RADIO
The 2021 WNBA season is finally here! If you're new to either playing WNBA DFS or new to watching the WNBA, you can check out my recent primer piece to help you get up to speed.
So, welcome to the 2021 season. My name is Justin Carter, and this is my third year covering the WNBA here at RotoBaller, and my fourth year overall covering the W. It's my favorite sports league to watch and talk about, so I'm excited to once again share my knowledge of the league with all of you! This is going to be a weird year for the league, because there are a good number of players who aren't in the country yet, and with required quarantine periods for players once they arrive, some teams will look very different early on. That makes it super important to stay on top of things, and I'll be doing my best to make sure you, dear readers, are up to date with all the happenings in the WNBA.
In this article, I'll be providing you with some daily fantasy WNBA lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 5/14/21. 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 Guards
Sabrina Ionescu (G, New York Liberty) – vs Indiana Fever (DK: $10,100, FD: $7,500)
Ionescu hasn't played a full game since July 29th, when she had 33 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists against Dallas. She went down two days later with an ankle sprain, ending her rookie season.
But she's back now, and while the Liberty have added some nice options around her to take some of the offensive load off, some of those pieces like Natasha Howard haven't arrived yet for the season. Ionescu should have the ball in her hands a lot in this one, and with a lack of size up front, she'll need to crash the boards. Should be a strong showing from Ionescu, assuming we don't hear that she's on a minutes limit or something.
Kelsey Mitchell (G, Indiana Fever) – @ New York Liberty (DK: $9,400, FD: $5,500)
With Julie Allemand sitting this year, Mitchell will likely be back to handling the lead ball-handler role. Factor in that she took a big leap as a scorer last year and you get a recipe for a fourth-year breakout. Mitchell finally shot over 40 percent from the floor last season and gets ready to face a Liberty team that made a lot of defensive improvement on paper, but won't have a lot of those players ready to go yet.
Kristi Toliver (G, Los Angeles Sparks) – vs Dallas Wings (DK: $6,800, FD: $6,200)
Toliver's FanDuel salary is a little high for me, but I love the value on DraftKings. Toliver represents the first player we're discussing today whose DFS salary is depressed because she didn't play in 2020. There's a lot of those players, many of whom are really, really good at basketball. I mean, Toliver in 2019 averaged 13 points and six assists per contest on a loaded Mystics team. Now, she's on a decidedly less loaded Sparks team. Don't be shocked to see her average 15 points per game this season, and this opening matchup against the Wings should be a good chance for her to get things started, as Dallas had the league's second-worst defensive rating last year.
Aari McDonald (G, Atlanta Dream) – vs Connecticut Sun (DK: $6,600, FD: $3,600)
If Toliver is my "why is she way cheaper on DK than FD" play of the day, rookie Aari McDonald is my "why is she way cheaper on FD than DK" play. McDonald was the breakout star of the NCAA Tournament but landed on a Dream squad with a lot of guard depth. I'm not paying $6,600 for her in her first game on DraftKings, but I do love the value on her at FanDuel. McDonald is an explosive player who can go on a hot streak at any time. She's a bit of a boom/bust play, but at $3,600, she makes roster construction super easy.
Shekinna Stricklen (G, Atlanta Dream) – vs Connecticut Sun (DK: $4,400, FD: $3,000)
First, Shekinna Stricklen should be counted as a forward! Let's stop this whole "she's a guard" thing, considering she plays a lot of four in Atlanta! With new acquisition Cheyenne Parker out Friday because of COVID-19, I expect we see Stricklen with a lot of minutes at both the three and four. She only averaged 6.1 points last year, though it's worth noting that in games she started, Stricklen averaged 7.5 points, plus shot 36 percent from deep. And last year was her worst season from three since 2012, so I expect some bounceback there.
Victoria Vivians (G, Indiana Fever) – @ New York Liberty (DK: $3,200, FD: $3,300)
Vivians' WNBA career has been marred by injury, but it sure sounds like the Fever expect her to see a lot of minutes this year. She was starting at the three during the preseason, and against Chicago scored 15 points. Back in 2018, Vivians was looking like a future star, as she shot 39.9 percent from three and in August averaged 10.3 points and 4.1 rebounds on 41.7 percent shooting. Like I said above about Mitchell, the Liberty aren't at full strength, so we could see a high-scoring game, and with Vivians being priced this cheap, you can make some really interesting lineups with her.
