We have finally made it to the last season of the WNBA season, and while much as been decided, all three of Sunday’s games have playoff implications. Dallas needs to beat New York in the first game to keep its playoff hopes alive, but they will have to do it without Satou Sabally and Allisha Gray.
Las Vegas and Seattle face off in the second game, having both clinched a double-bye in the playoffs. The winner will take the top seed in the playoffs, and Aces head coach Bill Laimbeer has said he will treat this like any other game. Even if that is the case, Seattle has the best defensive rating in the league by far and the Aces are playing the second of a back-to-back. I won’t go out of my way to play any Aces.
Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart are questionable for this game, and with them both out Friday, no one played more than 24 minutes for the Storm. Seattle was up 69-37 after three quarters, which may explain why the starters played so few minutes. The Storm will have plenty of time to rest thanks to the double-bye, so it wouldn’t be shocking if their starters, especially in the backcourt, played about 30 minutes.
Finally, if Dallas wins, Washington will need to beat Atlanta to advance to the playoffs. Washington has ridden its starters hard down the stretch, and I have to imagine they will get a break if Dallas loses. Washington has some great fantasy plays, but they are on the second of a back-to-back. Just be prepared to pivot if Dallas wins.
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.
Guards | |||||||
Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
Marina Mabrey | DAL | NY | 8400 | 20.19 | 5600 | 18.53 | |
Mabrey set new season highs Friday with 16 field goal attempts, 10 three-point attmepts and seven assists. She only shot 25 percent from the field but still finished with 32.25 fantasy points. With Allisha Gray out again, Mabrey is safe even at her inflated price. | |||||||
Tyasha Harris | DAL | NY | 5900 | 13.88 | 4800 | 13.81 | |
Harris played 32 minutes Friday and had 12 field goal attempts but she made just three of them. Harris will likely see similar minutes Sunday, and she is averaging 0.72 fantasy points per minute. | |||||||
Arike Ogunbowale | DAL | NY | 10700 | 34.26 | 7300 | 33.56 | |
Ogunbowale has had 24+ field goal attempts and 10+ free throw attempts in two of her last three games. She shot 50 percent in both of those games and topped 50 fantasy points. With Satou Sabally and Allisha Gray out, Ogunbowale will almost certainly have to take a ton of shots yet again. If a bunch go in, she'll have 50 fantasy points. If she shoots worse than 30 percent from the field, as she has in three of her last five games, she will have 30ish fantasy points. I think there are better places to spend your money, but you cannot ignore her upside in a GPP. | |||||||
Ariel Atkins | WAS | ATL | 8200 | 25.3 | 5700 | 25.20 | |
Atlanta is 10th in fantasy points allowed to guards, and Atkins is averaging 30.6 fantasy points in her last three games. She is a solid play if Dallas wins. | |||||||
Chennedy Carter | ATL | WAS | 8300 | 26.32 | 5400 | 25.71 | |
Carter has scored at least 27 fantasy points in three straight games despite playing just 16 minutes in one of those games. With the playoffs out of reach, a benching is less likely. Carter is one of the safest guards on the slate, but she has a ton of upside as well. | |||||||
Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
Jazmine Jones | NY | DAL | 6900 | 21.26 | 5300 | 21.33 | |
Jones has played at least 29 minutes and scored at least 30 fantasy points in each of the last two games with Layshia Clarendon out. Jones is an excellent play, espeically on DraftKings, if Clarendon is out again. |
Forwards | |||||||
Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
Mercedes Russell | SEA | LV | 5200 | 8.99 | 4100 | 9.16 | |
Russell got her first start of the season Friday with Breanna Stewart out. She finished with 17 fantasy points in 21 minutes. Russell has averaged at least 0.7 fantasy points per minute in all three of her WNBA seasons, and she is a cash play if she starts again. | |||||||
