Every team has 40 minutes of basketball under their belt, and while you don’t want to infer too much too soon (except that maybe the Indiana Fever really are that terrible??), it does look like one game can tell us plenty.
Like when a player that averaged just 7.8 minutes and 2.3 points last year goes for 27 points and 11 rebounds in 29 minutes on opening night, they’ve probably got a new role. And when the best point guard in league history is priced at only a smidge more than half the average player salary, it’s something you might be interested in.
We take a look at the lineups and see what’s available, and make some picks to help fill out your DFS roster.
Guard: Sue Bird ($4,600)
That salary isn’t a mistake, and it allows you to take the top players on the roster otherwise.
The point GOAT and one-half of America’s new royal couple isn’t going to get you 30+ minutes coming off a knee injury and closing in on 40 years old. But she played 19 in the opener, got 11 points and five assists as part of 24.5 DFS points, and she’s getting to attack Shenise Johnson and fellow UConn alum Crystal Dangerfield in this one. Dangerfield is going to be a good one, and some of us were highly offended when she fell to 16th in the WNBA Draft.
But we know what bestie-Huskies Diana Taurasi and Bird said about how they want to play against rookies. You can bet Bird will want to show her fellow former Geno Auriemma charge how things work in the pro game.
Forward: Myisha Hines-Allen ($7,000)
Will she put up 27 points and 10 rebounds on 11-17 from the floor as she did in the opener against Indiana? Probably not. But for a player that averaged just 2.3 points per game last season mostly in mop-up duty, sometimes all you need is an opportunity. Being a bit player on one of the best women’s basketball teams ever assembled last year didn’t give her a chance to show her skills, but the lack of scoring that’s reported to Bradenton gives her a chance to shine.
It also shows how absolutely loaded the Mystics were during their 2019 championship run that Hines-Allen could barely get on the court.
Flex: Breanna Stewart ($10,600)
The biggest winner in women’s basketball history had 18 points and eight rebounds in just 28 minutes in the opener against the New York Liberty. But the ceiling for Stewie is even higher, and as she plays her way through her Achilles recovery she should continue to improve.
She’s still the best player in the Wubble, and if she starts expanding her perimeter game as has been rumored, it’s over. Take the cap hit and put her on the roster, as the 2018 MVP will have a tougher matchup with Sylvia Fowles than usual, but might be able to put her step back game to work against her.