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Justin Carter's top daily fantasy WNBA lineup picks for 8/21/20. Expert WNBA DFS advice, sleepers & player recommendations for DraftKings and FanDuel.
Last night in the WNBA, Jewell Loyd exploded for 35 points, while Kennedy Burke -- who I mentioned as a low-priced option in yesterday's article -- ended up being the fourth-highest point scorer of the night.
In this article, I'll be providing you with some daily fantasy WNBA lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 8/21/20. These lineups picks will range from elite players to mid-priced options and value plays.
Want to talk more about the WNBA? I'm always available on Twitter and always down to discuss women's basketball: @juscarts. (By the way, I'm in "oh no the semester starts Monday" mode, so apologies if today and the next few days of pieces aren't quite as beefy as you're used to!)
WNBA - DFS Guards
Arike Ogunbowale (G, Dallas Wings) – vs Washington Mystics (DK: $10,200, FD: $7,400)
Moriah Jefferson is still out. Satou Sabally is still out. The Mystics scoring defense has gotten worse as the season has gone along and is fourth-worst over the past three games.
All sounds like a good mix of things for an ARIKE game, right? She's scored 19 points or more in six straight games and her efficiency has really improved, minus a 26.1 percent shooting night against Minnesota. She should also give DFS players a handful of rebounds, assists, and steals to sweeten the deal.
Ariel Atkins (G, Washington Mystics) – vs Dallas Wings (DK: $8,000, FD: $5,100)
I told the premium Slack chat a few days ago that I was done with Atkins because she wasn't stepping into the larger role that I'd hoped she'd step into, but even though that's true, I wasn't accounting for a drop in her DFS pricing. That happened, and I'm suddenly back on board with the upside that Atkins brings. Her three hasn't been falling, but she gets a good volume on those shots and is coming off a 13-point, four-rebound, five-assist, two-steal performance against Atlanta. Dallas isn't quite as bad defensively, but they aren't good, so Atkins should be poised for another solid game.
Riquna Williams (G, Los Angeles Sparks) – vs Atlanta Dream (DK: $7,200, FD: $5,300)
All Riquna Williams does is score. All Atlanta does is allow points, as they've got the WNBA's worst defensive rating. Put those things together and what do they spell? Play Riquna Williams!
Yes, her six points against Phoenix show what her floor looks like, but her ceiling -- 20 points and a lot of threes off the bench for a pretty low DFS price -- is too strong to ignore in this matchup.
WNBA - DFS Forwards
Candace Parker (F, Los Angeles Sparks) – vs Atlanta Dream (DK: $10,400 FD: $7,000)
The Atlanta Dream can't stop anyone, so I want the top player going against them tonight -- and maybe every night, at this rate. Parker had a couple of games where her scoring wasn't there, but she's still a consistent double-double threat who can give you five assists and a couple steals. Atlanta has the WNBA's worst defensive rating. There's downside because of her struggles to get her shot to drop lately, but the Dream-related upside overrides that.
Tianna Hawkins (F, Washington Mystics) – vs Dallas Wings (DK: $7,800, FD: $4,800)
Hawkins price has risen enough on DraftKings to give me pause, but not on FanDuel, where she's still undervalued.
So far this season, Hawkins is averaging 7.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Not great numbers, but she took some time to round into form after missing the beginning of the season. Now, she's got double-digit points in three of her last five games, even as she's shot poorly in a few of those. Her rebounding numbers are (usually) back into the five-plus range, she's had multiple assists in three of her last four, seven steals in the last five games, and she faces the Dallas Wings.
Mikiah Herbert Harrigan (F, Minnesota Lynx) – vs Phoenix Mercury (DK: $4,600, FD: $3,500)
Here's today's cheap play of the day. With Sylvia Fowles out, there's room for an increase in minutes for someone on this team. Last game, that was Herbert Harrigan, who played 20 minutes against Dallas, finishing with 10 points, two made threes, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block. A well-rounded stat line for a player whose DFS price is incredibly low and who was a plus-27 in that game. In fact, she's played 10-plus minutes on seven occasions and has had a positive plus/minus in six of those games, with the exception being her WNBA debut. The Lynx need to play her more.
