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Two-game slate on Friday night in the WNBA, and we'll likely see Breanna Stewart for the first time since the Olympics.
In addition to the Storm and Liberty facing off, we get a Fever/Wings game that should be...a basketball game. Sorry, hard to hype up any Fever games at this point.
In this article, I'll be providing you with some daily fantasy WNBA lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 8/20/21. 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.
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WNBA DFS Lineup Picks: Guard
Sabrina Ionescu (New York Liberty) - vs Storm - DK: $9,000, FD: $
Ionescu struggled a lot of the time over the first half of the WNBA season, but her post-break games have been strong. 14 points, seven rebounds, and six assists against the Lynx, then 10 points, seven rebounds, and five assists against the Storm last game.
Ionescu's passing and rebounding give her a high floor. Her 13 three-point attempts over the past two games give her a nice ceiling as well, though she's struggled to convert those threes into makes.
Still, Ionescu's a really good shooter. She'll get back to draining shots soon.
Kelsey Mitchell (Atlanta Dream) - @ Wings - DK: $8,700, FD: $
This might be my favorite play of this slate.
The Fever are just absent of talent right now:
Yikes.
That leaves Kelsey Mitchell as basically the only perimeter threat on this team. In the two games since the Olympic break, Mitchell has take forty-one field goal attempts.
FORTY-ONE.
She has a pair of 20-point games in that span, which has allowed her top 30 fantasy points in each of them. And that was with Tiffany Mitchell playing in those games -- if she's out, there's even more shot attempts that'll go Kelsey's way.
Moriah Jefferson (Dallas Wings) - vs Fever - DK: $4,700, FD: $4,400
Dallas doesn't know what it's doing with the point guard rotation. Ty Harris started the first game post-Olympic break, then played just five minutes last game as Jefferson moved into the spot.
But in that win over the Sky, Jefferson showed some things, scoring 11 points on 5-for-11 shooting with eight assists, five rebounds, and two steals.
If she starts in this one again, I'd play her for the upside. If head coach Vickie Johnson benches her for Harris, I'd pivot elsewhere, maybe to Harris even, or put Jefferson in the utility spot and pivot to Bella Alarie, whose minutes have increased big time over the past few games.
WNBA DFS Lineup Picks: Forward
Breanna Stewart (Seattle Storm) - @ Liberty - DK: $11,000, FD: $
Stewie's back! Last year's Finals MVP sat out the first two-game after the Olympic break for a combination of rest and to spend time with her wife, who just gave birth to the couple's first child.
But now, it looks like Stewart is ready to get back into the grind of the WNBA.
There's not much that needs said about why you should play Breanna Stewart in fantasy. No one in the league has a ceiling like hers, as she can just casually put up 25 points and 15 boards, with multiple blocks and steals thrown in as well.
You're going to want to play Stewart in roughly half of your lineups, because her incredibly high floor gives you a lot of room for error with the rest of your line.
Natasha Howard (New York Liberty) - vs Storm - DK: $7,600, FD: $
After a long time off from injury, Howard returned against the Lynx, scoring 30 points and grabbing four rebounds.
Then against Seattle, she took a lot fewer shots, dropping from 22 field goal attempts down to just eight. Still, she scored 10 points and could have had a good fantasy night if she's had more than one rebound.
Her lack of rebounds since returning is curious, but I believe that the rebounds, blocks, and steals are all coming soon for one of the W's best defenders. And when she's New York's best offensive option inside and is shooting so well from the floor this season, I think you need to play some of her on this slate, even against a great Storm team.
Kayla Thornton (Dallas Wings) - vs Fever - DK: $7,500, FD: $X
The Wings rotation doesn't really make sense and the game-to-game consistency out of most of the players is so hit or miss, but one thing you can count on is Kayla Thornton to provide solid minutes.
With Satou Sabally currently out with an Achilles injury, Thornton has played some solid minutes in the past two games. She was just 1-for-8 from the floor against Chicago, but her 10 rebounds, two blocks, and one steal helped her have a decent fantasy night.
Thornton doesn't have a huge ceiling, but if she's getting between eight and 10 shots per night, she'll usually do a lot better than she did on Tuesday at actually making those shots. She hits the glass well and usually knocks down some threes as well.
