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A thrilling and contentious All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis has come and gone, and it's time for the regular season to resume. The second half of the season will get underway Tuesday night with a huge five-game slate that features a national TV doubleheader. 

Caitlin Clark's absence will take some sting out of the Indiana Fever's matchup with the reigning champion New York Liberty, who are expected to have Jonquel Jones back. Later on, the Atlanta Dream will travel to the West Coast to take on the Las Vegas Aces, who had a frustrating first half. Elsewhere, the league-leading Minnesota Lynx will host Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky. 

Less than two months remain until the end of the regular season on Sept. 11, and it's time for teams to start making their playoff pushes. Before the games begin again, here's a look at where all 13 teams stand with CBS Sports' midseason grades.  

Atlanta Dream: Grade: B+

  • Record: 13-9
  • The basics: 4th in offense, 6th in defense, 3rd in net rating (plus-6.6)
  • Reason for optimism: Karl Smesko's offense is legit 
  • Reason for pessimism: Since Jordin Canada returned from injury, their primary starting lineup has a minus-0.9 net rating over 12 games.  

The Dream limped into the All-Star break. They lost five of their last eight games and Rhyne Howard was ruled out until August after hyperextending her knee in a defeat to the Fever. Their revitalized offense, orchestrated by first-year coach Karl Smesko, is legit. They shoot a ton of 3s, grab a ton of offensive rebounds and rarely turn the ball over. Their defense is becoming an issue, though, particularly late in games when they struggle to hold on to leads. They have a 107.4 defensive rating in fourth quarters, which ranks 12th in the league. 

Chicago Sky: D+

  • Record: 7-15
  • The basics: 11th in offense, 12th in defense, 12th in net rating (minus-10.5)
  • Reason for optimism: Angel Reese has completely turned things around after her historically bad start
  • Reason for pessimism: They only have one win against a team in playoff position

Shorthanded loss to the Dream aside, the Sky had been more competitive in the weeks leading up to the All-Star break. However, they remain four games out of the playoff race and have the third-hardest remaining schedule -- an important note considering they have one win this season over a team currently in playoff position. Regardless of their results, Angel Reese's mid-season turnaround has been extremely encouraging. After a historically bad start, she's averaging 17.2 points, 13.3 rebounds and four assists on 51.1% shooting over her last 12 games, dating back to her first career triple-double. 

Connecticut Sun: F

  • Record: 3-19
  • The basics: 13th in offense, 13th in defense, 13th in net rating (minus-19.8)
  • Reason for optimism: Leila Lacan has had some great moments since arriving from overseas 
  • Reason for pessimism: They are on pace to be the fifth team ever to finish last in offensive and defensive rating 

The Sun have lost 13 of their last 14 games and are on pace for not only the worst season in franchise history, but the fifth-worst season all-time. Only four teams have finished with a worse winning percentage than their .136: the 2011 Storm, 2020 Liberty, 1998 Mystics and 2008 Dream. To make matters worse, the Sun owe the Sky swap rights on their first-round pick, so they cannot wind up with the No. 1 pick for all of this losing. Leila Lacan's arrival has at least been encouraging. The French guard, a first-round pick in 2024, is averaging 9.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and two assists in her first five WNBA appearances. 

Dallas Wings: D-

  • Record: 6-17
  • The basics: 8th in offense, 11th in defense, 11th in net rating (minus-5.8)
  • Reason for optimism: Along with Paige Bueckers, they may have hit on their two other rookie guards, Aziaha James and JJ Quinerly
  • Reason for pessimism: Arike Ogunbowale is having a disastrous season 

The Wings briefly turned things around in mid-June, but then lost their last four games before the All-Star break by an average of 16 points. Arike Ogunbowale missed over two weeks with a thumb injury, and in her first two games back she scored 11 points on 3 of 22 shooting to continue a disastrous season. Her 15.7 points and 34.6 field goal percentage are both career-lows. It's already time to start looking to the future in Dallas, and on that front there are positives. Paige Bueckers is already one of the best guards in the league, and their other rookie guards, Aziaha James and JJ Quinerly, have had some bright moments recently. 

