We’re less than a month away from the start of WNBA playoffs, which means that your fantasy playoffs should be starting soon. This may be the last week to make up some ground, and plenty of stars around the league are stepping up their game for the second part of the season.
In a rematch of last season’s WNBA Finals, the Liberty defeated the Aces 79-67, though A’ja Wilson was the best player in the game, as she finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and three blocks. In their two games last week, Wilson averaged 29 points, 12 rebounds, four steals and 2.5 blocks while shooting 57% from the floor and 89% from the free throw line and only turning the ball over once. Vegas currently holds the fourth-best record in the league, and if they’re able to make up more ground in the standings, Wilson should easily add another MVP award to her trophy case.
The Dream lost eight straight games entering the Olympic Break, but they won both of their games last week now that they’re healthier. They topped the Sun and the Storm, who both hold top five records in the league. Rhyne Howard scored a season-high 30 points against Seattle, and Atlanta is now just 1.5 games behind Chicago for the eighth seed.
BIG BUCKET RHYNE HOWARD 🪣
— WNBA (@WNBA) August 18, 2024
📺 League Pass pic.twitter.com/5kzqrKoeyX
Satou Sabally made her season debut on Friday and finished with 20 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, two steals and three 3-pointers in a loss to Connecticut. She’s available in roughly 24% of ESPN leagues, so if Sabally is sitting on your waiver wire, change that immediately. She’ll be a star for the remainder of the season.
Satou Sabally in her return game 🔥
— Women’s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) August 17, 2024
• 20 points
• 8 rebounds
• 7 assists
pic.twitter.com/C6FTh5srxw
Week 11 games played:
3 games- NY, LV, CON, LA, DAL, MIN
2 games- PHX, CHI, WAS, ATL
1 game- IND, SEA
Instead of the games all being crammed into four days like last week, they’ll be spread out nicely over six days like a typical week following no games on Monday. Still, Indiana and Seattle only play once, which puts them at quite the disadvantage, especially when half the league plays three games.
Light game days:
Wednesday: 2 games
Phoenix @ Atlanta
Minnesota @ Las Vegas
Thursday: 1 game
Dallas @ New York
Saturday: 2 games
Connecticut @ New York
Indiana @ Minnesota
Sunday: 2 games
Las Vegas @ Chicago
Los Angeles @ Dallas
The only teams that don’t play on a light day this week are Seattle and Washington, while Dallas, Las Vegas, Minnesota and New York each have two games on lighter days. Those four teams should be prioritized when looking for streaming options this week.
Back-to-backs:
Friday-Saturday: CON, MIN
The last time Connecticut played a back-to-back, they won in overtime in the first game and ran out of gas during the second one. Minnesota hasn’t played a back-to-back since May, though neither team’s rotation should be dramatically altered as they continue to battle for playoff positioning.
Headlines:
Aari McDonald (foot) out indefinitely
McDonald has been the starting point guard for the Sparks for most of the season, but she is currently without a timeline for her return. Both Layshia Clarendon and Crystal Dangerfield have seen starts in place of McDonald, though Clarendon has missed their last two games due to personal reasons. Dangerfield has averaged 9.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.0 steal and 2.0 threes in their three games since the Olympic Break and should be a decent streaming option if Clarendon remains sidelined.
Karlie Samuelson dealing with knee injury
Samuelson exited early from Saturday’s game after playing just one minute due to this knee issue. Shatori Walker-Kimbrough ended up logging 31 minutes off the bench and finishing with 11 points. The Mystics are healthier now than they were before the break, but they didn’t play any of their starters over 28 minutes. Walker-Kimbrough may start in place of Samuelson on Tuesday, though Julie Vanloo should also see some extra minutes.
This cross over from Shatori Walker-Kimbrough 🔥 @WashMystics pic.twitter.com/x2yGFdO5TB
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) August 17, 2024
DiDi Richards (Achilles) out indefinitely
Richards may have been a player that saw extra minutes with Samuelson sidelined, but she hasn’t played since before the break and will remain sidelined indefinitely. That should result in extra minutes for Walker-Kimbrough and Vanloo.
Maddy Siegrist (finger) expected to return Tuesday
The former No. 3 overall pick enjoyed an excellent start to the season, but she has been sidelined since the middle of June. She is expected to return to the lineup on Tuesday, which will make the Wings as healthy as they’ve been all season. However, with Satou Sabally back, Siegrist may be forced to come off the bench. She’ll still be productive, but her role and upside will be capped.
Rookie watch:
Caitlin Clark
CC has only played two games since the break, but she has been unreal. She has averaged 26.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 9.5 assists and 3.5 threes per game. Her field goal percentage has been an issue during her rookie year, but she has shot 49% from the floor over these last two games. The turnovers still aren’t pretty, but that happens when you become the All-Time leader for assists as a rookie. It isn’t surprising that she has had an excellent rookie year, and she has the Fever in the playoff picture after being a bottom three team last season.
Caitlin Clark transition passing
— WNBA Rookie Watch (@WNBARookieWatch) August 19, 2024
(shoutout Kelsey) pic.twitter.com/HmMwvZoS6n
Angel Reese
In case you weren’t keeping up with it, Reese hasn’t had less than 10 rebounds in a game since May. She broke the franchise record for offensive rebounds in their first game back after the break, and then broke it again a few days later when she grabbed a career-high 20 boards, with 10 on the offensive end. The field goal percentage has been poor for a post player, but she is the best rebounder in the league. It has been fun to watch Clark and Reese lead the league in assists and rebounds during their first season, and they will both be dominant fantasy players for years to come.
Kamilla Cardoso
Reese isn’t the only dominant rookie rebounder on her team. Cardoso has dealt with some foul trouble, but she did finish with 15 points and 14 rebounds against the Sparks last week in just 28 minutes. It’s a two-player race for Rookie of the Year (though it may be over at this point), but Cardoso has had a strong first season in the league. Chicago’s post duo is going to be dangerous for a long, long time.
This is all day right here, Angel Reese to Kamilla Cardoso! Love this high low action! pic.twitter.com/DaBjaI3NDw
— ZekeHoops (@HandsOffAssata) August 17, 2024
