July 13, 2006 - We have now reached the halfway point of the Triple Threat Fantasy Challenge. As I write this the All-Star game is only a few hours away, so let's check out where we stand on the Triple Threat Leaderboard

Lisa Leslie of the Sparks has been omnipresent at the top of the Triple Threat rankings all season, and she remains in first place at the break with a PRA average of 33.0. Although she was not voted in as a starter, Leslie of course was selected by the coaches as a reserve, although I doubt she will remain on the bench very long.

The WNBA's top scorer, Phoneix's Diana Taurasi. has moved up to second place with a 30.7 PRA average. Taurasi closed out the first half of the season in style with a 36 point, nine rebound, five assist performance in the Mercury's road win over the Liberty on Sunday. She is a virtual lock to produce on the offensive end, as her lowest scoring output this season has been 13 points. To put that in perspective, only 18 players in the entire league are AVERAGING thirteen points or better.

Seattle's Lauren Jackson, ranks third with a PRA average of 29.8. Jackson is another player who enters the All-Star break on a hot streak, as she has recorded double-doubles in two of her last three games.

Right behind in fourth and fifth are one half of the WNBA's record quartet of rookie All-Stars, Minnesota's Seimone Augustus and the Mercury's Cappie Pondexter. After having identical PRA averages of 27.9 last week, Augustus has inched ahead slightly with a PRA average of 28.7 compared to Pondexter's 28.3 total. Expect the two to remain neck and neck through the rest of the season, which is good news for you as you can't go wrong choosing either one.

WNBA.com Daily Expert Pick

Friday, July 14th Lisa Leslie Los Angeles at Phoenix

Saturday, July 15th Tamika Whitmore Indiana at Charlotte

Sunday, July 16th Diana Taurasi Phoenix vs. New York

Tuesday, July 18th Lisa Leslie Los Angeles vs. New York

Wednesday, July 19th Seimone Augustus Minnesota vs. Chicago

Last week’s expert picks:
At the break I am ranked 171st, in the 96th percentile. Not bad, but there's always room for improvement. Unfortunately I suffered a setback last Friday when I entered Tina Thompson in my lineup, but she did not play due to an a calf injury suffered in the Comets' previous game. She is expected to be out for around four weeks, so check the boxscores to see who else emerges as Houston's main offensive threat. My week also saw a disappointing game from Cheryl Ford, who scored only three points and grabbed nine rebounds, far off her season averages of 13.6 points and 11.7 rebounds. Hopefully I will be able to start the second half of the season off on the right foot. Selecting Lisa Leslie as she and the Sparks take on Phoenix, against whom she is averaging 21.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in two games this year, seems like a good start.

All-Star Teams
As always, everyone has their own opinion on who should be named to the WNBA All-Star teams. It seems that this year's selections, especially the starters, have been especially controversial. Of the top five Triple Threat players listed above, only Lauren Jackson is starting, so it's not a surprise that many disagree with the selections. Of course PRA isn't a total measure of a player's value to their team, as it doesn't take into effect things like leadership and defensive ability, but the results are interesting just the same. Here I have the All-Star lineups with their PRA rankings, along with a few other players who many feel have been overlooked for a trip to New York City. Keep in mind I used the original lineups as selected by the fans and coaches, with injury replacements listed below.

2006 Eastern Conference All-Stars
Starting Lineup