RADIO
Candace Parker appears to be back tonight!
I won't be racing out to play her in DFS, but she should give a big boost to a struggling Sky team as they take on the Fever. Meanwhile, Seattle faces Atlanta tonight as well.
In this article, I'll be providing you with some daily fantasy WNBA lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 6/9/21. 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 Game Breakdown: Storm @ Dream
When: 7:00 PM ET
Watch: WNBA League Pass
Injuries: Seattle: OUT: Mikiah Herbert Harrigan
Atlanta: OUT: Chennedy Carter
Players of Interest: Let's start with the obvious.
Yes, you should play Breanna Stewart. Yes, you should play Jewell Loyd. Atlanta isn't a team that slows that pairing down. They're the top two plays on this slate.
There's other value for Seattle, though. Sue Bird has been on a roll lately, looking like vintage Sue Bird with her strong three-point shooting and her assists. She's a solid play, as is Stephanie Talbot, who has been hit or miss but has played well in some of the higher-scoring Seattle games.
In the frontcourt, Mercedes Russell has been providing some really solid minutes for this team She didn't even score against Dallas, but still managed to salvage her fantasy line with four rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and three steals. If you play a Storm forward other than Stewie, I think it needs to be Russell.
For Atlanta, the continued absence of Chennedy Carter has cleared some things up in the backcourt. On Sunday, Tiffany Hayes was the team's leading scorer, something that wouldn't be a surprise to keep seeing, and Courtney Williams provided solid scoring, rebounding, and assisting. And with Odyssey Sims struggling right now, we're seeing more and more of Aari McDonald, who had 15 points in that game. McDonald's price is rising, but she's still cheap enough to be a strong value option. I like all three, though Seattle does have some defensive weapons at guard. Crystal Bradford is also in play, though I'm not sure she takes 12 shots again like she did against the Lynx. Still, she can get hot from three and get you 20-ish fantasy points.
At forward, the Dream are...meh. Elizabeth Williams and Tianna Hawkins have been starting, but neither are producing consistently, so I'm not looking to roster them. The one player I do like on this slate is Cheyenne Parker, who has played just two games this year but started to look like her old self Sunday, with 12 points, three rebounds, a block, and a steal. Her role is going to keep growing, and I wouldn't be shocked to see her start tonight and play 25-plus minutes.
WNBA DFS Game Breakdown: Fever @ Sky
When: 8:00 PM ET
Watch: CBS Sports Network
Injuries: Indiana: OUT: Bernadett Hatar, Aaliyah Wilson, QUES: Jessica Breland, Tiffany Mitchell
Chicago: OUT: Astou Ndour-Fall, PROB: Candace Parker, Natasha Mack
Players of Interest: Both of these teams have really bad records, but the return of Candace Parker should mean Chicago is the better team here.
Not that I'm going to roster Parker at all tonight. She's just far too expensive for a player coming off an ankle injury and I don't really expect to see a full workload from her.
Her return does scare me off of the Sky frontcourt a little because we just don't know what it'll look like, but Astou Ndour-Fall has departed for EuroBasket, so that clears things up a little. I don't mind play Azura Stevens in hopes that a limited Parker and no Ndour means a larger workload than usual for Stevens, who has been consistent but hasn't it the highs we've all expected.
I won't let Parker scare me off Courtney Vandersloot yet, though Vandersloot did struggle to record assists in the game she played with Parker. The offense probably keeps running through her for now, and Parker's return doesn't impact her scoring too much since she isn't posting big scoring numbers. I also think Kahleah Copper remains a strong play on this team.
On the Indiana side, we should see a fast-paced game that plays to Indiana's duo of Kelsey Mitchell and Danielle Robinson in the backcourt. Mitchell's lack of efficiency this year is frustrating, as she hasn't shot over 40 percent in any of the last five games, but she's been firing up a lot of threes and is poised for an explosive game. This could also be a game where Victoria Vivians thrives as a sleeper pick, as she's also been taking a lot of shots (and struggling to make them).
I'm actually not sure this is a great matchup for Teaira McCowan, which is why I won't play much of her. I'd rather pivot to Fever forward Jantel Lavender, who is coming off a game where she played 28 minutes, scoring 10 points and adding six rebounds, two assists, and a block.