Golden State Valkyries: A-

  • Record: 10-12
  • The basics: 10th in offense, 4th in defense, 7th in net rating (plus-1.4)
  • Reason for optimism: They lead the league in field goal defense (40.1%)
  • Reason for pessimism: They are 12th in field goal percentage (40.2%)

The Valkyries lost five of their last six games before the break to fall below .500 and out of the playoff picture. Even so, the first half of the season was extremely positive for the league's newest team, which already has more than double the amount of wins the last expansion team, the 2008 Dream, had in their first season (four). Furthermore, the Valkyries are still only 1.5 games out of sixth place, and have a real chance to become the first expansion team to make the playoffs in their inaugural season. The big question in the Bay Area is whether their elite defense can cover up for their pitiful offense all season long. No team has a bigger disparity between the two sides of the ball. 

Indiana Fever: B-

  • Record: 12-11
  • The basics: 3rd in offense, 8th in defense, 4th in net rating (plus-5.5)
  • Reason for optimism: They're 8-5 with a 108.6 offensive rating with Caitlin Clark in the lineup
  • Reason for pessimism: Clark's inability to stay healthy 

Caitlin Clark will not play in the Fever's first game out of the break, a road trip to face the Liberty, due to a right groin issue. This is the third different soft tissue injury she's dealt with this season, and after Tuesday night will have appeared in 13 of the Fever's 24 games. Add in the Commissioner's Cup championship and it's 13 of 25. When she has been on the court, Clark has been unable to buy a 3-pointer. She's 2 of 35 from downtown on the road, and is shooting 27.9% from 3-point range for the season. And yet, the Fever are in sixth place with the fourth-best net rating. All the metrics say this is one of the best teams in the league with Clark healthy, but whether she'll be able to stay on the court remains to be seen. 

Las Vegas Aces: C-

  • Record: 11-11
  • The basics: 9th in offense, 9th in defense, 8th in net rating (minus-1.6)
  • Reason for optimism: They have A'ja Wilson
  • Reason for pessimism: They are 4-9 against teams in playoff position and 7-2 against teams in lottery position

A'ja Wilson escaped a serious wrist injury shortly before the break, and after sitting out of one game returned to put together two of her best performances of the season: 32 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and two blocks against the Wings and 37 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks against the Valkyries. The Aces won those games by two and four points, respectively. Those two outings told you all you need to know about this team, which is clinging to the eighth and final playoff spot. Assuming the Aces make the postseason, no opponent will want to deal with A'ja Wilson in the first round, especially in a short best-of-three. But this group is not a title contender. 

Los Angeles Sparks: C

  • Record: 8-14
  • The basics: 6th in offense, 10th in defense, 10th in net rating (minus-4.4)
  • Reason for optimism: Cameron Brink is expected to return to action by the end of July
  • Reason for pessimism: They owe the Storm their first-round pick, which looks like it will be in the lottery

Cameron Brink has missed more than a full calendar year since tearing her ACL and meniscus last season, but is closing in on a return to action. She has resumed playing five-on-five and coach Lynne Roberts told reporters prior to the All-Star break that she expects Brink back by the end of July. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, Brink finished 13th in the league in blocks as a rookie despite playing only 329 minutes. Her presence should be a major boost to the Sparks' poor defense. Unfortunately for the Sparks, they are three games back of a playoff spot and do not own their first-round pick.

