RADIO
It's Monday, which means a day off from the WNBA. Or, it usually would mean that, but today it actually means we get real, live WNBA games. On a Monday! Like we have every day this season, there are three games on the schedule, headlined by a potential playoff preview with Seattle facing Chicago. That'll be a fun one.
In this article, I'll be providing you with some daily fantasy WNBA lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 8/10/20. 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 Phoenix Mercury (DK: $9,900, FD: $7,000)
Ogunbowale got off to a bit of a shaky part this year, shooting under 40 percent in two her first three games. But she seems to have found her footing, shooting 43.8 percent or better in the four games since, including a pair of games where she shot 50 percent despite her high usage.
Arike's three still seems to be missing, but she's been able to work the ball inside and score, and her assist numbers are also up over the past few games. Phoenix has essentially a league average defense by defensive rating, but they're also missing a lot of backcourt pieces in this one, which should help Dallas out with their perimeter offense.
Betnijah Laney (G, Atlanta Dream) – vs Connecticut Sun (DK: $7,500, FD: $5,300)
I've been hesitant to talk about Laney this year because I was convinced her hot start wouldn't keep up, but I think it's time to admit I was wrong about that.
Laney -- who has to be a frontrunner for Most Improved Player at this point -- is averaging 17.6 points on 49.4 percent shooting, plus adding 4.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.1 steals per game.
Her volume -- at least nine shots in every game -- feels safe at this point, and she's attempted 14 threes in the past two games. Connecticut's done a good job limiting damage from threes here, but based on what we've seen of Laney's ceiling, she's currently being undervalued on DFS platforms. Ride the hot hand.
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough (G, Phoenix Mercury) – vs Dallas Wings (DK: $5,200, FD: $3,900)
Upside play! It looks like Phoenix will be without both Diana Taurasi and Bria Hartley in this one. This isn't the deepest team in the world, so Walker-Kimbrough likely winds up playing a ton of minutes.
Dallas has the fourth-worst defensive rating in the league. Walker-Kimbrough might not be able to take advantage of that -- she played 17 minutes last game and didn't score -- but she also might be able to take advantage of it, as she played 24 minutes the game before and scored 17 points and added four boards, two assists, and a steal.
SWK is a risky play, but at her price point and with her projected minutes, she's also potentially a really solid value.
WNBA - DFS Forwards
Brittney Griner (F, Phoenix Mercury) – vs Dallas Wings (DK: $10,800 FD: $7,000)
The Dallas Wings allow the second-most points in the paint in the league.
Two of Phoenix's best offensive weapons are out or expected to be out today.
Enter: Brittney Griner.
Yes, I know Griner hasn't been her dominant self this year, but she's still averaging 17.9 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, along with 2.6 assists and 1.9 blocks. Those are good numbers!
And the numbers have been getting better lately -- consecutive 20-point games with eight boards in each, and four blocks against Seattle. Monday's going to be a big one for Griner. It's going to happen.
Elizabeth Williams (F, Atlanta Dream) – vs Connecticut Sun (DK: $8,500, FD: $6,300)
Connecticut's interior defense hasn't been great. They allow the third-most points in the paint, and they're preparing to face Atlanta, whose center, Elizabeth Williams, is tied for second in the league in shots per game from the restricted area.
Williams is shooting 66.7 percent on 4.3 restricted area shots per game, and she's also shooting 59.3 percent on 3.9 non-restricted area paint shots. Her game this year has been very close to the basket, something that Connecticut has struggled to contain.
Glory Johnson (F, Atlanta Dream) – vs Connecticut Sun (DK: $6,200, FD: $4,500)
Let's stick with the Dream for our final player.
Monique Billings opened the year with a 30-point game, but her numbers have been trending down. Meanwhile, Glory Johnson, who missed the beginning of the season due to COVID-19 has been an increase in her minutes lately.
It's starting to become clear (to me, at least) that Atlanta will have more success if they get Glory some more minutes over Billings. She's added some shooting to the team -- 3-for-6 from deep in the past two games -- while also grabbing seven boards in back-to-back contests. She's coming off a three-block game as well.
Glory's going to get more minutes. She's playing too well to keep playing fewer than 20 minutes per night. This is a good matchup against Connecticut, who've struggled in 2020, and Johnson's being priced pretty low still on both platforms. Like my SWK suggestion, there's risk here, but good players with low prices who are trending up are hard to find, so I'm down with taking a risk on Johnson in this one.
