The Minnesota Lynx are averaging the fourth-fewest points in the WNBA this season, but they are the most interesting team on Saturday’s slate. Sylvia Fowles is probably the single most important player to her team, as evidenced by their 5-1 record when she plays more than one minute and their 1-2 record when she does not. Even with all the injuries they’ve had in the backcourt, they were the surprise of the league until Syl went down.
Minnesota tried to go small with Syl out, and while that was great for Bridget Carlson, it was awful for their defense and rebounding. Surprisingly, Napheesa Collier and (to a lesser extent) Damiris Dantas both struggled when forced to move to what we might consider their natural positions. Minnesota adjusted Thursday, playing Erica McCall and Kayla Alexander a combined 31 minutes. That number may have to get up to 40 for Minnesota to beat New York Saturday. Whoever starts for Syl will be a strong DFS play, though if it’s Carlson, I’ll still be nervous that she’ll lose significant playing time to the other bigs.
If McCall or Alexander start, that should be good news for Collier and bad news for New York’s guards, but I still think I want to wait and see it before I react. The Liberty guards paraded to the rim in the first game Fowles missed, and I’m not ready to just assume that problem will be solved with two bigs who have been fringe rotation players the last couple of seasons.
Guards | |||||||
Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
Bridget Carleton | MIN | NY | 5800 | 13.22 | 5400 | 12.99 | |
Carleton is averaging 33.5 minutes and 33.6 fantasy points in two starts this season. I don't think she'll start Thursday, but if she does, she's a GPP play. Even though Minnesota's defense is terrible when they go small, they may need Carleton's offense in the starting lineup. | |||||||
Layshia Clarendon | NY | MIN | 8500 | 25.33 | 5600 | 23.63 | |
Minnesota's opponents are scoring 36.3 points in the paint per 40 minutes with Sylvia Fowles off the court. That will likely improve some as Erica McCall and Kayla Alexander get more minutes, but the Lynx will likely continue to be vulnerable to dribble-penetration. Clarendon had 27 fantasy points Thursday against an Indiana team that has allowed the most points in the paint in the WNBA, and I think that is her floor Saturday. | |||||||
Jazmine Jones | NY | MIN | 6400 | 18.41 | 4500 | 18.39 | |
I'm not ready to declare Jones safe, but she has played at least 24 minutes and scored at least 23 fantasy points in each of her last two games. Jones is averaging 2.1 attempts at the rim per game, and like Clarendon, I think she can take advantage of Sylvia Fowles's absence. | |||||||
Chelsea Gray | LA | IND | 7800 | 24.75 | 5600 | 24.84 | |
Gray has at least 20 fantasy points in five straight games, averaging 24.9 fppg in that span. Only the Dream have allowed more points than the Fever this season. | |||||||
Brittney Sykes | LA | IND | 6600 | 16.94 | 4500 | 16.92 | |
Sykes set new season highs with 30 minutes and 25.25 fantasy points with Tierra Ruffin-Pratt out Thursday. Pratt is questionable, but if she sits Saturday, Sykes is a cash play. | |||||||
Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
Ariel Atkins | WAS | LV | 8300 | 24.06 | 5100 | 23.42 | |
Atkins has been a streaky shooter this season, so I think there is a decent chance she repeats her hot shooting from Thursday, when she scored 35.25 fantasy points. | |||||||
Stella Johnson | WAS | LV | 3100 | 1.7 | 3400 | 2.08 | |
With Aerial Powers and Kiara Leslie out and Shey Peddy likely out, Stella Johnson could get a lot of run behind Ariel Atkins, Leilani Mitchell and Essence Carson. She is averaging 0.90 fantasy points per minute, albeit in only 12 minutes, but she is still worth a shot. She is literally as cheap as you can get on DK. | |||||||
Julie Allemand | IND | LA | 8600 | 25.28 | 5700 | 24.81 | |
Julie Allemand has at least 20 fantasy points in seven straight games, with 30+ fantasy points in four of those. She is safer than Kelsey Mitchell and has a higher ceiling than Tiffany Mitchell. |
As always, the lineups below are examples of lineups you can make using the players in the Playbook and are not for plug and play.
DK Cash | Pivot | DK Pivot Cash | ||||||||||
Pos. | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | Pos. | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | |
G | Layshia Clarendon | NY | @MIN | 25.33 | $8,500 | G | ||||||
G | Chelsea Gray | LA | @IND | 24.75 | $7,800 | to | G | Julie Allemand | IND | LA | 25.28 | $8,600 |
F | Kiah Stokes | NY | @MIN | 18.72 | $7,200 | F | ||||||
F | A'ja Wilson | LAV | WAS | 39.42 | $11,000 | F | ||||||
F | Candace Parker | LA | @IND | 35.64 | $10,600 | F | ||||||
Util | Erica McCall | MIN | NY | 9.54 | $4,400 | to | Util | Kayla Alexander | MIN | NY | 5 | $3,800 |
Total | $49,500 | Total | $49,400 | |||||||||
DK GPP | Pivot | DK Pivot GPP | ||||||||||
Pos. | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | Pos. | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | |
G | Stella Johnson | WAS | @LAV | 1.7 | $3,100 | G | ||||||
G | Layshia Clarendon | NY | @MIN | 25.33 | $8,500 | G | ||||||
F | Candace Parker | LA | @IND | 35.64 | $10,600 | F | ||||||
F | A'ja Wilson | LAV | WAS | 39.42 | $11,000 | F | ||||||
F | Tianna Hawkins | WAS | @LAV | 16.04 | $7,600 | to | F | Candice Dupree | IND | LA | 27 | $8,400 |
Util | Julie Allemand | IND | LA | 25.28 | $8,600 | to | Util | Aerial Atkins | ||||
Total | $49,400 | Total | $8,400 | |||||||||
FD Cash | Pivot | FD Pivot Cash | ||||||||||
Pos | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | Pos | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | |
G | Layshia Clarendon | NY | MIN | 23.63 | $5,600 | G | ||||||
G | Jazmine Jones | NY | MIN | 18.39 | $4,500 | G | ||||||
G | Brittney Sykes | LA | IND | 16.92 | $4,500 | to | G | Jackie Young | LV | WAS | 17.24 | $5,200 |
F | Erica McCall | MIN | NY | 10.26 | $4,000 | F | ||||||
F | Dearica Hamby | LV | WAS | 26.37 | $6,000 | to | F | Kiah Stokes | NY | MIN | 18.29 | $5,000 |
F | A'ja Wilson | LV | WAS | 39.80 | $7,900 | F | ||||||
F | Candace Parker | LA | IND | 34.93 | $7,500 | F | ||||||
Total | $40,000 | Total | $40,000 | |||||||||
FD GPP | Pivot | FD Pivot GPP | ||||||||||
Pos | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | Pos | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | |
G | Ariel Atkins | WAS | LV | 23.42 | $5,100 | to | G | Jackie Young | LV | WAS | 17.24 | $5,200 |
G | Stella Johnson | WAS | LV | 2.08 | $3,400 | G | ||||||
G | Jazmine Jones | NY | MIN | 18.39 | $4,500 | G | ||||||
F | A'ja Wilson | LV | WAS | 39.80 | $7,900 | F | ||||||
F | Candace Parker | LA | IND | 34.93 | $7,500 | F | ||||||
F | Tianna Hawkins | WAS | LV | 15.92 | $4,800 | F | ||||||
F | Emma Meesseman | WAS | LV | 30.48 | $6,800 | to | F | Myisha Hines-Allen | WAS | LV | 29.57 | $6,700 |
Total | $40,000 | Total | $11,900 |