Minnesota Lynx: A+

  • Record: 20-4
  • The basics: 2nd in offense, 1st in defense, 1st in net rating (plus-12.4)
  • Reason for optimism: They're in full command in the race for the No. 1 seed
  • Reason for pessimism: They have the lowest free throw rate in the league (.234)

After a 17-2 start, the Lynx went 3-2 in their last five games before the All-Star break -- a major slump by their standards. That was at the end of a stretch of 10 games in 18 days, though, which Cheryl Reeve called "one of the most illogical schedules in my 25 years of doing this." There's no reason to be concerned about the Lynx, who have been the best team in the league all season and are elite on both sides of the ball. Napheesa Collier is well on her way to her first MVP award and the supporting cast, led in part by All-Star Weekend's breakout stars, the StudBudz, is extremely solid. The only bad news for the Lynx as the season resumes is that the Liberty, their biggest threat for the title, have added Emma Meesseman and Stephanie Talbot. 

New York Liberty: A-

  • Record: 15-6
  • The basics: 1st in offense, 2nd in defense, 2nd in net rating (plus-9.7)
  • Reason for optimism: They've added some major reinforcements in Emma Meesseman and Stephanie Talbot
  • Reason for pessimism: Only three teams have ever repeated

The Liberty are just 6-6 since their 9-0 start, but they won three in a row heading into the break, all against teams in playoff position. The positive momentum continued this week when Jonquel Jones, who hasn't played since June 19 due to an ankle injury, was cleared from the injury report and some major reinforcements arrived. Veteran wing Stephanie Talbot signed for the remainder of the season, while Emma Meesseman has reportedly agreed to do the same, though she'll need to wait until her visa is approved. Meesseman, the 2019 Finals MVP, has not played in the WNBA since 2022, but has been dominant overseas in the meantime. She will be a major boost to the Liberty's frontcourt and their chances of repeating. 

Phoenix Mercury: A

  • Record: 15-7
  • The basics: 5th in offense, 3rd in defense, 5th in net rating (plus-4.9)
  • Reason for optimism: They're in third place even though Alyssa Thomas, Satou Sabally and Kahleah Copper have played just six games together
  • Reason for pessimism: Can they stay healthy?

The Mercury's hot start to the season was not a fluke. Despite continued injury problems -- their new Big Three of Alyssa Thomas, Satou Sabally and Kahleah Copper has played just six games together -- the Mercury are in third place and in the top five in offensive, defensive and net rating. Their defense is relentless, and their league-best 21.2% opponent turnover rate helps fuel their offense on the other end. Only the Liberty score more transition points per game than the Mercury's 15.4, per Synergy Sports.  Alyssa Thomas is not going to win MVP, but she's been playing at that level since her return from a calf injury. For the season, she's at 15.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and a league-leading 9.5 assists per game on 51.7% shooting. 

Seattle Storm: B

  • Record: 14-9
  • The basics: 7th in offense, 5th in defense, 6th in net rating (plus-3.7)
  • Reason for optimism: They have the second easiest remaining schedule
  • Reason for pessimism: They've lacked consistency

Are the Storm a dark horse contender or heading toward another first-round exit? The answer depends on which night you happen to watch them play, or sometimes which quarter. No team has been more inconsistent than the Storm, who have beaten the first-place Lynx and lost to the last-place Sun. One key trend to continue monitoring is their 3-point shooting. After shooting a league-worst 28.8% last season, they started off this season on fire. Through the first month, they shot a league-best 37.7%. Since then, however, they're at 30.7%, which ranks 11th in the league in that span. 

Washington Mystics: A-

  • Record: 11-11
  • The basics: 12th in offense, 7th in defense, 9th in net rating (minus-2.9)
  • Reason for optimism: They're in playoff position coming out of the All-Star break
  • Reason for pessimism: They have won of the worst offenses in the league

Everyone expected this to be a rebuilding year for the Mystics, who traded Ariel Atkins in the offseason and had three of the top six picks in the 2025 draft. And sure enough, they started off 3-6. Since then, however, they've gone 8-5 with wins over the Lynx, Storm and Aces (twice) to climb into seventh place at the All-Star break. Their defense keeps them in a lot of games, but their offense is very shaky and relies heavily on getting to the free throw line (they have a league-best .373 free throw rate). We'll see if they can score enough down the stretch to hold on to a playoff spot. If they can't, another trip to the lottery is better for their long-term outlook anyway.