Update: With Elena Delle Donne back in the lineup, it is probably best to fade Tianna Hawkins. The Optimal lineups have been updated to reflect this change.
I feel like I am getting spoiled by getting to write the WNBA Playbook and Optimal Lineups three days in a row. It will be rough to go an entire week without a playbook, but I am looking forward to our first four-game slate of the season on Father’s Day.
As for Sunday’s slate, I think Indiana at Washington is the most interesting matchup. Briann January and Elena Delle Donne are both questionable, and both teams look drastically different with those players out. When you add in the fact both teams are allowing more than 105 points per 100 possessions, this is probably the game with the most fantasy value.
Good luck finding any fantasy value in Dallas. The Wings can be frustrating for fantasy because they have such a deep bench that even fantasy stalwarts like Skylar Diggins-Smith and Glory Johnson can be remarkably inconsistent. If any Stars player has a strong fantasy showing against the Minnesota Lynx, my pick would be Karima Christmas-Kelly, but I think you are better off fading Dallas considering Minnesota is allowing just 72.6 points per game this season.
The last game could be an interesting contrast in styles. The Liberty lead the league in rebounds thanks to their two dominant bigs, Tina Charles and Kiah Stokes. Seattle, on the other hand, has the third-fewest rebounds on the season, but they make up for it with forwards like Breanna Stewart and Alysha Clark who have range out past the three-point line. Charles and Stokes don’t like to defend 20+ feet away from the basket, so Seattle could get a lot of open looks at jump shots, even if they struggle to keep New York off the boards.
Player | FanDuel Price | Comments |
Breanna Stewart, F, SEA | $ 7,800 | Stewart has scored at least 32.3 fantasy points in four of her last five games, including her first one against the Liberty this season. |
Sugar Rodgers, G, NY | $ 5,400 | Sugar Rodgers has scored 20 points twice this season, including her only game against Seattle. Rodgers |
Lindsay Allen, G, NY | $ 3,000 | Since re-signing with the Liberty at the beginning of June, Allen has played at least 17 minutes in all three games, including a 14.4 fantasy point effort in 23 minutes against Atlanta Wednesday. She will be a fine punt play if she can repeat that production Sunday. |
Alysha Clark, F, SEA | $ 4,600 | Theresa Plaisance killed the Liberty with pick-and-pop threes, and while subsequent opponents have failed to knock down their open looks, Alysha Clark can make the Liberty bigs pay for failing to close out hard. Clark is shooting 63 percent from beyond the arc over her last four games. |
Kiah Stokes, F, NY | $ 6,500 | Kiah Stokes is averaging 37.4 fantasy points per game over her last three games. By way of comparison, Elena Delle Donne is averaging 35.6 fppg this season. |
Tianna Hawkins, F, WAS | $ 3,300 | Hawkins got her first career start Friday with Elena Delle Donne out. Hawkins only had seven points and four rebounds, but she played a team-high 32 minutes and took 11 shots even though she only made two of them. She gets a much better matchup Sunday against the Fever. |
Krystal Thomas, F, WAS | $ 4,500 | Thomas struggled a bit against the Lynx Friday, but all bigs do. Even so, she is averaging 8.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 blocks in 25.8 minutes over her last four games. The Fever are allowing the most points in the WNBA, and only Atlanta has a worse rebounding percentage. |
Sylvia Fowles, F, MIN | $ 9,300 | Sylvia Fowles is averaging 20.9 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game this season. I don't see how you fade her in a cash lineup. |
Tina Charles, F, NY | $ 8,000 | After a slow start to the season, Tina Charles has scored at least 27.5 fantasy points in six consecutive games, averaging 38.5 fppg over that span. |
Tayler Hill, G, WAS | $ 5,400 | Hill has scored at least 17 points in four consecutive games. If Elena Delle Donne is out, Hill will likely have to carry the offensive load yet again. |
Erica Wheeler, G, IND | $ 5,100 | Wheeler is averaging 32.3 fppg over the last two games with Briann January out. No guard in Sunday's slate can match that production, except for maybe Skylar Diggins-Smith. |
Tiffany Mitchell, G, IND | $ 4,300 | Mitchell has played at least 27 minutes and scored at least 11 points in three consecutive games. She is a safe cash play with Briann January out. |
Candice Dupree, F, IND | $ 6,200 | I'm always on the wrong foot with Candice Dupree, but it probably isn't a coincidence she has scored at least 31.9 fantasy points the last two games with Briann January out. Dupree has disappeared from games at times this season, but this should be a favorable matchup against a Washington team that owns a 105.2 defensive rating. |
POS | FanDuel Cash | $ | POS | FanDuel GPP | $ |
G | Tayler Hill | $5,400 | G | Sugar Rodgers | $5,400 |
G | Erica Wheeler | $5,100 | G | Lindsay Allen | $3,000 |
G | Tiffany Mitchell | $4,300 | G | Erica Wheeler | $5,100 |
F | Elena Delle Donne | $8,300 | F | Elena Delle Donne | $8,300 |
F | Theresa Plaisance | $4,300 | F | Alysha Clark | $4,600 |
F | Alysha Clark | $4,600 | F | Rebekkah Brunson | $5,600 |
F | Tina Charles | $8,000 | F | Tina Charles | $8,000 |
Total | $40,000 | Total | $39,100 | ||
Remaining | $0 | Remaining | $0 |