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Justin Carter's top daily fantasy WNBA lineup picks for 5/20/18. Expert WNBA DFS advice, sleepers & player recommendations for DraftKings and FanDuel.
Sure, there was a game on Friday and a game on Saturday, but today is really what all the WNBA fans have been waiting for: #WNBAAllDay, a six game slate that really gets the season off to a roaring start. There are games all day being broadcast live on Twitter, NBA TV, and ESPN2, and it's also all available via League Pass, which is incredibly cheap this year and will provide you with so much WNBA action.
In this article, I'll be providing you with some daily fantasy WNBA lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 5/20/18. These lineups picks will range from elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. With six games happening, there's a ton of lineup choices to make and options to weigh.
Two teams -- Indiana and Chicago -- will be playing on the second end of a back-to-back, which is why I'm not listing any of their players here. With ten teams either opening their season or coming in with a full day of rest, why risk it?
Want to talk more about the WNBA? I'm always available on Twitter: @juscarts
WNBA - DFS Guards
Skylar Diggins-Smith (G, Dallas Wings) – vs Atlanta Dream (DK: $12,000, FD: $7,700)
Diggins-Smith is the highest priced guard on both DraftKings and FanDuel, something that I'd normally be wary of on a day with so many games. But with two of the next highest priced players being Chicago's Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley on the second night of a back-to-back, it might be worth the cost for Diggins-Smith, who opened the season on Friday with 18 points, six rebounds, and nine assists against the Mercury. Diggins-Smith is always a strong fantasy option because of her on court opportunities: she led the league in minutes played last year as well as ranking first in free throw attempts and fifth in field goal attempts. Diggins-Smith did struggle from three on Friday, missing all seven of her attempts from downtown, but she shot 35 percent from long range last season. Will the shots go down against Atlanta? They did a good job limiting threes last season, but it seems like a better bet to say that Diggins-Smith won't shoot as poorly as she did against the Mercury.
Brittney Sykes (G, Atlanta Dream) – @ Dallas Wings (DK: $9,200, FD: $6,400)
Sykes will look to build off a solid rookie season in which she averaged 13.9 points per game and 4.1 rebounds. She was on a roll at the end of the season, crossing the 20 point mark in three of her last seven games, including a 33 point, five rebound performance in the season finale against Phoenix. With one of last's year worst defensive teams (11th in defensive rating while allowing the most points game in the WNBA) on deck Sunday in the Wings, Sykes should get her 2018 season off to a strong start.
Diana Taurasi (G, Phoenix Mercury) – @ Seattle Storm (DK: $8,900, FD: $6,300)
Last season, the Storm allowed opponents to shoot the third highest three point field goal percentage in the league while sporting the fourth-worst defensive rating in the WNBA. The Phoenix Mercury are playing faster this year and letting Diana Taurasi -- who hit her 1000th career three pointer in Friday's season-opening win over Dallas -- shoot. Taurasi has averaged 20 or more points per game six times in her career, but the last time was in 2013, Brittney Griner's first season in Phoenix. Griner's role in the offense has increased, especially in light of Taurasi's missed 2015 season, but Friday night might be an indication that things are changing as the eight time All-Star scored 26 points on 7-for-16 shooting, including a 5-for-8 mark from three. Though she didn't do much else and didn't get enough touches in the fourth quarter, Taurasi showed that she can continue to be a major scoring threat.
Kristi Toliver (G, Washington Mystics) – vs Indiana Fever (DK: $8,700, FD: $5,600)
Toliver shot a career-low 33.8 percent from three last season on 6.6 attempts per game, but her career mark still sits at 39.3 percent. With a match-up against the Fever, who allowed opponents to shoot a league best 39.1 percent from deep last year, expect Toliver to come out firing. She was 2-for-2 from deep in last week's preseason win over the Fever.
DeWanna Bonner (G, Phoenix Mercury) – @ Seattle Storm (DK: $3,900 FD: $3,000)
There was some uncertainty about Bonner after a year off, but she stepped right back into the game on Friday night against Dallas, playing 32 minutes and picking up a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Her shot looked a little rusty -- she was just 1-for-8 from long range -- but Bonner showed improvement from there in 2016 and Sunday's game against Seattle could be a spot for her to get the shot working right. Bonner is a great value play.
WNBA - DFS Forwards
Tina Charles (F, New York Liberty) – @ Chicago Sky (DK: $12,600, FD: $7,900)
One of the league's best players against one of the league's worst defensive teams. Charles was third in scoring last season at 19.7 per game. She's added a three point shot over the past two seasons, bringing another dimension to her game. Fourth in rebounding and coming off her second straight season leading the league in field goal attempts and third straight leading it in made field goals, Charles is always going to be a top daily fantasy option.
Nneka Ogwumike (F, Los Angeles Sparks) – @ Minnesota Lynx (DK: $11,600, FD: $7,700)
Of all the players listed for today, Ogwumike has the worst match-up: the league's best defensive team last season, the Minnesota Lynx. But Ogwumike finshed in the top 10 last season in points per game, rebounds per game, and steals per game. She recorded a pair of double-double against the Lynx in last year's playoff series and had multiple steals in seven of her eight playoff games. She's a solid contributor, even in a bad spot.
Elena Delle Donne (F, Washington Mystics) – vs Indiana Fever (DK: $11,300, FD: $7,800)
The Indiana Fever had the WNBA's worst defensive rating last year while allowing opponents to score the third most points per game. This year, they brought back a team that has a lot of the same faces plus three rookies and former Las Vegas center Kayla Alexander. All of that led to...well, it led to them giving up 82 points in Saturday's loss to Chicago despite Chicago, who led the league by making 37.5 percent of their three points last season, hitting just 33.3 percent on 15 attempts. Translation: it could have been worse. Enter Elena Delle Donne, who was 10th in the league in three point field goal percentage last year while also finishing fourth in points per game and ninth in blocks per game. (Oh, she also shot 95.3 percent from the free throw line, a career-high.) The Mystics shot more threes than anyone last season and will look to take advantage of a Fever defense that doesn't look like it's improved much.
Elizabeth Williams (F, Atlanta Dream) – @ Dallas Wings (DK: $8,800, FD: $5,900)
A cheaper option -- especially in FanDuel -- who averaged 10.4 points and 7.2 rebounds last season as she made her first All-Star appearance despite a slight dip in her numbers. If her averages look a little more like they did in 2016, when she scored 11.9 points and grabbed 8.1 boards, then Williams could be in line for a big year. Her 2018 campaign begins against the Wings, who allowed the fourth most rebounds last season and were the only team that allowed opponents to shoot over 50 percent from two point range.
A'ja Wilson (F, Las Vegas Aces) – @ Connecticut Sun (DK: $5,200, FD: $4,800)
I don't love the match-up -- Connecticut had the fourth best defensive rating last season, though the 81.6 points per game they allowed ranked them just seventh in that category -- but Wilson's WNBA debut is an exciting moment and she's fairly inexpensive for anyone willing to take the risk. Wilson doesn't have much of a long range shooting game, but she has the potential to be an elite post player. She averaged 3.2 blocks per game last season for South Carolina and should have an instant impact for a team that ranked near the bottom of the league in blocks, rebounds, and two point field goal percentage.