Erica Wheeler (G, Los Angeles Sparks) – vs Dallas Wings (DK: $3,200, FD: $5,200)
Last time Erica Wheeler played in the WNBA, she was an All-Star. When you see her priced at $3,200 on DraftKings, your initial thought might be "well, was that All-Star season in 2015 and she's been away forever?" But no, it was 2019. Wheeler was a 2019 All-Star who didn't play last season and changed teams, so I can understand questions about her role. But still, this is just an insanely cheap salary.
DiJonai Carrington (G, Connecticut Sun) – @ Atlanta Dream (DK: $3,000, FD: $3,100)
Looking for a rock bottom price? Try Sun rookie DiJonai Carrington. This Connecticut team doesn't have the league's best depth, which means Carrington could realistically see a lot of time as the third guard. This might be the riskiest play of all, but I just felt I needed to bring her up because getting someone at this price who could play 20 minutes in this first game could potentially be a huge steal. Of course, Sun head coach Curt Miller might want to work the rookie in slowly, so be aware of that.
WNBA - DFS Forwards
Teaira McCowan (F, Indiana Fever) – @ New York Liberty (DK: $9,100, FD: $5,200)
McCowan was a complete mess to play last year because the team just didn't seem to know what to do with her minutes. She only started 10 of her 22 games, and she actually had slightly better numbers when she was a reserve. She also played just 21 minutes per game.
But she's getting ready to face a Liberty frontcourt that is missing their center and their backup center and that's projected to have a starting frontcourt of Kylee Shook and Michaela Onyenwere:
This is a game where even in 20 minutes, McCowan can eat inside if the team just gives her the basketball. She'll also be all over the boards. The Liberty are going to struggle to stop her; the only thing that will stop her is the Fever coaching.
Sylvia Fowles (F, Minnesota Lynx) – vs Phoenix Mercury (DK: $7,900, FD: $7,600)
Now begins the "let's exploit DraftKings forward pricing" section of this article. Fowles should not be this cheap.
With Napheesa Collier out, a lot of what Minnesota is going to do in this game will run through the paint. Fowles was limited to seven games last year, but averaged 14.6 points and 9.7 rebounds on 60.9 percent shooting in those games. Is the matchup with Brittney Griner going to be a little tough? Sure, but a healthy Fowles is the best traditional five in the WNBA -- a walking double-double who has led the league in blocks three times.
Jonquel Jones (F, Connecticut Sun) – @ Atlanta Dream (DK: $7,000, FD: $8,100)
Jones is rightfully the highest-priced forward on FanDuel. On DraftKings, she's the 20th highest-priced forward.
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Yeah, I'm going heavier on her in my DK lineups than I've ever gone with a player in any sport.
Jones is one of the most versatile bigs in the W. When we last saw her, she was ripping up the postseason, averaging 17.9 points and 10.4 rebounds in eight games. She can score inside. She can score outside. She averaged two blocks per game in 2019, has been a very efficient player during her career, and is on a team that'll need her and teammate DeWanna Bonner to do a whole lot this year.
Kylee Shook (F, New York Liberty) – vs Indiana Fever (DK: $4,400, FD: $3,000)
Shook will start at the five on Friday and while the Liberty will likely bring Joyner Holmes in on a hardship to back her up, Shook should see a lot of minutes. She has the ability to be that stretch five type like Amanda Zahui B. was for this team last season. Obviously Shook is still fairly raw, but at this price, I'm betting on her getting a lot of minutes and accumulating some decent numbers, even though she only averaged 4.1 points and 2.8 boards last year while shooting just 17.6 percent from three.
Jasmine Walker (F, Los Angeles Sparks) – vs Dallas Wings (DK: $4,000, FD: $3,200)
I don't think any rookie saw their stock go up more this preseason than Jasmine Walker:
Do I think she goes 7-for-11 from three in her actual WNBA debut? Nah. But Walker seems pro ready and should get a lot of run at the three/four for a Sparks team whose biggest hole is that wing spot.
Aerial Powers (F, Minnesota Lynx) – vs Phoenix Mercury (DK: $3,200, FD: $5,400)
DraftKings, what are you doing?
Powers only played six games for the Mystics last year, but she averaged 16.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.5 steals while making 1.5 threes per game. In the long term, she won't do that in Minnesota as the fourth option on this team, but with Napheesa Collier and Kayla McBride both missing the opener, Powers is going to be their perimeter weapon to pair with the interior game of Sylvia Fowles. I'm expecting a really strong Lynx debut for her.
