When I began working the Playbook on Friday, I thought Sunday’s slate would hinge on some key injuries. I had no idea how true that would turn out to be. Two of the four most expensive players in Sunday’s slate suffered leg injuries Friday, in addition to two starting guards who were already dealing with concussions.

Brittney Griner’s injury is the most straightforward insofar as she has been ruled out for the next three to four weeks. Phoenix is pretty thin in the frontcourt and they struggle to score, so it is a bit of a mystery how they will try to replace Griner’s production. There is certainly an opportunity for some value, but there is much risk as well. The risk and reward are even greater with Diana Taurasi out as well. Pretty much all of the remaining Phoenix starters are worth considering, though Monique Currie and Leilani Mitchell probably have the greatest upside.


With Elena Delle Donne and Tayler Hill both out, there are a lot of wing minutes and shots to replace for Washington. Ivory Latta is probably the best play, but Natasha Cloud and Kristi Toliver could see more minutes and shots as well.

It looks like Moriah Jefferson will return from her concussion, while Cappie Pondexter is still questionable. Both Jefferson and Pondexter are worth considering if they return, while Kelsey Plum and Courtney Vandersloot should continue to provide nice value if they are out.

The other theme of Sunday’s slate is rematches. Three of Sunday’s four games are a repeat of a matchup that took place within the last 11 days. The lone exceptions are New York and Washington, who haven’t played since June 29. The Phoenix-Minnesota matchup should be a lot different with Griner out, and while her offense is irreplaceable, her defense against Sylvia Fowles may actually be missed more in this game. I mostly faded the Chicago-Dallas game last week, and that will probably be the case again Sunday. There are safe guards on both teams in this matchup, but I don’t suspect there is a ton of value, and both frontcourts are risky and match up well against the other.

Much like Friday’s slate, guard is much deeper than forward on Sunday’s slate. You probably almost have to pay up for at least one forward, and unless Elena Delle Donne is cleared to play, there aren’t many forwards I would feel good paying up for. The Connecticut frontcourt, a great source of fantasy points all season long, is suddenly awfully crowded now that Morgan Tuck was back. Connecticut probably needs to get back to playing Jonquel Jones and Alyssa Thomas 30+ minutes per game, but that doesn’t seem to be particularly likely to happen Sunday, especially if the game is another blowout like the last meeting.

