WNBA DFS Lineup Advice – 9/2/2018 (Fanduel and DraftKings)
By EJ Whelan
Welcome to the Sunday edition of WNBA DFS Lineup Advice, a fantasy basketball column dedicated to finding you the best key players and value picks on today’s slate to build your lineups around.
It is Game 4 of the semi-finals round of the WNBA Playoffs and the Mercury and Mystics find themselves on the ropes today, down 2-1 in their series. Injuries impacted both teams last game, but the Mercury still managed to crush the Storm by twenty points, 86-66, and save their season. The action starts at 3 pm ET today. So let’s jump into the slate, find some key players and value picks to build our lineups around, and go win some money!!!!
For those of you stopping by for the first time, I would like to thank you for checking out WNBA DFS Lineup Advice here at FantasyCPR.com Here is a brief summary of what I cover in each article:
- Where to Play (Websites, contest rules, and prizes)
- Game Times, O/U, Spreads from Oddshark.com
- Key players from each game (Over 6K on Fanduel,10K on DraftKings)
- Value picks from each game (Under 4.5-K on Fanduel, 6k on DraftKings)
- Team stats from WNBA.com
- Player projections from LineStarApp.com
- Final Thoughts on the slate. (Stacks, fades, injuries, etc.)
It’s important to remember these articles are just a first look at the slate. For injury updates, starting lineups, pictures of my dog, and any other WNBA DFS news throughout the day – follow me on Twitter @whelan_ej
WNBA DFS – WHERE TO PLAY
Fanduel – $4 entry fee (150 max) 7,440 total entries 1st place prize – $5,000
DraftKings – $10 entry fee (88 max) 2,941 total entries 1st place prize – $5,000
Elena Delle Donne missed Game 3 due to a bruised left knee. The Mystics are down 2-1 in the series and need a win tonight to stay alive. Latoya Sanders and Aerial Powers had good games in the paint with EDD out, and Ariel Atkins did her thing in the backcourt, but it wasn’t enough to get the win at home. If Elena misses again it will open up plenty of value. It is the first game on the slate so we should have word on her status before lineups lock on Fanduel.
3 pm ET Atlanta Dream #2 vs. Washington Mystics #3 160 O/U WAS -3
Key Players:
Elena Delle Donne – Her status is still up in the air for now. If she plays I don’t think she will much of an impact on the game if her knee is still hindering her mobility on the court. Rebounds, blocks and other stats will be hard to come by and should have to shoot lights out to return value. I hope that the Mystics can win this game without her and we see her return for Game 5, in which case I will have some exposure to her.
Latoya Sanders – I doubted Sanders last game and went with Stewie instead. Latoya repaid me for my insolence by putting up 6 blocks, and around 40 fantasy points on both sites. LineStar has her projected to score 32.92 fantasy points on Fanduel. That feels a little low to me. She’s averaging 4.3 blocks a game against Atlanta in the series. That said, even with EDD off the court in Game 3 she still struggled to hit GPP value. She’s not a lock by any means, but I will have some exposure to her today.
Tiffany Hayes – Hayes finally had the big game that DFS players and the Dream have been waiting for. She scored 23 points, had 11 rebounds, and put 47.75 fantasy points on DraftKings. LineStar has her projected to score 30.24 fantasy points on DraftKings. She’s averaging 35.5 fantasy points on DK in this series and has been on fire the last few games. I will def have some exposure to her today. Alex Bentley has played big minutes off the bench but doesn’t do much to fill up the stat sheet -aside from dropping buckets.
Jessica Breland – She is averaging 4 blocks and 11.3 rebounds against the Mystics in the playoffs, but only scored 25 points across three games. Don’t expect Breland to light up the scoreboard, but she gets enough done on defense to make her a viable DFS option. LineStar has her projected to score 33.34 points on Fanduel. You can pair her up with a player from Atlanta who likes to shoot the ball. Hayes, Williams, or Bentley are all decent options to stack with Breland. I’m still waiting for Renee Montgomery to show up in the postseason, but she has burned me the last few games and I doubt I will be going back to her tonight.
