for fourth place in the East standings. But their road to maintaining or even building on that margin will literally come on the road. Connecticut is just 4-8 away from Mohegan Sun this season, but its next four games are on the West Coast -- in a six-day span, no less. Five of the Sun's final seven games are on the road.
	7 (6)	Sky	13-15	The Sky struggled through Sylvia Fowles' absences earlier this season when she rested a sore knee, and now they've lost all three games since she went out with a sprained left ankle. After losing just their third and fourth home games during this skid, Chicago must get back on track when it hosts New York on Friday -- whether or not Fowles is on the court. Three of the Sky's final four games are against the teams they're currently tied for fourth place with: Washington and Detroit.
	8 (9)	Mystics	13-15	We all suspected Washington's four-game road trip to the West Coast would be tough, and Tuesday's loss at Seattle sealed a 1-3 mark. But even worse than Saturday's 22-point loss at Sacramento has been Alana Beard's shooting: She hasn't made more than four field goals in any of the last four games, shooting a combined 10-for-41 (24 percent) in that span. Might the Lynx, Sunday's opponent, be just what the Mystics need?
	9 (10)	Shock	12-14	The Shock have followed a three-game skid with a trio of consecutive victories, including Tuesday's win at Connecticut. Is it a coincidence that Katie Smith has led Detroit in scoring in all three? The future Hall of Famer hadn't led the Shock in scoring in a game since July 18, but has shot 67 percent (24-of-38) from the field and 67 percent from 3-point range (14-of-21) for 67 combined points in those three wins. How much more magic can Smith deliver in eight remaining games?
	10 (11)	Liberty	11-16	Are the Liberty mounting a late charge? Though they're at the bottom of the East, just two games separate New York from the fourth and final playoff spot in the division. Last Friday's overtime win over the Sun was just the sort of resiliency New York needs to keep up the fight. Scoring two wins Friday and Sunday in a home-and-away with Chicago is almost a must.
	11 (8)	Silver Stars	11-16	With players such as Sophia Young and Ann Wauters on board, San Antonio hardly lives by the 3-pointer. But the Silver Stars have shot 28 percent or worse from downtown in their last three games, all losses. In fact, they've lost five of six, but remain in the playoff hunt largely due to Minnesota's futility. After two East foes this week, the Silver Stars close the season with five straight games against West teams, including four who are ahead of them in the division standings.
	12 (13)	Monarchs	9-19	The Monarchs scored one of their best wins of the season last Thursday with a home victory over Indiana, then beat Washington on Saturday for a fourth win in five games. But the win streak ended at Atlanta on Tuesday, and with 2½ games between Sacramento and the final playoff spot in the West, the Monarchs just must keep winning and hope San Antonio and Minnesota continue to stumble. Three of their remaining six games are against those two.
	13 (12)	Lynx	11-16	One week into August, the Lynx were one game above .500. Now, they've lost six consecutive games and are 1-9 over their last 10 contests. The Lynx have seven games remaining, including five against West foes and two with Sacramento. But Minnesota is most keeping an eye on San Antonio, which is tied with the Lynx for the West's final playoff spot. The two collide at San Antonio on Tuesday.