Now that we are a couple of weeks into the season and every team has played four or five games, I feel like we are starting to get an idea of who these teams and players are. Three WNBA teams have allowed more than 82 points per game this season, and two of them—the Fever and the Stars—face high-powered offenses. When in doubt, I would lean towards players from Minnesota or Seattle. That being said, all of my lineups wound up with a lot of Connecticut Sun players, simply because their prices are down thanks to playing three games against tough defensive teams.
The plan going forward is to have a WNBA Playbook and Optimal Lineups whenever there are three or more WNBA games. The next Playbook will be Saturday, June 3. If you have any questions for the smaller slates please leave them in the comments below, in the forum, or on Twitter.
DFS WNBA PLAYBOOK:
Player | FanDuel Price | Comments |
Jasmine Thomas, G, CON | $ 4,500 | Thomas was the fastest player on the court Friday, and that should be the case again Sunday. Thomas leads the Sun in usage this season, and she averaged 15.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists in three games against the Sky last season. |
Jonquel Jones, F, CON | $ 6,800 | In two games against teams that were not the Minnesota Lynx, Jonquel Jones had 38 and 39.4 fantasy points. I'm willing to give her a pass for a couple of rough games against the best frontcourt in the WNBA. Jones is fourth in the WNBA in rebounds, and the Sky have surrendered the most rebounds in the league. |
Kelsey Plum, G, SAS | $ 5,500 | Plum had more turnovers than points in her first WNBA game, and she stayed on the floor for just 12 minutes. While it is possible her injury will hold her back for the forseeable future, it is also possible she has a huge game and reminds everyone why she holds the NCAA record for career points. Nobody at her price can match her ceiling. |
Alyssa Thomas, F, CON | $ 4,100 | Thomas averaged 13.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists against the Sky last season. Her numbers are down significantly from last season, but I am going to chalk that up to playing three games against two of the best teams in the WNBA in defensive rating. |
Sue Bird, G, SEA | $ 5,700 | Bird has scored 24.2 and 23.6 fantasy points in her two games this season. No team has allowed as many points to opponents as the Fever this season, and even if Bird doesn't score them herself, you know she will be involved. |
Morgan Tuck, F, CON | $ 5,000 | Tuck still leads the Sun in scoring with 13.0 ppg despite scoring just six points Friday against the Lynx. She costs $1200 less than she did Friday, which just seems silly. |
Sylvia Fowles, F, MIN | $ 8,900 | Fowles if fifth in the league in points, third in rebounds and second in blocks. She has an excellent shot at scoring 20 points, or getting a double-double, or both. |
Maya Moore, F, 7600 | $ 7,600 | Moore has taken 18 shots combined in her last two games after taking at least 18 in each of her first three. She is shooting 29.3 percent from the field with a 52.9 true shooting percentage after putting up career marks of 45.6 and 63.8, respectively. Moore is my favorite play of the entire slate. |
Breanna Stewart, F, SEA | $ 7,400 | The problem with Stewart is she could easily take a back seat to Jewell Loyd again like she did in her first three games. On the other hand, he scored 20 points Friday despite going 3-14 from the field, and we know she is a better shooter than that. |
Seimone Augustus | $ 4,800 | You could make a case Augustus has been the most consistent player in the WNBA this season. Augustus has scored at least 17.3 fantasy points in all five games this season. The Stars have allowed the second-most points in the WNBA this season. |
Jewell Loyd | $ 7,400 | This is a good matchup for her entire team, and while I am concerned Friday's 16 point, 1 rebound, zero assist line is more indicative of what we can expect going forward, the Fever are good enough for Loyd to drop 20 points even if she is the second or third option. |
Alex Bentley | $ 3,300 | Bentley is playing 27.1 minutes per game this season, and she is too good to average 7.8 points per game for much longer. Is anyone else at her price going to even come close to matching her minutes? The production will come. |
FANDUEL OPTIMAL LINEUPS:
POS | FanDuel Cash | POS | FanDuel GPP | ||
G | Seimone Augustus | $4,800 | G | Jasmine Thomas | $4,500 |
G | Jasmine Thomas | $4,500 | G | Alex Bentley | $3,300 |
G | Jewell Loyd | $7,400 | G | Kelsey Plum | $5,500 |
F | Breanna Stewart | $7,400 | F | Jonquel Jones | $6,800 |
F | Alyssa Thomas | $4,100 | F | Maya Moore | $7,600 |
F | Morgan Tuck | $5,000 | F | Breanna Stewart | $7,400 |
F | Jonquel Jones | $6,800 | F | Alyssa Thomas | $4,100 |
Total | $40,000 | Total | $39,200 | ||
Remaining | $0 | Remaining | $800 |