RADIO
Welcome back to the WNBA! Eight teams opened the season on Friday. Now, the other four play on Saturday night.
Just as I have for the last couple of years, I'll be providing daily fantasy lineup picks for the WNBA this season here at RotoBaller. But because I also moved to a state with legalized sports betting earlier this year, I'll be sprinkling in some basic betting picks. Not going to get complicated since there's limited space in this piece, but I'll throw you a bet or two each day that I like.
In this article, I'll be providing you with some daily fantasy WNBA lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 5/7/22. These lineups picks will range from elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. The slate locks on 5/7/2022 at 6:00 p.m. ET. 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 Lineup Picks: Guard
Sabrina Ionescu (New York Liberty) - vs CON - DK: $10,200, FD: $7,400
With Betnijah Laney out, Ionescu will be called on to do a lot of everything for the Liberty on Saturday. And while I'm concerned about the matchup against this Sun team, volume should overrule those concerns. Ionescu is a good shooter who is capable of posting a triple-double sometimes and while it'd be a lot to ask of her to expect one on Saturday, she should still fill up the stat sheet.
Arike Ogunbowale (Dallas Wings) - vs ATL - DK: $9,600 FD: $7,700
I think the Wings will want to run things through Arike a little less this year, just to keep her fresh and to diversify things. But with Satou Sabally not in the country yet and a matchup with a young Atlanta team that should struggle defensively, I think we see vintage Arike on Saturday: a ton of shot attempts and while there might end up being efficiency concerns, the volume will overrule that.
Aari McDonald (Atlanta Dream) - @ DAL - DK: $5,600, FD: $5,100
I think a lot of attention will be paid to Rhyne Howard making her WNBA debut, especially with Tiffany Hayes not playing. But I think some of that attention is misplaced.
Howard's a better player than Aari McDonald, but the WNBA is a tough league, and I think the Dream will lean more on the second-year McDonald than on Howard as a way of generating some offense on Saturday without Hayes. McDonald averaged 6.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game in her four starts last season despite her shot being off in those games, with her shooting 26.5% as a starter and 33.6% as a reserve. I think McDonald's a sneaky good pick to have a game where she gets hot and puts up some points like Dana Evans, another second-year guard, did on Friday for Chicago.
WNBA DFS Lineup Picks: Forward
Jonquel Jones (Connecticut Sun) - @ NY - DK: $10,400, FD: $8,800
The defending MVP averaged 19.4 points, 11.2 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks per game and faces a Liberty team that allowed the most points and fourth-most rebounds per game last season.
I don't really have a lot to say on this one. Jones is the highest ceiling play on the slate. The only concern I have is that Connecticut blows out the short-handed Liberty, but the Sun are without Courtney Williams and DeWanna Bonner, so this game should be relatively close, which keeps Jones on the floor.
Kayla Thornton (Dallas Wings) - vs ATL - DK: $7,000, FD: $5,200
You could also sub Isabelle Harrison into this spot. But whichever you play, with Teaira McCowan and Satou Sabally not playing, there's value in the Wings frontcourt. I think Thornton being so much cheaper than Harrison makes her my preferred play. In the 10 games where she played at least 30 minutes last season, Thornton averaged 10.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game and shot 40.9% from three. I think she plays 30-plus minutes.
Cheyenne Parker (Atlanta Dream) - @ DAL - DK: 6,800, FD: $5,800
Parker played 13 games last year before her pregnancy ended her season. It was a bit of a disappointing year, as she averaged 10.2 points and 4.5 rebounds, both fairly big drops from her 2020 numbers.
I'm not sure what the Dream rotation looks like, but I imagine we see a lot of Parker because the depth up front is questionable. Kia Vaughn and rookie Naz Hillmon probably shouldn't be getting a ton of minutes. Parker should see her numbers look more like they did in 2020.
WNBA Betting Picks for 5/5/2022
Looking to make some WNBA bets? Let's look at some options for you.
Yesterday's results (2-1)
Connecticut Sun Spread (-6)
The Liberty made the playoffs last year, but were one of the worst playoff teams in league history and their biggest offseason acquisition, Stef Dolson, doesn't fix their turnover issues. Connecticut enters 2022 as one of the favorites. As we saw on Friday, these kind of mismatches can go bad in a hurry for the worse team. Take the Sun spread -6. In fact, I'll take it even if the money moves it to something like -8.5.
Dallas Wings Moneyline (-290)
I don't trust the Wings' consistency enough to hammer the -6.5 spread, but I do trust the Wings to beat an Atlanta team that's young and won't have Tiffany Hayes, who is arguably the team's best player. I also think you're probably good to take the Wings spread—I'm just a little too concerned to outright recommend it, you know?
