WNBA DFS Lineup Advice – 9/7/2018 (Fanduel and DraftKings)
By EJ Whelan
Welcome to the Friday 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.
The WNBA Finals are finally here and we should be in for a great series. The action starts tonight at 9pm ET. We have some tough choices to make and scoring will be tight. So without further ado, let’s jump into the slate, find the best MVP, STAR, and PRO picks, and also some good utility plays to round out our lineups on Fanduel. For DraftKings it’s all about the MVP spot, and there are really only one or two options I am considerding. Keep reading to find out who it is, and good luck to everybody playing WNBA DFS tonight!
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) 5,952 total entries 1st place prize – $2,000
DraftKings – $10 entry fee (70 max) 2,352 total entries 1st place prize – $5,000
Elena Delle Donne won a gold medal with Team USA in the 2016 Summer Olympics. Now she gets a chance at winning her first WNBA Championship Title after the Mystics beat the Atlanta Dream 86-81 in Game 5 of the semi-finals. The Storm are a tough team to beat at home though, who are now 16-4 at KeyArena including their 3 playoff wins against Phoenix.
8 pm ET Washington Mystics #3 vs. Seattle Storm #1 170 O/U SEA -4.5
MVP:
Elena Delle Donne – Even with a bruised knee Delle Donne was able to lead the Mystics to victory over the Atlanta Dream, double-doubling in both Game 4 and Game 5 after injuring herself late in Game 3 driving to the basket. LineStar has her projected to score 41.70 points on Fanduel. She’s cheaper there than on DK, and that $500 can go a long way on short slate like this.
Breanna Stewart – Stewie scored an average of 24 points per game in the series against the Mercury and got things done on the other side of the court too with 7 blocks and 5 steals across five games. LineStar has her projected to score 37.17 points on Fanduel. If you want to squeeze both studs in at the top I would play EDD at MVP and Stewie at Star on Fanduel. If you throw some cheap punts in your utility spot will you still have enough cash to grab someone around 8k to put in the Pro spot. I don’t mind sticking Stewie in the MVP spot on DK over EDD and saving a little bit of salary space.
STAR:
Natasha Howard – Howard has the ability to fill up the stat sheet on the defensive side of the ball with blocks, steals, and rebounds. She also put big numbers up on the scoreboard and has a good amount of upside for her price. LineStar has her projected to score 27.02 points on Fanduel. She has had a couple of bad fantasy games against Washington this year though and does carry some risk based off prior performances. That said I still want some exposure to her in my lineups.
Latoya Sanders – She has played well against Seattle this year including putting up over 40 fantasy points the last time these two teams met. LineStar has her projected to score 30.91 points on Fanduel. Her minutes have been up during the postseason and she’s shown some upside at times. She’s been a better cash play this year, but I will still have some exposure to her in my GPP lineups tonight.
Sue Bird – Sue saved the day on Tuesday, scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter. She is also averaging almost 7 assists per game this postseason and doesn’t seem to be bothered much by the mask she is now wearing after breaking her nose in Game 4 of the Semi-Finals. She’s been a little better from behind the arc at home throughout the playoffs, and she tends to play a few more minutes per game at KeyArena. She is one of my favorite plays on the slate from the mid-range on Fanduel but on DK I don’t mind pivoting down to one the guards from the Mystics and saving a few thousand dollars.
PRO:
Natasha Cloud – Cloud usually doesn’t score a ton of points or get a lot of boards, but she gets enough done across the stat sheet to return now and again. Her minutes tend to fluctuate a bit though, and she may have a hard time in this matchup picking up some peripheral stats she usually counts on for her fantasy production. LineStar has her projected to score 23.58 points on DraftKings.
Ariel Atkins – Atkins is a bit of a wildcard for fantasy but she has shown some consistency over the last games. She’s taking more shots, she’s grabbing rebounds and she likes to fire away from three-point land. She seems to lack the kind of upside though that we see from other players in her price range, especially on Fanduel. LineStar has her projected to score 24.30 points on DraftKings, where I feel better about rostering her at.
Jewell Loyd – I am still waiting for Loyd to snap out of the slump she has found herself in after a decent performance in Game 1 of the series against Phoenix. Since then she has scored 32 points over the course of four games, averaging 8 points a game. She hasn’t been much of a factor on defense either with a def rating of 103.1 this postseason. LineStar has her projected to score 25.14 points on Fanduel.
Clark game up big for the Storm in Game 5 against the Mercury, putting up 13 points and pulling down 13 boards. My plan for Tuesday was to stick to as many starters as possible, but if you want a piece of the top studs on the slate your going to have to find some bargains from the bench. I wouldn’t count on getting too much production from the pine in this game though, so if your playing 2nd or 3rd stringers, make sure they are CHEAP.
UTILITY SPOT:
Alysha Clark – Clark is the only player between 5k and 7k that I have much interest in tonight, at least on Fanduel that is. Canada and Langhorne are too expensive on FD, Powers is too risky. That said I would rather pay up a little for Cloud, who is more involved in the offensive game plan on the other side of the ball. Clark is a little pricey on DK and I won’t have any exposure to her there. There are cheaper punts on the board on DK and guards I would rather pay up a little for.
Tianna Hawkins – Hawkins is another risky play tonight but for 4k on Fanduel and $4,200 on DraftKings she gives you plenty of wiggle room to roster some studs. Washington’s rotation up front has been a bit sporadic lately but Hawkins has seen the most consistent playing time off the bench compared to the bunch.
Tierra Ruffin-Pratt – Pratt is dirt cheap on DraftKings and only $4500 on Fanduel. Clark will play a ton of minutes on the other side of the ball so Washington should still be able to run a small lineup for most of the game giving Ruffin-Pratt a decent chance at getting a good run off the bench. She could play up to 18 minutes tonight, or she could see eight, depending on the game flow. She is risky but for $1,800 on DK you don’t need too much from her.
Final Thoughts
- If you are placing side bets tonight I would bet on the over for this game and for Seattle to cover the spread.
- Stewie is my MVP pick for DraftKings. You can play her in the MVP spot on Fanduel too, but if you want to roster EDD you will be taking some risk with your utility spots. If Steward or EDD put up around 45 fantasy points more than the field, you get nice point bump for sticking them in the MVP spot. However, that might not be a wide enough margin to win if your punts flop and more balanced lineup gets the edge on you.
- The prices on DK allow for more of a stars and scrubs lineup. Don’t get too cute on Fanduel.
- Fanduel fades: Jordin Canada, Aerial Powers, Jewell Loyd, Kristi Toliver
- As of now there are no injuries to report. Good luck tonight everybody!
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