For everyone out there who has said the NBA playoffs have been boring this season (and they have been), I have good news. There is real, competitive basketball being played at a very high level right now, and there are DFS contests to boot.
I am talking, of course, about the WNBA, which features a three-game slate of games Friday. Two of those three games are rematches from earlier in the week, with the Mystics hosting the Sky and Minnesota travelling to Connecticut. Chicago and Washington are especially interesting, as Chicago will hopefully get starting point guard Courtney Vandersloot back for her first game of the season while Washington will play its first game without its starting center, Emma Meesseman. This should be a good matchup for Chicago, as Washington has predictably struggled defensively, but I can’t bring myself to pay up for Cappie Pondexter, Allie Quigley or Tamera Young knowing they will all have the ball in their hands less with Vandersloot back. Similarly, I am fading Jewell Loyd even though leads the WNBA in scoring with 26.0 points per game. I think she is for real, but her usage will go down now that Sue Bird is back, and sooner or later Loyd will have an off night or take a back seat to Breanna Stewart.
It is worth noting that prices for guards continue to rise as the season goes along. Pondexter is the third-most expensive player on Friday’s slate, while Loyd is sixth. As you will see below, I am still paying for forwards and finding most of my value plays at the guard positions, but unlike the beginning of the season, you don’t necessarily have to construct your lineup that way.
I’m really excited to build our WNBA coverage as the season goes along, and the FantasyAlarm readers will play a huge part in that. In fact, there might not be a WNBA Playbook or Optimal Lineups if not for the readers who asked for it in the FANation forum. If you have any questions, suggestions or comments, please leave them below, in the forum, or on Twitter.
DFS WNBA PLAYBOOK:
| Player | FanDuel | Comments |
| Stefanie Dolson, F, CHI | $ 6,500 | Dolson has played at least 31 minutes and taken at least 13 shots in each of her last two games. She went 4-15 from the floor Wednesday, but she could have an easier time now that she doesn't have to go up against Emma Meesseman, who is with the Belgian national team for EuroBasket. |
| Courtney Vandersloot, G, CHI | $ 4,900 | All five Sky starters played at least 31 minutes Wednesday, and if Vandersloot starts, she should be extremely safe. Vandersloot averaged 13.2 points and 6.2 assists in the playoffs last season, and she will be a pretty decent value if she matches those numbers Friday. |
| Tianna Hawkins, F, WAS | $ 3,400 | Hawkins played a season-high 22 minutes Wednesday and finished one rebound shy of a double-double. She will likely pick up even more minutes with Emma Meesseman out, and no team has allowed more opponent's rebounds than the Sky this season. |
| Sugar Rodgers, G, NY | $ 5,900 | Seattle has allowed a league-high 8.3 made threes per game on 41.7 percent shooting. Rodgers went 0-5 from beyond the arc Tuesday but shot 41.3 percent on threes last season. I'm expecting a bounceback game. |
| Epiphanny Prince, G, NY | $ 5,200 | Prince went 3-18 from the field in her first two games and 10-14 in her last game. I'm not expecting 24 points again, but she should have the ball in her hands a ton, and that is worth something. |
| Bria Hartley, G, NY | $ 3,000 | Hartley has gotten off to a slow start, but the Liberty don't really have any other options at backup point guard with Brittany Boyd out. Hartley shot 36.2 percent on threes last season in Washington, and all she has to do is make a couple of shots and record a couple of assists to be a worthy punt play. |
| Elena Delle Donne, F, WAS | $ 7,700 | I didn't think Elena Delle Donne even looked that good against her former team Wednesday, but she still finished with 21 points on 7-15 shooting with eight rebounds. She's going to have to grab rebounds with the Mystics so thin up front, and that makes her pretty safe even if she has a poor shooting night. |
| Morgan Tuck, F, CON | $ 6,200 | Tuck had 12 points (5-17 FGA), 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals Tuesday against Minnesota. She will almost certainly shoot better than 29 percent Friday, and even if she doesn't, she will find a way to contribute. Tuck has scored at least 18.7 fantasy points in each of her three games this season. |
| Alex Bentley, G, CON | $ 4,200 | The way to attack the Lynx is on the perimeter, and while Alex Bentley didn't shoot it well Tuesday, that could easily change. Bentley is pretty cheap, and she averaged 12.9 points per game last season. |
| Jasmine Thomas, G, CON | $ 5,800 | Thomas has taken at least 13 shots in each of her games this season, finishing with at least 14 points, two rebounds and three assists. She may be the guard I most trust to return value for her price. |
| Breanna Stewart, F, SEA | $ 7,400 | A big game is coming. Breanna Stewart scored 20+ points 15 times in 34 games last season, so she is probably due. This may be her cheapest price of the entire season. |
| Kiah Stokes, F, NY | $ 3,100 | Stokes has struggled early on, but I believe she will bounce back to last season's production, when she averaged 6.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. That may not sound like much, but it is plenty for her price. |
FANDUEL OPTIMALS:
| POS | FanDuel Cash | POS | FanDuel GPP | ||
| G | Jasmine Thomas | $5,800 | G | Alex Bentley | 4200 |
| G | Courtney Vandersloot | $4,900 | G | Epiphanny Prince | $5,200 |
| G | Epiphanny Prince | $5,200 | G | Sugar Rodgers | $5,900 |
| F | Stefanie Dolson | $6,500 | F | Breanna Stewart | $7,400 |
| F | Tianna Hawkins | $3,400 | F | Stefanie Dolson | $6,500 |
| F | Elena Delle Donne | $7,700 | F | Elena Delle Donne | $7,700 |
| F | Morgan Tuck | $6,200 | F | Kiah Stokes | $3,100 |
| Total | $39,700 | Total | $40,000 | ||
| Remaining | $300 | Remaining | $0 |