Value Picks: Aerial Powers (FD & DK) * if EDD misses, Tianna Hawkins (FD & DK)
Tierra Ruffin-Pratt (FD & DK)
Stephanie Talbot missed Game 3 after being put into concussion protocol. That opened up the way for Yvonne Turner who had 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. For Fanduel DFS players, throwing Turner in your lineups tonight does carry some risk, but for $3600 dollars you won’t find another punt at guard with her kind of upside.
5 pm ET Seattle Storm #1 vs. Phoenix Mercury #5 171 O/U PHO – 3
Key Players:
Diana Taurasi – Let’s get Taurasi out of the way first. Eight points? Really? If it wasn’t for those three blocks she had last game it would have been a very bad night for anyone who rostered her. With Turner all turnt up and the Mercury cruising to an easy victory, Dianna didn’t have to do much in Game 3. LineStar has her projected to score 37.31 fantasy points on Fanduel. She’s a little pricey on DK but I will have some exposure to her on Fanduel. I expect her to bounce back tonight in a must-win game for the Mercury.
DeWanna Bonner – She had another 50 point fantasy performance in Game 3 double-doubling once again and scoring 27 points. LineStar has her projected to score 47.21 fantasy points on DraftKings. She’s the most expensive player on the slate there, but she has justified her price tag with plenty of production on the court. She’s under 8K on FD and is one of my favorite plays on the board there.
Brittney Griner – Griner has double-doubled in the last two games against the Storm and is taking plenty of shots from the floor. She’s not gonna hit any three-pointers, and she hasn’t been to the foul line much against Seattle but she’s doing enough on both sides of the court to make it into the player pool today. That said, she’s the most expensive player on Fanduel and there are plenty of other studs to consider. LineStar has her projected to score 39.63 points on Fanduel today.
Breanna Stewart – The Mercury managed to keep Stewie somewhat contained in Game 3, holding her to 15 points. She did pull down 11 boards but wasn’t able to return value without her shot falling. She was 7-23 from the field, and 1-8 from beyond the arc. LineStar has her projected to score 38.91 points on Fanduel today. She’s under 8K again on FD, and I expect her to bounce back tonight. I will have a good amount of exposure to Stewie tonight. Natasha Howard stepped up last game and makes a decent option to pivot down to in the paint for the Storm. That said, I would rather pay up a little for Breland or Sanders on FD if I’m going for a mid-tier option.
Sue Bird – Bird played 29 minutes last game and scored 0 points. Zip, zero, zilch. She had 11 dimes but didn’t have much impact on the game besides that. Jewell Loyd didn’t do much better scoring only 2 points during 30 minutes on the floor. Bird is projected to score 27.74 points on DraftKings. She’s been taking a decent amount of shot attempts in the series, and I expect her to keep firing away this game. If she can find the bottom of the net, and dish out some dimes, as usual, she should be able to hit value tonight.
Value Picks: Yvonne Turner (FD & DK), Crystal Langhorne (FD & DK), Jordin Canada (FD & DK)
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Final Thoughts
- With injuries impacting the slate yesterday, the spreadsheet info from the first two games was rendered obsolete. I will be posting numbers from Game 3. If EDD misses, go with the stats from Game 3. If she plays, only take the first two games into consideration. The same applies to Talbot.
- Bonner seems like the safest play from the late game, despite what the starting five for Pheonix ends up being. On Fanduel I will be pulling the majority of my lineups from the first game on the slate, where injury news could open up some value before lock.
- If I am placing side bets today I like the Dream against the spread if EDD misses, Phoenix to cover the spread, and both scores to go over the point total.
- Either Taurasi, Bird, or Loyd is gonna bounce back today. The chances of all three of them having bad games again seems pretty slim. I’m putting my money on DT but I like Bird’s chances too.
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