June 15, 2006 - We enter week four of the WNBA Triple Threat Fantasy Challenge and all of you lucky players now have two options for advice on making your picks every week. That's right, a challenger to my Guru title has arisen in the form of Jon Loomer and his WNBA Time Machine. While Jon uses science, statistical formulas, and spreadsheets to make his selections, I will remain true to my method of not really having one. (Other than making sure I select Lisa Leslie and Lauren Jackson every week.) I just try to make an educated guess on a daily basis by soaking up as much WNBA knowledge as I can find. Let it be known that I am currently far ahead of Mr. Loomer in the WNBA Insiders League. Perhaps Marty McFly can stop by the NBA Entertainment Offices on his hoverboard and give him a sports almanac from the future if he wants to use time travel to beat me.

WNBA All-Decade Team member Lisa Leslie of the Sparks remains the Triple Threat leader, with her PRA average slightly increasing to 36.4 per game. Leslie is putting up an MVP caliber season, as she is currently averaging career highs of 21.8 points and 11.2 rebounds per contest. Forgive me for repeating myself, but make sure that you don't let the week go by without placing Leslie in your lineup. Diana Tuarasi of the Phoenix Mercury has vaulted into second place with a PRA of 31.7 on the strength of her league-leading 24.3 points per game. Her latest outstanding performance came on Tuesday night against the Sparks, where she made seven three-pointers and scored 32 points. The other half of the Mercury backcourt, rookie phenom Cappie Pondexter, ranks third in the PRA rankings with a 29.7 average. Pondexter has scored 20 or more points in all but one game of her young WNBA career, and is currently second in the WNBA with 23.1 points per game.

Tamika Catchings returns to the top five, standing in fourth place with a PRA of 29.5. Catchings missed two games early last week with a foot injury but returned to the court with a bang, racking up 26 points, 11 rebounds and four assists last Wednesday against Washington. She followed that effort with a 30 point, nine rebound, three assist performance on Tuesday in the Fever's overtime win over the Liberty. It's certainly safe to say that Catchings is recovered from her injury and is a sure bet to help your entry. Rounding out the top five is one of the WNBA's All-Decade team honorees, Lauren Jackson with a PRA average of 28.8. Jackson will be looking to bounce back from Sunday's loss to Indiana where she was limited to six points on only seven shot attempts by one of the WNBA's top defensive teams. That's why checking the matchups is so vital to the success of your Triple Threat entry.

Last week’s expert picks:
I spent another week lurking in the lower half of the Triple Threat Leaderboard, as I am currently tied for 20th with 593 points. I was forced to make a few changes to my lineup due to the absence of Sheryl Swoopes due to injury, but luckily Tamika Catchings was available for Sunday's game, where she scored 18 points along with five rebounds and four assists. On Tuesday night, I took advantage of a favorable matchup featuring Lisa Leslie taking on the Phoenix Mercury, who are currently ranked last in the WNBA in points and rebounds by opponents. Leslie responded with 26 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists in a 98-84 Sparks win.

WNBA.com Daily Expert Pick

Thurday, June 15th Alana Beard Washington at Charlotte

Friday, June 16th Nykesha Sales Indiana at Detroit

Saturday, June 17th Cheryl Ford Houston at Detroit

Sunday, June 18th Seimone Augustus Phoenix at Minnesota

Tuesday, June 20th Nykesha Sales Connecticut at Charlotte

Wednesday, June 21st Tamika Catchings Chicago at IndianaTD>

Injury Alert
This past week your Triple Threat entry has been conspicuously absent by last season's PRA leader, Sheryl Swoopes of the Houston Comets. Swoopes has been sidelined since June 6th with back spasms, and while she played on Wednesday in Houston, she left that game with an apparent ankle injury. Tina Thompson has been picking up the scoring load for Houston, as she is averaging 20.3 ppg since Swoopes has been out of action, compared to 15.4 points with Swoopes in the lineup. She is a great choice for your entry, especially since she is now the primary offensive option for the Comets.

Home and Away
One thing to keep in mind when choosing your Triple Threat entries is where the game is taking place, ergo whether a player is at home or on the road. This may not seem like a big deal, but the numbers can tell us otherwise, especially in this WNBA schedule which features more travel in a shorter period of time than usual. Lets take a look at some of the top Triple Threat perfomers and see the differences when you compare their numbers in home games as opposed to away games. Some players aren't really affected by playing on the road, and in fact there are a select few are actually putting up better numbers in away games then they are at home. However the majority of players will see their numbers take a slight dip when playing on the road. To see how your favorite player is doing in away games as compared to home games, go to their WNBA.com stats page and click on Season Splits, located right under their name.

Lisa Leslie
Home: 22.3 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 5.7 apg, 37.7 PRA
Away: 21.5 ppg, 12.0 rpg, 2.3 apg, 35.8 PRA

Diana Taurasi
Home: 27.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 4.5 apg, 36.3 PRA
Road: 20.7, 2.0 rpg, 3.0 apg, 25.7 PRA

Cappie Pondexter
Home: 26.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.8 apg, 32.6 PRA
Road: 19.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.7 apg, 26 PRA

Lauren Jackson
Home: 19.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 2.6 apg, 28.6 PRA
Away: 19.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.8 apg, 29.3

Tamika Catchings
Home: 16.8 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 3.0 apg, 28.8 PRA
Away: 18.3 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 4.0 apg, 30.3 PRA

Seimone Augustus
Home: 24.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.3 apg, 30.9 PRA
Road: 21.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.8 apg, 26.9 PRA

Nykesha Sales
Home: 17.8 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 3.4 apg, 27.6 PRA
Road: 14.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.3 apg, 20.3 PRA

Tina Thompson
Home: 15.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.8 apg, 22.6 PRA
Road: 19.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.8 apg, 26.3 PRA

Last weeks picks:
6/9: Lisa Leslie, Los Angeles (19 pts., 11 reb., 4 ast.)
6/10: Vickie Johnson , San Antonio (15 pts., 9 reb., 2 ast)
6/11: Tamik Catchings, Indiana (18 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast)
6/13: Lisa Leslie, Los Angeles (26 pts., 7 reb., 8 ast.)
6/14: Lauren Jackson, Seattle (8 pts. 7 reb, 0 ast.)