RADIO
Monday didn't go so great for us here at RotoBaller when it comes to the WNBA. We invested too heavily in the Atlanta Dream, who got blown out by Connecticut after star rookie Chennedy Carter went down with an ankle injury. Speaking of which, THERE ARE TOO MANY ANKLES INJURIES IN THE WNBA THIS YEAR. Make the ankle injuries stop. Please.
In this article, I'll be providing you with some daily fantasy WNBA lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 8/11/20. 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
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WNBA - DFS Guards
Kelsey Mitchell (G, Indiana Fever) – vs Las Vegas Aces (DK: $9,300, FD: $5,800)
Ahh, another day of one of my least favorite guard slates of the season. Not having a day off this week meant we didn't get changes to the schedule, meaning today, Thursday, and Saturday will once again feature a collection of guards that I don't feel super confident with.
But if we're looking for one top name who we can feel good about, how about Kelsey Mitchell, whose offensive game has risen to MVP levels this year, even as her defense hasn't.
Mitchell is averaging 20.3 points and 3.1 assists per game. She's shooting 43.8 percent from deep on 6.9 attempts per game. The Aces are a good defensive team, but Mitchell just put up 29 on the Mystics (who, uhh, maybe actually aren't as good as we thought, but that's a whole other discussion for a different time).
Jackie Young (G, Las Vegas Aces) – vs Indiana Fever (DK: $6,900, FD: $4,700)
On the other side of this meeting, the Fever have the worst defensive rating in the WNBA, and former No. 1 overall pick Jackie Young is currently trending up in both minutes and performance. I like that combination.
In the past two games, Young has played 29 and 32 minutes. She had 15 points in both games, a season-high, and took double digit shots in each, the only two times that's happened this year. She's also been contributing good numbers on the boards and has seven assists over this two-game span.
Young's also been part of one of the league's best lineups:
I'm not saying the Aces will suddenly start this lineup -- Bill Laimbeer loves traditional centers too much to move Carolyn Swords out of the starting five -- but I do think we start to see more of Jackie Young, who could even wind up starting soon, and I like her a lot in Tuesday's matchup.
Kia Nurse (G, New York Liberty) – vs Los Angeles Sparks (DK: $6,500, FD: $4,700)
If we keep chasing the volume with Kia Nurse, we're going to get a big game.
Nurse has 10 or more shot attempts in four consecutive games, but has shot...poorly. Like, just see for yourself:
The efficiency has been terrible. The peripheral stats haven't really been there. These are clear facts.
But the Sparks are allowing the fifth-highest three-point field goal percentage in the league, and Nurse is going to take plenty of shots. Maybe at some point I stop chasing after a Nurse breakout, but when we consider that there aren't some of the high upside guards on this slate that were on the other slate this week, I think we'll chase after positive Kia Nurse regression just this one last time.
WNBA - DFS Forwards
Candace Parker (F, Los Angeles Sparks) – vs New York Liberty (DK: $11,400 FD: $7,300)
While the guards on this slate lack some of the pizzazz you might want, the forwards make up for it.
I like both of the top plays on DraftKings -- Parker and then $300 more expensive A'ja Wilson -- but am going with Parker because I think she brings a little more to the table outside of scoring.
Parker was one assist shy of a triple double against Minnesota. She's not going to have nine assists in this game, but she should have a double-double or the sixth game in a row. The veteran forward has really reestablished herself as the engine of this Sparks team. That engine should run smooth against a New York team that allows the fourth-most points and second-most rebounds per contest.
Sylvia Fowles (F, Minnesota Lynx) – vs Washington Mystics (DK: $9,700, FD: $7,500)
I don't necessarily think you need to risk Fowles on FanDuel, where she remains the second-most expensive forward.
But on DraftKings, Fowles -- who has missed two of the last three games -- is seventh in the pricing, a full $2,000 cheaper than Wilson. Fowles is averaging 37.9 DraftKings points this year, third-highest on this slate of forwards, and has tremendous upside due to her unnaturally good efficiency at the rim and her ability to grab rebounds. Washington doesn't really have a true rim-protecting center to offer much resistance to Fowles.
Now, if you do play Fowles, you want to be ready to go in and swap her out if she gets ruled out. Missing two of three games is concerning, but the upside if Fowles is active is too good to pass up.
Leaonna Odom (F, New York Liberty) – vs Los Angeles Sparks (DK: $4,800, FD: $4,000)
Cheap price here for Odom, who has started New York's last two games and was in the crunch time lineup against the Aces last time out.
Odom hasn't exploded as a scorer yet, topping out at 10 points against the Lynx, but her energy has allowed her to crash the offensive glass well, and her shooting stroke has looked pretty good when she's taken some threes.
I think at this price, Odom's upside is worth it, even if her floor is fairly low. You don't get starters for under 5K that often, and if the Sparks run away with this game, Odom is likely to still wind up playing the full game because New York wants their rookies to get plenty of run.
