I’m actually a little embarrassed at how long it took me to realize how underpriced Chelsea Gray and Chiney Ogwumike are. The reason being, when we evaluate the Sparks, we have to completely ignore the first game of the season. Maria Vadeeva dominated, but she is gone. After Derek Fisher failed to play anyone more than 24 minutes in the opener, he has played his entire starting lineup 30+ minutes. That makes all of the starters valuable.
In the other games, the biggest question is how many minutes will be given to players returning from injury. Liz Cambage should see more minutes after playing 14 in both of her games since returning, but how many more is anyone’s guess. The same is true of Sancho Lyttle and Karima Christmas-Kelly. Both are playing in their second games Thursday after playing 12 minutes in their first games back.
Lyttle might be the only Phoenix player I roster Thursday, as they face a tough Minnesota defense at home. On the other hand, Atlanta hopes to recover from an ugly couple of games by returning home to host Las Vegas. I’m not ready to give up on Atlanta’s starters or Alex Bentley, but I’m getting close.
Player | FanDuel | DraftKings | Comments |
Jonquel Jones, F, CON | $8,400 | $11,300 | In Connecticut's first game against the Sparks, Jones tied her career high with 22 rebounds while adding 16 points and two assists. No team is allowing more rebounds than the Sparks this season. |
Sylvia Fowles, F, MIN | $8,100 | $11,000 | Sylvia Fowles had huge home/road splits last season, and while that trend hasn't carried over through the first four games of this season, I still trust her more at home. |
Liz Cambage, F, LA | $8,000 | $9,500 | I have to imagine she plays more minutes after the Aces lost each of the last two games with Cambage playing 14 minutes in each. That being said, she's risky. I'll feel better about taking the risk if she gets the start or if we get word her minutes limit has increased. |
Jessica Breland, F, ATL | $7,700 | $9,600 | Breland is second on the team in points per game and first in rebounds per game despite being sixth in minutes at just 20.9 percent. She will almost certainly have to play more minutes matching up against the Aces' bigs, especially if Atlanta manages to keep this game close. |
Chiney Ogwumike, F, LA | $7,000 | $8,700 | She is too cheap. Since Maria Vadeeva left for Europe, Ogwumike has played at least 32 minutes and scored at least 35 fantasy points in both games. I don't see any reason why she should be so much cheaper than her sister. |
Jasmine Thomas, G, CON | $6,800 | $9,000 | Thomas was 0-8 on two-pointers and 2-12 overall Sunday, but she will almost certainly bounce back after topping 13 points in each of her first three games this season. I trust her for cash, and she is capable of scoring 20+ points every time out. |
Brittney Sykes, G, ATL | $6,600 | $6,600 | Sykes is the only Dream player who is coming close to her preseason expectations (there weren't any preseason expectations for Renee Montgomery, so she doesn't count). Sykes is shooting just 37.5 percent from the field and 12.5 percent on threes, but she is tied for the team lead in field goal attempts, and she's the only Atlanta player you can consider in a cash lineup. |
Chelsea Gray, G, LA | $6,300 | $9,300 | Gray has at least 32 minutes and 15 field goal attempts in each of her last two games. If she keeps that up, she is underpriced. |
Tiffany Hayes, G, ATL | $6,000 | $7,800 | Her slow start is really puzzling. She's shooting 47.4 percent from the field, but she's tied for fifth on her team in field goal attempts and she's shooting just 25 percent on threes. Hayes averaged 17.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals last season. When the bounceback happens, she's going to win a lot of people money. |
Odyssey Sims, G, MIN | $5,800 | $7,900 | Sims has scored at least 22 fantasy points in all four games this season despite shooting 33.3 percent or worse in three of those games. She is as safe as they come, but I think she has a higher ceiling than what she has shown. |
Danielle Robinson, G, MIN | $5,800 | $6,700 | Robinson may not have Odyssey Sims's ceiling, but Robinson has scored at least 20 fantasy points in every game this season, and she is cheaper than Sims on DraftKings. |
Napheesa Collier, F, MIN | $5,600 | $7,100 | She played 31 minutes Tuesday despite Karima Christmas-Kelly coming back from injury. She may not play 30 minutes Thursday, but she remains reasonably priced on both sites. |
Karima Christmas-Kelly, G, MIN | $4,800 | $6,900 | She played just 12 minutes in her debut, but it would be pretty shocking if that continues. She is riskier than Sancho Lyttle or even Liz Cambage, but her ceiling is awfully high for her price, especially on FanDuel. |
Alex Bentley, G, ATL | $4,600 | $6,200 | Bentley leads her team with 10.7 field goal attempts per game, but she has just 2.7 made field goals per game. That has to improve sometime. I'm not giving up on her yet. |
Sydney Wiese, G, LA | $3,600 | $3,600 | After playing just two minutes in the season opener, Wiese has played at least 27 minutes in each of her last two games. Her fantasy production is modest, but she is safe so long as she is getting minutes. |
Sancho Lyttle, F, PHO | $4,400 | $4,400 | She scored 12.25 fantasy points in 12 minutes in her first game back this season, and while I don't necessarily expect a fantasy point per minute going forward, I do expect her to play more than 12 minutes. |
Nneka Ogwumike, F, LA | $7,900 | $10,400 | Nneka is the cheapest of the super safe forwards. Her sister may be a better value, but Nneka is a fine alternative if you can't afford to pay for Jonquel Jones or Sylvia Fowles. |
POS | FanDuel Cash | $ | POS | FanDuel GPP | | POS | DraftKings Cash | $ | POS | DraftKings GPP | $ |
G | Sydney Wiese | $3,600 | G | Karima Christmas-Kelly | $4,800 | G | Sydney Wiese | $3,600 | G | Odyssey Sims | $7,900 |
G | Odyssey Sims | $5,800 | G | Chelsea Gray | $6,300 | G | Odyssey Sims | $7,900 | G | Jasmine Thomas | 9000 |
G | Tiffany Hayes | $6,000 | G | Alex Bentley | $4,600 | Pivot | Danielle Robinson | $6,700 | F | Liz Cambage | $9,500 |
Pivot | Briann January | $5,700 | Pivot | Sydney Wiese | $3,600 | F | Jonquel Jones | $11,300 | F | Chiney Ogwumike | $8,700 |
F | Chiney Ogwumike | $7,000 | F | Sancho Lyttle | $4,400 | F | Sylvia Fowles | $11,000 | F | Jonquel Jones | $11,300 |
F | Napheesa Collier | $5,600 | F | Napheesa Collier | $5,600 | F | Napheesa Collier | $7,100 | Pivot | Alyssa Thomas | $10,000 |
F | Sancho Lyttle | $4,400 | F | Nneka Ogwumike | $7,900 | UTIL | Chiney Ogwumike | $8,700 | UTIL | Sydney Wiese | $3,600 |
F | Alyssa Thomas | $7,400 | F | Damiris Dantas | $6,400 | Pivot | Nneka Ogwumike | $10,200 | Pivot | Sancho Lyttle | $4,400 |
Pivot | Nneka Ogwumike | $7,900 | Pivot | Alyssa Thomas | $7,400 | | | | | | |