WNBA DFS Tournament Picks: Friday, June 30th
Tonight we have an awesome three-game slate, and we’ll have to react to a few new situations due to recent injuries and trades that have occurred in the WNBA.
A lot of the unknowns could be an edge if you keep looking for news on Twitter as we get closer to tipoffs. Lock is at 7:30 PM EST, and I will be updating if I get any news that can affect the slate @travismangone.
Top Tournament Plays
Jessica Breland, $4,900
Breland and Dolson have both been high risk, low floor plays throughout the year, trading on and off with big games. After being out with an illness on Wednesday, and with Chicago traveling on the road to San Antonio, I am assuming Dolson is not playing, but there is no official word. FanDuel has her listed as out, but I will tweet out when I have official word, which hopefully we can get early.
If Dolson is out, Breland is a lock in this spot, considering she had 37.3 FanDuel points in 30 minutes of play in the last game with her not on the court. With Dolson out, I expect Breland to shoulder more of the production from the forward spot on this team, and she has high upside at a price tag of $4,900. She has already flashed huge performances with Dolson in, but with her out this will open the way for a big game. If Breland struggles I will just move onto the next slate, but her profit potential at this price is too good to pass up against a winless San Antonio Stars team.
Imani Boyette, $3,700
Boyette will instantly slide into the starting lineup and play center if Dolson is out, which would make her a great value play for only $3,700. For me I will just play both the Chicago forwards, because with Dolson gone and the team playing against a bad Stars team, both of these value plays should pay off their tags and allow me to pay up for the top options that I want.
Chicago just doesn’t have enough bigs to steal time from both Boyette and Breland, so they should get enough minutes to hit or exceed value. Both options could be chalky, but some won’t play the two on the same team. I have no issue with taking advantage of this pair of values.
San Antonio Stars Guards
This is going to be a long-winded explanation, but bear with me, because if you want to be rewarded I think we are going to need to search Twitter for news.
The Stars traded Monique Currie to Phoenix for two reserves, which means we may get some consistent minutes from McBride, Jefferson and Plum. First things first: if we get word that the Stars are playing Plum for a ton of minutes and are done babying her, lock her in for $3,000. The problem is the coach keeps talking about developing her by easing her in and has explained that her ankle injury really set her back in preseason. Plum is a talented player who they think could be amazing with McBride and Jefferson, but they have not played all three together once all season long. Maybe with Currie gone, they finally let them all go, but from all the coaches’ quotes I worry they still will let Plum “develop” and “let the game get slow down for her”.
If we hear Plum is playing a lot of minutes, load her up for $3,000, but with Currie gone I still think this officially secures Jefferson’s minutes. McBride’s minutes have been secure and she has a nice floor, but with Currie gone and Jefferson’s minutes safe, I will go with Jefferson for a cheaper price tag as my favorite Stars guard of the two. Jefferson has flashed more upside and I get her for cheaper, but I wouldn’t hate even playing both together, especially if we hear Plum won’t get minutes. That means McBride and Jefferson should be running the show most of the game.
Maya Moore, $7,500
Moore is still at a price tag where I will bite, and in a matchup in which Fowles and Griner will be going at each other, that could leave her a lot of easy open looks. Fowles will also have her hands full on defense, which could mean Moore will have to shoulder the load more on the offensive end.
This game is the largest total on the slate by 10 points at a 168 game total, so I want exposure to this game. Moore is a great way to do so, even though she has been shooting poorly for most of the season. She will not continue to shoot a career low 39.4% from the field, and I expect her to continue to right the ship sooner rather than later.
Fade of the Night
Brittney Griner can always be a tough fade, yet I think this is a spot we can avoid her because it is a tough matchup against the Minnesota Lynx. The Lynx are one of the best rebounding teams in the league because of Fowles, who is a beast on defense. Griner cost $9,000 going up against the Defensive Player of the Year in 2016, so that just seems like a good fade spot to me.
On top of that you can just play Fowles, who has had a huge year, for only $200 more and I like her in this spot as well. You can even pivot down to Parker, Ogwumike and Maya Moore for less if you want another forward option. I also don’t like the unknown with the new look Phoenix team. Currie is a player who can certainly help that offense, but the addition of her could shake up the chemistry and take some shot volume away from Griner.
These types of situations seem to be worth avoiding, and despite the great season Griner has had, I think is a spot to move off her and play other options.