RADIO
The first day of the 2020 WNBA season is behind us. Breanna Stewart returned and looked as good as ever. Sabrina Ionescu had an up-and-down debut. Brittney Sykes blocked Brittney Griner even though Griner is a full foot taller. The Washington Mystics just destroyed the Indiana Fever, (maybe?) proving that they won't miss Elena Delle Donne that much. Wild stuff!
In this article, I'll be providing you with some daily fantasy WNBA lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 7/26/20. 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
Arike Ogunbowale (G, Dallas Wings) – vs Atlanta Dream (DK: $11,500, FD: $7,400)
If Saturday's slate was the day of the expensive forwards, Sunday is the day for the guards, with some of the higher priced options being strong plays.
Let's highlight one of them with second-year guard Arike Ogunbowale.
Ogunbowale finished last season with averages of 19.1 points, 3.2 assists, and 2.4 rebounds per game on 35.2 percent shooting. She did that while playing out of position as Dallas's point guard.
Now, she gets to move to a position she's more comfortable with as a two-guard, and that should help with Ogunbowale's efficiency, which in turns will help her score more, which will then help her be an even stronger DFS play. See how that works?
Chennedy Carter (G, Atlanta Dream) – vs Dallas Wings (DK: $6,000, FD: $5,000)
COVID-19 has impacted the Dream more than most teams. As of right now, three players -- Courtney Williams, Glory Johnson, and Kalani Brown -- won't be playing on Sunday for reasons related to the illness.
That leaves Atlanta really shallow and really in need of offense. Enter rookie Chennedy Carter.
Carter's got some Arike in her in that she's a combo guard with a flair for hitting big shots in college, but Carter's more of a point guard. She's also coming off a collegiate season at Texas A&M where her shooting was...not great, as she converted only around 25 percent of her three-pointers.
But on a short-handed Dream squad, Carter's going to come out firing, giving her a great shot at putting up a huge stat line in her debut game.
Shenise Johnson (G, Minnesota Lynx) – vs Connecticut Sun (DK: $5,700, FD: $4,000)
I especially like Johnson's value on FanDuel, where she's priced under a whole lot of players who won't have the same size role that Johnson will have.
Johnson's expected to be the starting shooting guard for the Lynx for now.
Johnson struggled with Indiana last season, averaging 4.9 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. But in 2017, the last time she was essentially a full-time starter, Johnson did much better than that, averaging 11.3 points on 43.3 percent shooting. I love her as a low-priced option to help fill out a star-studded fantasy lineup.
Additional Notes: Obviously, top players like Courtney Vandersloot and DeWanna Bonner -- who should really count as a forward, even though both sites have her as a guard -- are strong top-end plays. Vandersloot's passing ability in particular makes her an appealing option. DO NOT PLAY ALEX BENTLEY, who is still listed on both sites despite being released by the Aces. Do consider Jackie Young, especially on DraftKings ($5,300), as the Aces backcourt depth is a big question mark. And for a deep deep sleeper on each platform, maybe think about Karima Christmas-Kelly ($4,500) on DraftKings -- she should have a pretty big role for the Lynx -- and...oh, also think about her on FanDuel, where she's the cheapest guard on the whole slate at $3,000.
WNBA - DFS Forwards
Dearica Hamby (F, Las Vegas Aces) – vs Chicago Sky (DK: $9,200 FD: $5,500)
I'm sorry, FanDuel has Hamby priced at $5,500???
A few things about Hamby: First, with Liz Cambage sitting out, there's going to be more opportunities to go around for last year's Sixth Woman of the Year. Second, A'ja Wilson appeared in a boot earlier in the week, so I'm not sure if she'll be at 100 percent if she plays on Sunday, opening up even more chances for Hamby.
2020 should be a big year for the sixth-year pro. She's one of the few outside shooting threats on this team since Kelsey Plum is missing the season, and Hamby's going to be relied on to do a lot this year. She already put up 11 points and 7.6 boards per game last year, but both of those numbers could rise in 2020. And in the opener with those aforementioned Wilson questions, Hamby's a great call.
Angel McCoughtry (F, Las Vegas Aces) – vs Chicago Sky (DK: $5,000, FD: $6,400)
This is the beginning of the "what is DraftKings doing, look at this value" section of today's article.
McCoughtry didn't play last year, but she's a five-time All Star and has made the All-Defensive Team seven times. She's led the league in made field goals before. She's led the league in steals three times.
And she's also going to be a very important piece for the Aces, especially without Kelsey Plum. McCoughtry won't help the team's lack of three-point shooting, but she'll spend a lot of time as a focal point of this offense and with the ball in her hands. Maybe she'll wind up being too misfit in Vegas to have the impact that she might have if this was still peak McCoughtry, but at her current DFS price, it's worth the gamble that she resembles the mid-2010s version of herself.
Satou Sabally (F, Dallas Wings) – vs Atlanta Dream (DK: $4,100, FD: $5,100)
Satou Sabally is $4,100 on DraftKings. She's almost one of the cheapest plays on the site. We're talking about the No. 2 overall pick, someone who projects to be an elite three-and-D player at some point in her career, making her first career start against a Dream team that's likely going to struggle defensively.
I get being worried about how she adjusts to the W, but at this price, you have have have to play her on DraftKings. We know that she'll be starting. We know that she can knock down open shots, and that the Dream defense focusing on Ogunbowale might help open things up for the team's shooters. And we know that Atlanta's going to be going with a short rotation, which will only exacerbate defensive issues for the Dream. Everything's fitting together pretty well for Sabally to make a strong statement in her WNBA debut.
Additional Notes: The top end forwards are fine, but not as exciting as the top end guards, except for Sylvia Fowles on FanDuel, who at $6,500 is behind a Dallas Wings backup center in pricing. Astou Ndour (DK: $8,600, FD: $6,600) has some interesting pricing. Too high on FanDuel for my liking, but the projected starting center for Dallas could be an interesting DraftKings play. And as a big value player, Erica McCall is $3,600 on DraftKings and could get minutes on that depleted Dream team. On FanDuel, she is...not an option? That's weird!
