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Y'all, I don't want to write this article today. New York Liberty rookie Sabrina Ionescu is going to miss about a month with an ankle sprain, and it was hard enough to watch yesterday's three games after that announcement. Now, I have to watch -- and write about -- the New York Liberty (and the five other teams playing) today? It sucks so much to see exciting young players get injured.
In this article, I'll be providing you with some daily fantasy WNBA lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 8/2/20. 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
WNBA - DFS Guards
Arike Ogunbowale (G, Dallas Wings) – vs Las Vegas Aces (DK: $10,100, FD: $6,500)
I don't love this guard slate, especially with Sabrina Ionescu (ankle) not playing on it anymore, but I think Ogunbowale has the most upside of the top options at the position.
So far, Arike in 2020 isn't quite the Arike that she was as a rookie, but the volume is still there, even if her shooting has had some slumps in it, like her 1-for-10 night from deep against Indiana.
But here comes Vegas. On Friday, they let Phoenix go off for 102 points against them, which included 22 point performances from both Diana Taurasi and Skylar Diggins-Smith, as well as a 15 points off the bench from Bria Hartley. Vegas is susceptible to guards, and Ogunbowale is one of the top scoring guards in the league.
Skylar Diggins-Smith/Bria Hartley (G, Phoenix Mercury) – vs New York Liberty (DK: $8,400/$8,200, FD: $6,100/$5,900)
Speaking of Mercury guards, you can make a good argument for any of them against New York on Sunday.
New York has the fourth-worst defensive rating in the WNBA and the fourth-worst scoring defense. With Sabrina Ionescu's injury and Kia Nurse's status up in the air, they'll be playing a shortened, inexperienced rotation. And while they've got some good shot blockers to work on the inside and try to slow down Brittney Griner, their perimeter defense is going to be fairly suspect. There's defensive talent here, but it's still pretty raw.
Diggins-Smith and Hartley are close enough in pricing and fantasy upside for me to include both here. Diggins-Smith is the safer option, the star player who's in the starting unit and should get plenty of usage. Hartley is the slightly cheaper, less safe option who has been tearing it up against second units and gets to face her former team. Depending on what you value, either option intrigues me.
Jazmine Jones (G, New York Liberty) – vs Phoenix Mercury (DK: $6,300, FD: $3,700)
Value!
With Ionescu out, someone has to step up for New York, and on Friday that someone was rookie Jazmine Jones.
Jones played 21 minutes, scoring 20 points on 6-for-10 shooting and adding a rebound, assist, two steals, and two blocks. And in a game where New York really struggled, she was a plus-four.
Jones isn't a point guard, but she has some ball-handling capabilities, which means she'll probably be asked to play some point guard when Layshia Clarendon is off the floor. A talented shooter who'll have the ball in her hands and is facing the worst scoring defense in the league? Yeah, I'm rolling the dice on her.
WNBA - DFS Forwards
Elizabeth Williams (F, Atlanta Dream) – vs Indiana Fever (DK: $9,600 FD: $7,200)
Despite having Teaira McCowan on their team, the Indiana Fever are allowing the most points in the paint per game in the WNBA this season.
Atlanta's Elizabeth Williams is shooting 69.6 percent from inside of eight feet so far this season, so this seems like a pretty ideal matchup, right?
Williams has been pretty consistent all year, scoring 17, 16, and 15 points. She got to the foul line consistently against New York and has upside as a rebounder and shot blocker as well.
Teaira McCowan (F, Indiana Fever) – vs Atlanta Dream (DK: $8,300, FD: $5,500)
This argument is simple and it has nothing to do with Atlanta, really: Natalie Achonwa isn't playing on Sunday, which means Teaira McCowan will very likely return to the starting five.
McCowan ended 2019 on a wildly productive run, consistently putting up 20 and 10 nights, but has been relegated to a reserve role this year. But even in that role, she's shone at times, including a 20-point, 13-rebound game against Phoenix.
If we assume that Achonwa's injury puts McCowan into the upper 20s or low 30s in minutes, I think we have to assume she can compile some really good numbers, and that she'll outplay her DFS pricing.
Kayla Thornton (F, Dallas Wings) – vs Las Vegas Aces (DK: $5,700, FD: $5,000)
Satou Sabally is the third-highest priced forward on DraftKings and eighth on FanDuel. On one of those, the value still feels like it's screaming "play her!" and on the other it's screaming "maybe look for a different option!"
That different option might be Sabally's Dallas Wings teammate, Kayla Thornton.
Thornton played a season-high 28 minutes on Friday, scoring 11 points to go along with nine rebounds and a steal. She was essentially the center in a small-ball lineup that Dallas used a LOT, which featured Thornton, Sabally, Bella Alair, Arike Ogunbowale, and Tyasha Harris.
That lineup has played eight minutes now. It has an offensive rating of 160 and a defensive rating of 60. It is THE top five-player grouping by net rating of all lineups to play at least eight minutes.
That's a terribly small sample, but it's big enough to suggest one thing: that the Wings are going to go with this versatile, positionless lineup more, which is going to put Thornton on the floor more and get her in a good position for some easy buckets and boards.
