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WNBA Daily Fantasy preview – August 1, 2019

By Eric Thiel

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 30: Yvonne Turner #6 of the Phoenix Mercury handles the ball against the Washington Mystics on July 30, 2019 at the St. Elizabeths East Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 30: Yvonne Turner #6 of the Phoenix Mercury handles the ball against the Washington Mystics on July 30, 2019 at the St. Elizabeths East Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Playoff push!

Tuesday’s slate went really well! Dearica Hamby was once again an easy play, and returned great value, despite the game becoming a blowout. This slate does not have as many possible one-sided games, and also has some key players returning from injury. Let’s take a look.

Phoenix Mercury @ Connecticut Sun

We start the slate off with a great matchup between Phoenix and Connecticut. Leilani Mitchell (7.8k DK, 5.9k FD) shone in the last game, playing 37 minutes and amassing over 40 fantasy points. She is once again a good play today, and it seems as though coach Sandy Brondello is raising the minutes ceiling for Mitchell a tad. This is something Brondello did last year when the playoff push happened.

Of course, Brittney Griner (11.3k, 8.2k) and DeWanna Bonner (11k, 8k) are great high dollar options. Yvonne Turner (4.7k, 4.1k) may be a sneakier play at a cheap price point. Turner has been playing more and more since returning from EuroBasket, and actually outplayed Sophie Cunningham and Briann January in the last game. Turner is great if you are looking to fit higher priced players in.

Connecticut normally starts off with Jonquel Jones (10.9k, 8.1k), but I actually like Alyssa Thomas (8.9k, 7.8k) more today. Jones will draw Griner’s elite defense, which should open up more shots and rebounding for Thomas. Her price is especially low on DraftKings. The other player I like on this team is Courtney Williams (8k, 6.1k). Williams has been one of the best rebounding guards this year, and also has been taking more and more shots recently, boosting her fantasy value.

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New York Liberty @ Dallas Wings

This is probably the hardest game to figure out today. New York and Dallas have been running wide-open rotations, with huge swings in player minutes. Despite this, we should be able to find a little bit on value in the more consistent players. Tina Charles (8.8k, 7.6k) comes in at a bargain on DraftKings, as normally she is over $10,000. Though the matchup is not ideal, as Dallas is a slow paced team, hopefully Charles takes over and gets back to 30-35 minutes.

Tanisha Wright (5.6k, 4.8k) took over the starting point guard duties just before the all star break, and has done fairly well in that role. Her minutes have not been exceedingly high, but her productivity in those minutes has been great. She is especially solid on FanDuel, where she should easily score 20+ fantasy points if she starts once again.

For Dallas, they gain the benefit of an up-tempo New York squad. More possessions means more fantasy points; if only we could figure out who will be on the floor… A safe bet is Arike Ogunbowale (8.1k, 5.9k), whose usage should power her to 25+ fantasy points. That is a solid outing for that price on FanDuel. Alongside Ogunbowale, Theresa Plaisance (5.9k, 4.8k) catches my eye. She drew a start last game, but the Wings got blown out and she did not play as much as normal. In a close game, she should easily return value on both sites, given she is again a starter.

Las Vegas Aces @ Los Angeles Sparks

Well, it is Las Vegas… and A’ja Wilson is still out… and Dearica Hamby’s (9.7k, 6k) price has still not moved on FanDuel… I know I am a broken record, but Hamby is a free square again. While Liz Cambage (10.8k, 8.4k) is not as much of a slam dunk play, she is somehow the 5th most expensive player on DraftKings, while she has been a top 2 per minute fantasy point producer this year. She is a great play, alongside Kelsey Plum (7k, 4.6k), whose price on FanDuel is asinine.

Los Angeles returns Candace Parker (10k, 6.4k), Alexis Jones (3.7k, 3.7k) and Maria Vadeeva (3k, 3k). While Parker is far too expensive, given she likely will not play her normal minutes, Vadeeva is probably the most interesting. She actually started the first game of the year over Chiney Ogwumike (9.8k, 7.2k) Vadeeva is the absolute minimum salary on both sites, and allows for a lot of flexibility elsewhere in your lineup. While this is a risk, as she could only play 3 minutes, the upside is a 20+ fantasy point performance.

These returns really muddy the waters around players like Tierra Ruffin-Pratt (7.2k, 5k) and Sydney Wiese (5.5k, 4.2k). I can recommend neither, as they both should see far less minutes than they have been recently. Others like Chelsea Gray (10.3k, 7.5k) and Nneka Ogwumike (11.7k, 8.3k) should see less usage with players like Candace Parker back in, and it will be difficult for them to pay off their high price tags.

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