WNBA DFS Breakdown: Thursday

Written by

Chris Benzine

Updated on July 30, 2020 5:48PM EST

Rotowire DFS Tools

LINEUP OPTIMIZER

DAILY MATCHUPS (Odds, Team Efficiency, Pace, Opposing Stats)

DAILY LINEUPS

VALUE REPORT

TEAM TRENDS

OPPONENT AVERAGES

DraftKings and FanDuel Price Differences

Top 5 FanDuel

PLAYER	POS	TEAM	FanDuel Price	% of Budget	DraftKings Price	% of Budget	Difference
Emma Meesseman	F	WAS	6300	15.8%	10900	21.8%	-6.1%
Azura Stevens	F	CHI	4800	12.0%	8900	17.8%	-5.8%
Diamond DeShields	G	CHI	5100	12.8%	8700	17.4%	-4.7%
Jasmine Thomas	G	CON	4800	12.0%	7800	15.6%	-3.6%
Sylvia Fowles	F	MIN	7100	17.8%	10500	21.0%	-3.3%

Top 5 DraftKings

PLAYER	POS	TEAM	FanDuel Price	% of Budget	DraftKings Price	% of Budget	Difference
Ruthy Hebard	F	CHI	4200	10.5%	3500	7.0%	3.5%
Reshanda Gray	F	LA	4200	10.5%	3600	7.2%	3.3%
Alysha Clark	F	SEA	6200	15.5%	6400	12.8%	2.7%
Crystal Dangerfield	G	MIN	3800	9.5%	3700	7.4%	2.1%
Stella Johnson	G	CHI	3400	8.5%	3200	6.4%	2.1%

Seattle Storm vs Washington Mystics

Injuries

Note: All return dates are just estimates

Seattle

Name	Pos	Injury	Status	Return
Kitija Laksa	G	Not Injury Related	OUT	1/1/2021

Washington

Name	Pos	Injury	Status	Return
Elena Delle Donne	F	Undisclosed	GTD	8/30/2020
Natasha Cloud	G	Personal	OUT	1/1/2021
LaToya Sanders	C	Personal	OUT	1/1/2021
Tina Charles	F	Illness	OUT	2/1/2021

2020 Player Stats

Seattle

Player	Team	Pos	G	Min	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	3PM
Breanna Stewart	Sea	F	2	29	18	9	2.5	3.5	1	2
Sue Bird	Sea	G	2	21.5	13.5	2	4.5	0.5	0	3.5
Jewell Loyd	Sea	G	2	22.5	11.5	1	3	1.5	0	1.5
Jordin Canada	Sea	G	2	20	9	4	4.5	0.5	0	0
Mercedes Russell	Sea	C	2	18	6.5	2.5	1	0.5	0.5	0
Ezi Magbegor	Sea	C	2	12	6.5	1.5	0	0.5	1	0
Natasha Howard	Sea	F	2	17.5	6.5	4.5	0	1.5	0.5	0.5
Epiphanny Prince	Sea	G	2	14.5	6	0.5	1	0.5	0	1
Alysha Clark	Sea	F	2	27	5	4.5	2.5	2.5	1	0
Sami Whitcomb	Sea	G	2	9	4.5	1.5	0.5	0	0	0.5
Morgan Tuck	Sea	F	1	11	3	0	2	1	0	0
Crystal Langhorne	Sea	F	1	7	0	2	0	0	0	0

Washington

Player	Team	Pos	G	Min	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	3PM
Myisha Hines-Allen	Was	F	2	27.5	21.5	9	1.5	1.5	0	2
Aerial Powers	Was	F	2	28.5	21.5	4.5	2.5	1	0	2.5
Emma Meesseman	Was	C	2	30.5	13	5.5	5.5	1.5	0	0
Ariel Atkins	Was	G	2	26	13	1.5	2	1	0	2.5
Leilani Mitchell	Was	G	2	25	6.5	4	3.5	0.5	0	0
Shey Peddy	Was	G	2	16	6	3	1.5	1	0	0
Alaina Coates	Was	C	2	12.5	5.5	5	0.5	0.5	0	0
Essence Carson	Was	G	2	22	5.5	2.5	0.5	0.5	0	0.5
Kiara Leslie	Was	G	2	10.5	5	3	0	0	0.5	0.5
Tianna Hawkins	Was	F	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0

The Skinny

Given the offensive prowess of both of these clubs, this game features the highest over/under on the slate by a fair margin. Breanna Stewart hasn't skipped a beat in the early going for Seattle, paving the way with 18 points and nine boards per contest. Coincidentally, second on the team's scoring list this season is another major player who missed last season, the ageless Sue Bird. Bird hasn't quite reached the peak of her dishes per contest from 2017 (6.6) and 2018 (7.1), but she's made up for it by improving as a scorer by three points per contest. Helping her along early is a 63.6 conversion rate from beyond the arc, which could play well against a Mystics squad surrendering 7.5 three-point makes per game. Tianna Hawkins is also set to sit out Thursday with what the team has finally clarified is a lumbar sprain.

