RADIO
Happy Friday! The NBA season has restarted, but hopefully plenty of you are sticking around to keep playing WNBA DFS, because...well, because the WNBA rules and you should keep playing DFS and keep watching some great basketball!
In this article, I'll be providing you with some daily fantasy WNBA lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 7/31/20. 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
Sabrina Ionescu (G, New York Liberty) – vs Atlanta Dream (DK: $10,300, FD: $6,600)
Well, Ionescu's arrived, and her DFS pricing has arrived too, and I don't really care about how high she's priced on Friday because the Atlanta Dream have a defense that Ionescu can go off against.
It's only been two games, but the Dream have the third-worst defensive rating in the WNBA this year and allow the most second-chance points in the league. Seems like a good spot for a good rebounding guard who has shown in two games that she's already New York's best scorer, yeah? Ionescu is coming off a 33-point effort against Dallas, and she's averaging 18.5 shot attempts per game, third-most in the league.
Kayla McBride (G, Las Vegas Aces) – vs Phoenix Mercury (DK: $7,700, FD: $4,800)
Kayla McBuckets has not been getting buckets this season.
After falling from 18.2 to 13.3 points per game with the addition of Liz Cambage last year, Cambage sitting out 2020 (as well as Kelsey Plum missing the year via injury) would seem to indicate a return to her more heavy-usage days.
But so far, McBride is shooting 28.6 percent on just seven attempts per game, leading to a PPG average of just 8.0.
So, why am I writing about her? Because the Phoenix Mercury have the league's worst defensive rating, and while that might help A'ja Wilson more than it helps McBride, I still think this is the game where McBride's shot starts to fall. Vegas needs more shooting, and they have that shooting already on the roster.
Moriah Jefferson (G, Dallas Wings) – vs Chicago Sky (DK: $6,400, FD: $4,600)
The league's three worst teams by defensive rating all play tonight, and I've targeted someone playing against all of them. For Dallas, who faces Indiana and their 118.2 defensive rating, I'm going Moriah Jefferson.
After missing all of last year with a knee injury, Jefferson's picked right up as a reliable WNBA point guard. This year, she's averaging 10 points per game on 57.1 percent shooting, plus 2.5 assists and three boards per contest as well. And maybe best of all: she's cheap on DFS sites still!
Additional Notes: Kia Nurse -- who is probably still a little hobbled by a sprained ankle - is only $5,000 on DraftKings. She's struggled this year, but could offer a high-upside value play on this slate. Victoria Vivians had a bad first game then a solid second game and still has a DFS price that reflects that first game more than the second one.
WNBA - DFS Forwards
A'ja Wilson (F, Las Vegas Aces) – vs Phoenix Mercury (DK: $11,100 FD: $7,800)
As mentioned above, Phoenix has the worst defensive rating in the league, and their interior defense has been a big part of that, as they allow 42 paint points per game, the third-most in the WNBA.
Wilson is currently averaging 21.5 points per game, with 46.5 percent of her points coming in the paint. She's also taken a step forward as a rebounder, grabbing 11 boards per night. Without Cambage, Wilson's having to take on the role as the leader of this frontcourt, and so far she appears up to the task.
Teaira McCowan (F, Indiana Fever) – vs Dallas Wings (DK: $8,800, FD: $6,000)
McCowan followed up a bad first game with an outstanding second game:
There were concerns after the first game that McCowan wasn't in game shape yet, but she shrugged those off against the Mercury, putting on a dominant showing off the bench. If you haven't watched a lot of McCowan play, check out this Twitter thread from Nekias Duncan:
Now, McCowan faces a team allowing the second-most points in the paint per game in 2020 and the third-most second chance points. This is a matchup where McCowan can once again feast down low on both ends of the floor. Sure, there's potential downside as she showed in the first game that she might not yet be the same Teaira McCowan who decimated teams at the end of 2019, but the upside is so great that I'm compelled to play her a lot today.
Kiah Stokes (F, New York Liberty) – vs Atlanta Dream (DK: $7,300, FD: $5,000)
Stokes is such an interesting player. Before this year, the Liberty center had never made a three-pointer. Now, she's made two, and is shooting 33.3 percent from deep. She's also averaging 7.5 rebounds per game, coming into a game against Atlanta, who allows on average the third-most boards per game this season.
They've also seen opponents shoot a very unsustainable 51.4 percent from deep against them. Look, I don't believe that keeps up, especially because the Liberty struggle from three despite taking a ton, but head coach Walt Hopkins has said that Stokes was shooting the ball as good as anyone in training camp. She's going to keep getting these looks from deep, and she's going to keep getting chances to rebound the ball inside. I wouldn't always want to play her, but this is a matchup where I feel okay about it.
Additional Notes: Carolyn Swords has been playing a lot and at this point I'm not against using her as a value option. And Lauren Cox has been practicing and could make her debut, in which case she's a VERY risky but also fairly intriguing option. Probably don't play Cox, but know that if she does wind up making her WNBA debut, I like her upside. Actually, Lauren Cox won't make her debut in this game, so don't put her in your lineup!
