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Justin Carter's top daily fantasy WNBA lineup picks for 9/17/20. Expert WNBA DFS advice, sleepers & player recommendations for DraftKings and FanDuel.
Have you caught your breath yet from that wild ending to Mystics/Mercury, with Shey Peddy hitting the game-winning three at the buzzer to send the Mercury into the second round? And it was against the team that cut her earlier in the year!
In this article, I'll be providing you with some daily fantasy WNBA lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 9/17/20. 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
Chelsea Gray (G, Los Angeles Sparks) – vs Connecticut Sun (DK: $8,800, FD: $6,700)
Chelsea Gray has shown an ability to raise her game in the playoffs. In eight games in 2017, for instance, Gray averaged 15.1 points and 6.8 assists per game and added 1.4 steals and 3.4 rebounds per contest. She also had 27 points in her last meeting with Connecticut, going 10-for-16 from the field, though she didn't do that much in terms of rebounds and assists. There are high-priced guards on this slate who you might take over Gray, but I like the idea of saving some salary here and building a forward-heavy lineup.
Jasmine Thomas (G, Connecticut Sun) – vs Los Angeles Sparks (DK: $5,700, FD: $5,900)
So, the FanDuel salaries are weird, because Thomas shouldn't be this highly priced there. But over on DraftKings, she's a huge value. Thomas was hurt down the stretch, but played 25 minutes in the opening round of the playoffs, scoring eight points on 3-for-10 shooting and adding three assists. On DK, where she's really low in the guard pricing, Thomas's upside completely makes up for the downside that comes with her. (That downside is that she hasn't played nearly the role she did before DeWanna Bonner was here.)
Shey Peddy (G, Phoenix Mercury) – vs Minnesota Lynx (DK: $5,400, FD: $5,000)
The hero of the first round, Peddy feels like a must-play on this slate because of her salary. She can go extremely cold as a shooter, like when she went 0-for-11 from deep over the final four games of the regular season, but she's also someone who will play 25-plus minutes and take enough shots to end up with a solid stat line if she doesn't go cold. Like in that Mystics game on Tuesday, when Peddy had 12 points, four rebounds, an assist, three steals, and a block. That kind of stat line at this salary point can really, really help your DFS lineup.
WNBA - DFS Forwards
Alyssa Thomas (F, Connecticut Sun) – vs Los Angeles Sparks (DK: $11,400 FD: $8,400)
Alright, here's where it gets fun. Alyssa Thomas in the postseason is an incredible thing to work. Despite the fact that she plays with TWO torn shoulder labrums, Thomas played every minute against Chicago, finishing with 28 points on 10-for-19 shooting plus grabbing 13 rebounds. She also added eight assists and a steal. Thomas does everything (except record blocks, which she can sometimes go a long time without since she has two torn shoulder labrum and can't raise her arms all the way.) No one on this slate has the upside of Playoff AT. She hits another gear when the games matter this much.
Damiris Dantas (F, Minnesota Lynx) – vs Phoenix Mercury (DK: $9,100, FD: $6,800)
This is a tricky one, because Sylvia Fowles might play, which would take away a lot of the upside that Dantas brings. If Fowles is trending towards playing, you probably want to pivot off of Dantas and onto someone else. But if Fowles sits again, Dantas can be a hugely rewarding play. At the end of the regular season, Dantas was consistently putting up points -- 12 or more in each of her final seven games, including twice scoring over 20 -- while hitting multiple threes per game on some absurdly efficient shooting. She's also able to give you solid rebound numbers with some added assist upside.
Nneka Ogwumike (F, Los Angeles Sparks) – vs Connecticut Sun (DK: $9,000, FD: $7,100)
Ogwumike's 2020 season had its ups and downs, but she ended on a strong note. The former MVP averaged 13.3 points and 4.8 rebounds, the lowest numbers of her entire career in both categories. But she exceeded those numbers in each of Los Angeles's last three games, seeing an increased workload and responding by keeping up her high efficiency. Ogwumike is back, and she's back at exactly the right time for her team and for your DFS lineup.