The big surprise between the two teams comes from Myisha Hines-Allen, who has come from relative obscurity in her first two seasons to average 21.5 points per contest between the first two tilts. Emma Meesseman has been the surprise leader as a distributor early, posting 5.5 assists per game as the offense continues to operate through her. Meesseman could be a legitimate threat to find herself a triple-double at some point, and Thursday could be a good chance to up her boards with Seattle allowing a slate-high 38 rebounds per game.

Chicago Sky vs Minnesota Lynx

Injuries

Note: All return dates are just estimates

Chicago

Name	Pos	Injury	Status	Return
Stefanie Dolson	C	Ankle	OUT	8/1/2020
Sydney Colson	G	Illness	OUT	8/1/2020
Kiah Gillespie	F	Not Injury Related	OUT	1/1/2021
Jamierra Faulkner	G	Knee	OUT	5/1/2021
Jantel Lavender	C	Foot	OUT	5/1/2021

Minnesota

Name	Pos	Injury	Status	Return
Lexie Brown	G	Concussion	GTD	7/30/2020
Odyssey Sims	G	Personal	OUT	8/13/2020
Maya Moore	F	Personal	OUT	1/1/2021
Cecilia Zandalasini	G	Personal	OUT	6/1/2021
Jessica Shepard	C	Knee	SUSP	6/1/2021
Karima Christmas-Kelly	F	Achilles	OUT	8/1/2021

2020 Player Stats

Chicago

Player	Team	Pos	G	Min	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	3PM
Kahleah Copper	Chi	G	2	26	19.5	6	1.5	1	0	1
Azura Stevens	Chi	F	2	25.5	16.5	5.5	2	1	1	3
Gabby Williams	Chi	F	2	25	12.5	6	3	2.5	0	2
Cheyenne Parker	Chi	F	2	28	10.5	5	3	1.5	0	0.5
Allie Quigley	Chi	G	2	24.5	10.5	3	2.5	0.5	0	1.5
Courtney Vandersloot	Chi	G	2	31.5	9.5	3.5	10.5	0.5	0	1.5
Diamond DeShields	Chi	G	2	19.5	7	2.5	0.5	0.5	0.5	0
Stefanie Dolson	Chi	C	1	24	8	4	4	1	2	1
Ruthy Hebard	Chi	F	2	7	2	1.5	0	0	0	0
Stella Johnson	Chi	G	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	0

Minnesota

Player	Team	Pos	G	Min	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	3PM
Sylvia Fowles	Min	C	2	29	16	14.5	2	1	2	0
Damiris Dantas	Min	C	2	28.5	13.5	5.5	3	1	0	1.5
Napheesa Collier	Min	F	2	29.5	11	7.5	4.5	1	0	0.5
Shenise Johnson	Min	G	2	22.5	8.5	1.5	1.5	1	0	0.5
Lexie Brown	Min	G	2	28.5	6	2	0.5	1	0	0.5
Rachel Banham	Min	G	2	15	5	1	1	1	0	1
Crystal Dangerfield	Min	G	2	16	5	1	1	0.5	0	0.5
Karima Christmas-Kelly	Min	G	2	12.5	4.5	3	0.5	1.5	0.5	0
Kayla Alexander	Min	C	2	7	1	0.5	0	0	0	0
Bridget Carleton	Min	G	2	4.5	1	0.5	0	0	0	0
Megan Huff	Min	F	1	3	0	3	1	0	0	0
Mikiah Herbert Harrigan	Min	F	1	11	0	1	0	0	1	0

The Skinny

With Stefanie Dolson set to miss a second straight contest for Chicago, look for Azura Stevens to play a hefty role for the Sky again Thursday. Stevens saw her minutes expand by 12 in the absence of Dolson and she made the most of it, posting 21 points, eight boards, four assists, two blocks and one steal over 32 minutes versus the Sparks.