Kayla Thornton | DAL | NY | 7200 | 17.08 | 5000 | 16.65 | |
Thornton played 26 minutes Friday and attempted nine shots with Satou Sabally out. It was her most field goal attempts since August 21. Thornton should be safe in this game, especially with New York allowing the second-most fantasy points to opposing forwards. | |||||||
Astou Ndour | DAL | NY | 4800 | 9.27 | 3700 | 9.35 | |
Ndour finally played like she did last season, finishing with 25.75 fantasy points in 23 minutes despite shooting 0-5 on threes. She is questionable Sunday, but she is a GPP play if she is active. If she is out, Bella Alarie and Megan Gustafson would be playable for fantasy. | |||||||
Myisha Hines-Allen | WAS | ATL | 10900 | 35.42 | 7500 | 34.19 | |
Hines-Allen has topped 50 fantasy points in three of her last four games. Even on a back-to-back, she is a must-play if Dallas wins. | |||||||
Elizabeth Williams | ATL | WAS | 8000 | 23.76 | 5800 | 25.07 | |
Williams has scored at least 28 fantasy points in three of her last four games. I am a bit concerned that Atlanta will decide to give some of its young bigs more minutes, but Williams is still worth a shot in tournaments. |
DK Cash | DK GPP | |||||||||||
Pos. | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | Pos. | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | |
G | Tyasha Harris | DAL | @NY | 13.88 | $5,900 | G | Jazmine Jones | NY | DAL | 21.26 | $6,900 | |
G | Marina Mabrey | DAL | @NY | 20.19 | $8,400 | G | Tyasha Harris | DAL | @NY | 13.88 | $5,900 | |
F | Kayla Thornton | DAL | @NY | 17.08 | $7,200 | F | Myisha Hines-Allen | WAS | @ATL | 35.42 | $10,900 | |
F | Myisha Hines-Allen | WAS | @ATL | 35.42 | $10,900 | F | Kayla Thornton | DAL | @NY | 17.08 | $7,200 | |
F | Angel McCoughtry | LAV | @SEA | 28.23 | $9,300 | F | Elizabeth Williams | ATL | WAS | 23.76 | $8,000 | |
Util | Chennedy Carter | ATL | WAS | 26.32 | $8,300 | Util | Arike Ogunbowale | DAL | @NY | 34.26 | $10,700 | |
Total | $50,000 | Total | $49,600 | |||||||||
DK Pivot Cash | DK Pivot GPP | |||||||||||
Pos. | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | Pos. | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | |
G | G | |||||||||||
G | G | |||||||||||
F | F | A'ja Wilson | LAV | @SEA | 40.16 | $11,700 | ||||||
F | A'ja Wilson | LAV | @SEA | 40.16 | $11,700 | F | ||||||
F | F | Dearica Hamby | LAV | @SEA | 28.45 | $9,000 | ||||||
Util | Jazmine Jones | NY | DAL | 21.26 | $6,900 | Util | Betnijah Laney | ATL | WAS | 31.73 | $9,200 | |
Total | $18,600 | Total | $29,900 | |||||||||
FD Cash | FD GPP | |||||||||||
Pos | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | Pos | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | |
G | Chennedy Carter | ATL | WAS | 25.71 | $5,400 | G | Chennedy Carter | ATL | WAS | 25.71 | $5,400 | |
G | Tyasha Harris | DAL | NY | 13.81 | $4,800 | G | Tyasha Harris | DAL | NY | 13.81 | $4,800 | |
G | Marina Mabrey | DAL | NY | 18.53 | $5,600 | G | Arike Ogunbowale | DAL | NY | 33.56 | $7,300 | |
F | Kayla Thornton | DAL | NY | 16.65 | $5,000 | F | Myisha Hines-Allen | WAS | ATL | 34.19 | $7,500 | |
F | Myisha Hines-Allen | WAS | ATL | 34.19 | $7,500 | F | Astou Ndour | DAL | NY | 9.35 | $3,700 | |
F | Mercedes Russell | SEA | LV | 9.16 | $4,100 | F | Kayla Thornton | DAL | NY | 16.65 | $5,000 | |
F | Natasha Howard | SEA | LV | 24.75 | $7,000 | F | Elizabeth Williams | ATL | WAS | 25.07 | $5,800 | |
Total | $39,400 | Total | $39,500 | |||||||||
FD Pivot Cash | FD Pivot GPP | |||||||||||
Pos | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | Pos | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | |
G | G | |||||||||||
G | G | |||||||||||
G | G | |||||||||||
F | F | Natasha Howard | SEA | LV | 24.75 | $7,000 | ||||||
F | Angel McCoughtry | LV | SEA | 28.34 | $6,900 | F | Mercedes Russell | SEA | LV | 9.16 | $4,100 | |
F | Alysha Clark | SEA | LV | 24.01 | $5,300 | F | ||||||
F | F | |||||||||||
Total | $12,200 | Total | $11,100 |