Player FanDuel Price  DraftKings Price Comments
Moriah Jefferson, G, SA $  5,100 $        5,500Jefferson expects to play Sunday after missing two games with a concussion. Prior to her injury she had played 30+ minutes in five of her last seven games, averaging 18.0 points and 5.8 assists in those five games. Prior to the injury, Stars head coach Vickie Johnson had begun to show more of a willingness to play Jefferson and rookie Kelsey Plum together, but that is far from a certainty. Jefferson has the potential to have a big day at a very reasonable price, but she is risky.
Courtney Williams, G, CON $  4,400 $        5,500Courtney Williams had a career-high 23 points and 10 rebounds against the Stars back in June, and she is averaging more points against the Stars than any other opponent. 
Emma Meesseman, F, CON $  5,100 $        7,800Meesseman has played at least 30 minutes in each of her last two games, and she has had at least 12 points and five rebounds in each of her last three games. She is a solid cash play, especially on FanDuel.
Krystal Thomas, F, CON $  4,900 $        6,100Thomas has played at least 32 minutes in each of her last two games, and that will likely continue if Elena Delle Donne is out. Thomas had at least six rebounds in each of her last seven games, and she should be safe for her price on DraftKings, even in a tough matchup against the Liberty.
Ivory Latta, G, CON $  3,400 $        3,800Latta went 2-10 from the field Friday, and she will likely have to carry much of the load offensively if Elena Delle Donne and Tayler Hill are both out. Latta scored 15 points in 18 minutes in the only game Delle Donne missed this season.
Tina Charles, F, NY $  8,600 $     13,100She has scored at least 21 points in four consecutive games and six of her last seven, with at least seven rebounds in each of those seven games. She is super safe for cash games, and she has a very high ceiling. I prefer Sylvia Fowles for her matchup and price, but I might have both players in all of my lineups.
Kristi Toliver, G, WAS $  4,200 $        5,800No team has allowed more made threes than the Liberty this season. Washington could struggle to generate offense if Elena Delle Donne is out, and if Toliver starts launching threes, she could have a big day. Toliver is fifth in the WNBA in made three pointers per 40 minutes. Even so, Toliver is strictly a GPP play.
Courtney Vandersloot, G, CHI $  6,800 $     10,900Slooty finally had a down game with Cappie Pondexter out Friday, finishing with 13 points, four rebounds, nine assists, one steal and one turnover. I think that is pretty much Vandersloot's floor with Cappie out, and if that is the case, sign me up. Vandersloot is averaging 40.6 FanDuel fantasy points with Cappie out. On the season, Sylvia Fowles is averaging 38.8 FD fantasy points.
Natasha Cloud, G, WAS $  3,100 $        3,000Cloud played 19 minutes Friday, and she could play even more if Tayler Hill is out. Ivory Latta has more of a proven track record, but Cloud is a fine alternative if you need to go cheaper. If Cloud gets the start, I might prefer her to Latta regardless of price.
Sylvia Fowles, F, MIN $  8,300 $     12,100It is hard to imagine how the Mercury will slow down Sylvia Fowles with Brittney Griner out. Fowles is averaging 17.5 points and 9.0 rebounds against Phoenix this season, and I would take the over on both of those numbers in this game.
Monique Currie, G, PHO $  3,300 $        3,700Currie proved earlier in the season she can carry the load offensively when her team is missing its star, though that was with her former team and not her current one. Currie has only topped 16 minutes once since she was traded to Phoenix, and that won't necessarily change with Brittney Griner out, but I suspect she will have to play more minutes and take more shots for a team that was already offensively challenged. Currie probably isn't as safe as Ivory Latta or even Natasha Cloud, but I think her ceiling is higher.
Maya Moore, F, MIN $  7,000 $        9,700Moore is averaging 20.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists in two games against Phoenix this season. Her ceiling probably isn't much higher than that, but she is a solid option if you have money to spend, especially for cash games. She could pull in a few more rebounds with Brittney Griner out as well.
Angel Robinson, F, PHO $  3,000 $        3,000Robinson will probably get most of the center minutes for Phoenix with Brittney Griner out. Robinson isn't a lock to do a ton with those minutes, especially in a tough matchup against the Lynx, but  she could be incredibly valuable as a punt play at the forward position.
Cappie Pondexter, G, CHI $  4,700 $        3,700This is the first time since DraftKings introduced WNBA contests that I can remember a player costing so much less on DraftKings than on FanDuel. Cappie may have a smaller role if she returns, but $3,700 is way too cheap if she is healthy.
Stefanie Dolson, F, CHI $  5,700 $        8,200Dolson is the go-to option for a mid-priced forward with a high ceiling. Dolson had 13 points, nine rebounds and four assists in just 22 minutes against Dallas last week, and if she can stay on the court, she has more upside than the other forwards in her price range.
Leilani Mitchell, G, PHO $  4,800 $        6,400With Diana Taurasi out as well, Mitchell and Monique Currie are the only Mercury players capable of creating their own shot. I probably like Mitchell slightly better for GPP lineups, but she should get enough shots to be safe for cash even if she misses most of them.

POSFanDuel Cash$FanDuel GPP$POSDraftKings Cash$DraftKings GPP$
GIvory Latta$3,400Monique Currie$3,300GCourtney Williams$5,500Moriah Jefferson$5,500
GCourtney Williams$4,400Courtney Vandersloot$6,800GNatasha Cloud$3,000Courtney Vandersloot$10,900
GCourtney Vandersloot$6,800Diana Taurasi$5,600FSylvia Fowles$12,100Sylvia Fowles$12,100
FSylvia Fowles$8,300Sylvia Fowles$8,300FTina Charles$13,100Maya Moore$9,700
FTina Charles$8,600Maya Moore$7,000FKrystal Thomas$6,100Emma Meesseman$7,800
FEmma Meesseman$5,100Stefanie Dolson$5,700UTILMaya Moore$9,700Monique Currie$3,700
FAngel Robinson$3,000Angel Robinson$3,000     
          
 Total$39,600Total$39,700 Total$49,500Total$49,700
 Remaining$400Remaining$300 Remaining$500Remaining$300