WNBA Fantasy schedule breakdown: Week 9

This is the last full week of hoops before the All-Star Game, and the rosters were released last week.

The WNBA All-Stars will face off against the USWNT, with the Olympic break beginning just before the weekend. Looking ahead to next week, there will only be games on Tuesday and Wednesday before All-Star Weekend, and the regular season will pick back up after that on August 15th. Matchup 10 will stretch over a month, though it will only include six days of games.

As for this week, there will be no games on Monday night, and there is only one game on Tuesday and one game on Thursday, so make sure to adjust your lineups accordingly.

Looking back to last week, Kelsey Plum is starting to heat up. After shooting 47.5% from the field last season, she has shot 41.6% thus far. That can partially be attributed to Chelsea Gray’s absence, so it isn’t surprising that Plum is getting easier looks and knocking them down with Gray back in the lineup. Plum averaged 26.5 points per game while shooting 55.7% from the field across four games last week, and the Aces have now gone 7-1 since Gray’s return. They currently have the fifth-best record in the league, though they’re only 3.5 games out of first.

Chennedy Carter is on fire. She has scored at least 20 points in five of her last six appearances, and she had a season-high 33 points against Seattle last week. The only time that she has scored more in a game was back in 2020, when she had 35, also against Seattle. Carter is 14th in the league in points per game despite only starting in eight games. In those eight starts, she is averaging 21.9 points per game, which would rank fourth in the league, only behind A’ja Wilson, Arike Ogunbowale and Kahleah Copper.

Now, let’s look at the week ahead.

Week 9 games played:

3 games- IND, CHI, PHX, SEA, MIN, ATL, NY, LV

2 games- LA, WAS, DAL, CONN

Light game days:

Tuesday: 1 game

Minnesota @ Los Angeles

Thursday: 1 game

Chicago @ New York

Saturday: 2 games

New York @ Chicago

Los Angeles @ Dallas

Back-to-backs:

Wednesday-Thursday: CHI, NY

There isn’t too much of an advantage this week. LA only plays twice, but both of their games are on lighter days. Dallas also has a game on a lighter day. New York and Chicago play on two lighter days, but they also have a back-to-back and three games in four days from Wednesday to Sunday.

Headlines:

Napheesa Collier out indefinitely with foot injury

Collier missed Saturday’s game with a foot injury, and now she will be considered “out indefinitely” due to plantar fasciitis in her left foot. Dorka Juhász (39.6%) logged 23 minutes as the starter in her place on Saturday and finished with two points, 11 rebounds and one steal. Cecilia Zandalasini (2%) played 17 minutes off the bench and contributed 10 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Collier’s injury also opened the door for Alissa Pili to enter the rotation and log 10 minutes. The rookie may see more minutes over the next few games, but don’t expect enough production out of her to be worth a roster spot.

Azurá Stevens makes season debut

Stevens (arm) finally made her season debut on Sunday and finished with 10 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block in 26 minutes off the bench. She averaged 10.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.9 blocks and 1.0 triple last season, and the Sparks really need her production with the injuries stacking up. Stevens also started the second half after Stephanie Talbot exited with a foot injury, and if Talbot remains sidelined past one game, Stevens (19.8%) will be a must-add.

Jordin Canada diagnosed with broken finger

Canada injured her finger against New York on June 30th and played 40 minutes against Chicago last Tuesday with the injury, per Winsidr’s Michael Waterloo. Maya Caldwell (1.4%) has started the last two games in place of Canada, where she has averaged 8.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game. That isn’t premier value, but Caldwell will continue to see big minutes until Canada’s finger heals.

Rookie watch:

Caitlin Clark

Clark became the first rookie in WNBA history to record a triple-double on Saturday as she finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists. She has had at least 10 assists in three straight games and in four of their last five games, and she is now second in the league in assists per game at 7.4, with Alyssa Thomas leading the league at 7.9.

Angel Reese

Reese’s double-double streak has reached 13 games, which makes it the longest streak in WNBA history. She reached the longest streak in one season a few games ago, but this record now includes streaks that stretched over the course of two seasons. Of course, it isn’t over multiple seasons for Reese, since she is only in year one. She set a career-high for both points and rebounds this past week, with 27 points on Friday and 19 rebounds on Tuesday.

Jacy Sheldon

Sheldon has stepped into a large role with the Wings in recent weeks, though that hasn’t led to a massive production boost. However, she scored a career-high 17 points in a win over the Dream on Friday. Unfortunately, she scored a total of 10 points across her other three games last week, so that performance seems to be more of an outlier. We’ll see if she can have another big game this upcoming week.

Rickea Jackson

Jackson has been figuring things out recently. She has scored in double figures in four straight games, and she scored a career-best 22 points on Sunday. She also has at least three assists in three straight games, which is a big improvement after she had a total of three assists across her first eight games.