RADIO
Welcome back to another day of RotoBaller's WNBA DFS coverage! Thursday night was a big night, because it featured two big things: Kia Nurse finally notching her first 20-point game of the season and the Washington Mystics losing their sixth game in a row and essentially solidifying the "that 3-0 start was an illusion" line of thought. But now it's Friday, and six different teams are playing. Let's talk about them.
In this article, I'll be providing you with some daily fantasy WNBA lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 8/14/20. 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
WNBA - DFS Guards
Arike Ogunbowale (G, Dallas Wings) – vs Seattle Storm (DK: $9,900, FD: $7,400)
The Seattle Storm are very good. I don't want to have much exposure to Dallas Wings players in this game.
But the one I do want a lot of is Arike, because Arike's about to have a huge role.
The second-year guard is currently the league leader in shot attempts per game at 19.8. To put that in perspective, in league history only two other players have attempted at least 19 shots per game over a full season.
Ogunbowale is also going to be in a more ball-dominant role in this game, which could lead to an uptick in assists. Per the team, Moriah Jefferson is out with a knee injury and Tyasha Harris is questionable with a hand injury. Ogunbowale is going to be forced back into the point guard role, which ups her ceiling. Yes, Seattle's good defensively, but if the Wings wind up missing their top two point guards, Ogunbowale's ceiling exceeds any concerns about the matchup/
Courtney Williams (G, Atlanta Dream) – vs Phoenix Mercury (DK: $9,100, FD: $5,300)
Williams is a must play on FanDuel at her current price. With Chennedy Carter out and Atlanta facing a Mercury team that's improving but still in the bottom half of the league in defensive rating, I expect a strong game from Williams.
In her first full game with Carter sidelined, Williams scored just nine points. But she took 17 shots in that game against a great Storm team, and she added seven rebounds and three assists. If that game is indicative of Williams's volume, she's scoring more than nine points tonight.
Briann January (G, Connecticut Sun) – vs Chicago Sky (DK: $4,800, FD: $4,400)
There are better options than January on FanDuel based on her price -- I would trust guards like Shekinna Stricklen and, if she plays, Tyasha Harris -- more, but on DraftKings, January is one of the cheapest plays on this slate.
She played her first game of the season against Dallas. It didn't go so well, as she didn't score in 16 minutes of play, and added a rebound and three assists. But last year, January averaged 6.5 points and shot 37.8 percent from three in Phoenix while averaging 3.3 assists and 0.8 steals per game. Not great numbers, but workable ones at her DFS price.
Huge, huge risk, but she should see an increase in minutes and is a cheap punt option if you want to mostly build around the big names of this slate.
WNBA - DFS Forwards
Brittney Griner (F, Phoenix Mercury) – vs Atlanta Dream (DK: $11,300 FD: $7,700)
I know there have been moments this season where Griner didn't fully look invested, and she's coming off a poor game against Chicago in which she scored just nine points and tied her season-low inn rebounds with six.
But that was against Stefanie Dolson, who has a unique ability to get under Griner's skin. This game is against Atlanta, who allow the third-most points in the paint and, notably, aren't getting a Griner stopper back into their lineup just before the game.
Look, Griner is still averaging 17.3 points and 7.7 boards on the year. She's still one of the best passing bigs, averaging 2.9 assists per game. Don't let that one bad performance scare you off of playing her.
Brionna Jones (F, Connecticut Sun) – vs Chicago Sky (DK: $7,700, FD: $5,800)
Yes, Dolson has done a good job stopping Griner, but I'm not going to suddenly stop playing every big who faces the Sky.
Chicago still allows the fourth-most paint points in the league, and Jones had a streak of five consecutive games with double-digit points going before scoring eight against Dallas. She's a solid source of scoring, rebounds, and has the chance for a few assists to help things out, and with head coach Curt Miller usually using fairly short rotations, she should be in the game a lot, even if she's not a starter.
Natasha Howard* (F, Seattle Storm) – vs Dallas Wings (DK: $6,900, FD: $4,700)
Howard has been bad this year compared to what we expect from last year's Defensive Player of the Year. But things might be turning around.
Her scoring is still down, but she did get a season-high eight points against Atlanta, along with seven rebounds, an assist, a steal, and a block.
Dallas allows the second-most points in the paint.
There's an asterisk there because of my uncertainty with Howard. Either her or Ezi Magbegor is going to take advantage of this Wings interior defense. If the game becomes a blowout, Magbegor's the better bet. If it doesn't, I like Howard. This is a tough situation to judge, but I think if you pick the right Storm center to play on this slate, you'll be pretty happy. And if you pick the wrong one, you probably won't be.
