I’m going to be giving you guys an overview of the #WNBA Fanduel slate. This will include looking at the teams as a whole and then getting into the individual players.
If you have any questions feel free to hit me up @xBenJamminx
The stats and data that I’ll be referencing are coming from our WNBA Cheat Sheets, which can be found by clicking the logo.
Notes/Injuries
- Kayla Thornton played for the Shinhan Bank S-Birds in the Women’s Korean Basketball League. She ranks third overall in the league in scoring and steals, averaging 18.3 points per game and two steals per game.
- Dallas 6-8 post phenom Liz Cambage is a top international player who is returning to the WNBA after a four-year hiatus.
- Forward Aerial Powers will be a game-time decision with a quad injury. She didn’t practice on Wednesday, though, so it seems likely she will miss the start of the season with injury for a second straight year. That would leave Dallas with 10 players for the opener as forward Theresa Plaisance is still recovering from an ACL tear suffered in October.
- Liz Cambage and her Coach are really good friends and former teammates, expect Cambage to get a decent amount of playing time
- Defeating the Liberty 76-69 in their first game, Dallas Wings 2018 first round selection Azurà Stevens led the way recording 19 points and nine boards.
- In case you don’t know, Griner’s ex-wife, Glory Johnson, is a forward for the Wings. Both parties have moved on (and Griner remarried)
- DeWanna Bonner is expected to start tonight.
Team Stats
Games
DAL 0-0 @ PHO 0-0
FRI 10PM
Pace
81.6 (-2.4) | 79.2 (+2.4)
Previous Matchups
Dallas Wings
By the end of the 2017 season, the Wing’s starting lineup was Skylar Diggins-Smith (G), Allisha Gray(G), Karima Christmas-Kelly (G), Glory Johnson (F) and Theresa Plaisance (F).
This offense is run through it’s guards and Glory Johnson. With Theresa Plaisance tearing her ACL in October, the Wings will need to fill her spot and they just Signed 6’8″ stud Liz Cambage who should get plenty of opportunities in this offense, as well as drafting 6’6″ Azura Stevens, who I expect to back up Johnson and Cambage. Aerial Powers and Kayla Thornton are serviceable backups, though they may lose some usage with the two new additions to the team, but that’s yet to be seen and Aerial Powers is hurt and I think she doesn’t play tonight.
Tonight I expect the starting lineup to be Skylar Diggins-Smith (G), Allisha Gray(G), Karima Christmas-Kelly (G), Glory Johnson (F) and Liz Cambage (F)
When Dallas is playing I always look at their guards first with Skylar Diggins-Smith, though she’s usually more expensive than I want to pay for a guard so I usually pivot to Allisha Gray and sometimes Karima Christmas-Kelly. I expect Liz Cambage to get the start and play pretty big minutes vs Brittney Griner, as she is 6’8″ which is only an inch shorter than Griner. With Plaisance out and Aerial Powers hurt (GTD, but I think she sits), this sets up extra minutes for Cambage and even a girl like Kayla Thornton may get a little extra.
WNBA scoring is a little more concentrated than in the NBA and what I mean is that there’s a few main players and the rest don’t really have much of a fantasy impact. There’s so much less scoring in the WNBA that you really want to maximize your minutes and not try to get too crazy with players who might not play too much. Only a few girls have 30+ FDpoints upside and a lot fewer have 40+. There’s a few players here who have that upside
Primary Options:
Skylar Diggins-Smith (G), Allisha Gray (G), Glory Johnson (F), Karima Christmas-Kelly (G)
Value:
Liz Cambage (F), Azura Stevens (F)
Secondary Plays (More like long shots):
Kayla Thornton (F), Kaela Davis
Phoenix Mercury
By the end of the 2017 season, the Team’s starting lineup was Diana Taurasi (G), Leilani Mitchell (G), Yvonne Turner (G), Camille Little (F) and Brittney Griner (F).
This team looks poised for a deep playoff run led by Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner, but they made some great off season moves. They Acquired Briann January in a trade after losing Danielle Robinson and also signed stud defender Sancho Lyttle and are getting back DeWanna Bonner who is one of the best players in the WNBA. Along with all of those moves, they drafted 6’5″ Marie Gulich who was called an “automatic double double” to be the backup for 6’8″ Brittney Griner. They have the scoring, they have the defense and they have the depth. This team was already good and improved remarkably. and Camille Little both play big roles but it’s unclear if they’ll be starting with the new additions.
I’d say the starting lineup will probably end up looking more like this. Diana Taurasi (G), Briann January (G), Sancho Lyttle (G), DeWanna Bonner (F) and Brittney Griner (F).
There’s a few more wildcards for PHO than with Dallas but I expect Sancho Lyttle and Briann January to move into the starting lineups and make an immediate impact. Unfortunately Fanduel didn’t include Briann in the player pool so she’s only available on DK but for great value. I like DeWanna Bonner (pause) as a value play and I hope she goes underowned, as well as Marie Gülich who should be hers and/or Griner’s backup. I noticed that Alex Harden was getting some good preseason run with over 23+ minutes in each of the two games, though not breaking double digit FDpoints so she’s a superrr long shot. I’m just saying that because anything can happen so if there’s something going wrong with Briann January, maybe they let Harden get a little run.
Primary Options:
Brittney Griner (F), Diana Taurasi (G), Briann January (G) and Sancho Lyttle (G),
Value:
DeWanna Bonner (F), Marie Gülich (F)
Secondary Plays (More like long shots):
Leilani Mitchell (G), Camille Little (F), Alex Harden (G)
Thanks for reading and good luck tonight! If you have any lineup questions feel free to ask me on Twitter at @xBenJamminx