Minnesota has potentially lost two players since the last game in the form of Karima Christmas Kelly (out for the season) and Lexie Brown, who is questionable due to a concussion. If Brwn is unable to take the floor, Shenise Johnson, Rachel Banham and Crystal Dangerfield could all be in line for some additional minutes. Napheesa Collier saw a small jump to over30 minutes as well, so she appears to be an option for big minutes again as she aims to expand on her Rookie of the Year season.

Connecticut Sun vs Los Angeles Sparks

Injuries

Note: All return dates are just estimates

Connecticut

Name	Pos	Injury	Status	Return
Theresa Plaisance	F	Back	GTD	7/30/2020
Briann January	G	Illness	OUT	8/1/2020
Jonquel Jones	F	Personal	OUT	2/1/2021

Los Angeles

Name	Pos	Injury	Status	Return
Te'a Cooper	G	Illness	GTD	7/30/2020
Marie Gulich	C	Ankle	OUT	8/1/2020
Chiney Ogwumike	F	Personal	OUT	1/1/2021
Kristi Toliver	G	Personal	OUT	1/1/2021
Leonie Fiebich	F	Not Injury Related	OUT	1/1/2021
Maria Vadeeva	C	Suspension	SUSP	5/1/2021

2020 Player Stats

Connecticut

Player	Team	Pos	G	Min	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	3PM
Alyssa Thomas	Con	F	2	35.5	24	9.5	3.5	2.5	0	0
DeWanna Bonner	Con	G	2	36	24	8.5	3.5	2.5	1	2
Brionna Jones	Con	C	2	30.5	7.5	5	1.5	2	1	0
Natisha Hiedeman	Con	G	2	17	6.5	3	1	0	0	0.5
Jasmine Thomas	Con	G	2	31	6.5	1.5	3.5	1	0	0
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis	Con	F	2	19.5	3.5	3	1	0	0	0.5
Jacki Gemelos	Con	G	1	5	6	1	0	0	0	2
Bria Holmes	Con	G	2	16.5	2	2	1	1	0	0.5
Beatrice Mompremier	Con	F	1	9	2	3	1	0	0	0
Kaila Charles	Con	G	2	7	1	1.5	0	0	1	0

Los Angeles

Player	Team	Pos	G	Min	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	3PM
Nneka Ogwumike	LA	F	2	25	17	5	1	1	0	1
Brittney Sykes	LA	G	2	21	13	3	2	1.5	0.5	1.5
Chelsea Gray	LA	G	2	25	11.5	1.5	7	1.5	0	0
Candace Parker	LA	F	2	25.5	10.5	8	2	1.5	1	0.5
Riquna Williams	LA	G	2	29	8.5	2	2	1.5	0	1.5
Seimone Augustus	LA	G	2	15	8.5	2.5	2	1.5	0	1.5
Sydney Wiese	LA	G	2	17.5	6.5	1	1	0	0	1
Te'a Cooper	LA	G	1	16	10	0	2	2	0	1
Tierra Ruffin-Pratt	LA	G	2	16.5	4.5	1.5	1	1	0	0.5
Kristine Anigwe	LA	F	2	13.5	3.5	3	0	1.5	0.5	0
Reshanda Gray	LA	F	2	4.5	0	3	0.5	0	0	0

The Skinny

Connecticut's scoring load has fallen heavily on the shoulders of Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner early, with the pair each averaging 24 points through two tilts. The remainder of the squad has failed to even crack the double-digit average through the first two tilts. Look for the duo to be relied upon heavily again, while Brionna Jones could see a reduction in her playing time if Theresa Plaisance (back) is clear to make her season debut. The Sparks have been the least efficient team on the slate through two games defensively, per the RotoWire Matchups page, which could spell big nights for the Sun's primary scorers. Bonner's ability to knock down shots from beyond the arc is particularly worth highlighting against an LA squad surrendering a slate-worst 37.7 three-point percentage.

It should be all systems go for the Sparks, who will presumably run similar rotations to that of the first two contests. The Sun sport the worst defensive efficiency on the slate (per the RotoWire matchups page) through two games. Connecticut hasn't been particularly efficient on the boards in their first two games, which could lead to boosted numbers from the Sparks primary rebounders in Candace Parker (eight per game through two) and Nneka Ogwumike (five).

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Chris Benzine plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: Crispy272001, DraftKings: Crispy27.