It’s mostly been in Phoenix for the time being, but don’t be surprised if other teams operate under an abundance of caution, and adjust your fantasy lineups accordingly.

Atlanta Dream

The Dream suddenly find themselves extremely shorthanded entering the week, with Rhyne Howard questionable, Allisha Gray doubtful, and Nia Coffey out. That’s basically all of Atlanta’s perimeter, and in the worst-case scenario in which none of them can play, rookie Haley Jones will get the chance to showcase her versatility, while guards like Aari McDonald and AD Durr will enjoy a significant bump in usage. Forward Cheyenne Parker, fresh off a career-high 29-point performance, will also be featured much more prominently in the Dream’s offense, especially if neither Howard nor Gray – who are shooting the ball 26.9 times per game between them – are playing.

Chicago Sky

The Sky are trending in the wrong direction, having lost five consecutive games and slipped into 9th place in the standings, but since Chicago is without a 2024 first-round draft pick, missing the playoffs isn’t an option. We’ve already seen interim head coach Emre Vatansever’s rotations reflect this desperation, with forwards Ruthy Hebard (5.9 minutes per game in her last three games) and Morgan Bertsch (6.7 minutes) playing very sparingly behind Elizabeth Williams (34.1 minutes) and Alanna Smith (31.0).

Backup point guard Dana Evans, however, has kept her value off the bench, partly because of Marina Mabrey’s struggles. The Sky’s prized offseason acquisition totaled 16 points (7-19 shooting), 5 assists, and 5 turnovers in two games last week, and Vatansever hasn’t been afraid to play Evans and Courtney Williams a few extra minutes to compensate. Ultimately, the Sky will ride or die with their starters, with Evans their only reserve currently worthy of a fantasy roster spot.

Connecticut Sun

Rebecca Allen continues to be one of the few wing players in the WNBA who can contribute purely via defensive stats. In her last five games, Allen has amassed six steals and nine blocked shots, and while her low number of field goal attempts can make her a frustrating player to roster in standard scoring leagues, if your league rewards defensive playmaking, Allen has likely been one of the season’s top waiver-wire pickups – unless you were smart enough to draft her outright, that is.

Meanwhile, guard Tiffany Hayes continues to thrive in a tertiary scoring role. While Hayes isn’t getting the kind of volume she did during her time in Atlanta, she’s still been one of Connecticut’s most consistent players; she’s scored in double figures in seven straight games, and she’s been one of the team’s few capable outside shooters, connecticing on 36.1% of her 3-point attempts on the season.

Dallas Wings

Is Veronica Burton officially back in the Wings’ rotation? In Dallas’ most recent game, Burton got all 14 of the Wings’ backup guard minutes, and played well in those minutes, recording 6 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals and no turnovers. Granted, Odyssey Sims sat that game out with a hamstring injury and will probably miss more time this week, so what few bench guard minutes Dallas has will be all hers.

Otherwise, it’s been business as usual for the Wings, and there’s nothing to suggest their starting lineup of Crystal Dangerfield, Arike Ogunbowale, Satou Sabally, Natasha Howard, and Teaira McCowan will change. Kalani Brown (10 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists in 16 minutes on Sunday) has done a great job spelling McCowan, but the rest of the Wings’ starters have been playing well over 30 minutes per game for a while now, so no need to fret if you have any of them on your fantasy rosters.

Indiana Fever

Is it finally Grace Berger’s time to shine? We’ve seen hints of the rookie point guard breaking out over the last month or so, and Berger is playing 21.6 minutes over her last five games, averaging 5.8 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.8 assists during that span. Most of Indiana’s backcourt usage will still be going to Kelsey Mitchell and Erica Wheeler, but Berger seems like a more appealing streaming option than Kristy Wallace at the moment, though Wallace will still get her fair share of minutes as well with Lexie Hull (shoulder) out.

Meanwhile, forward NaLyssa Smith just had by far her best game since returning from a stress injury in her foot, scoring 25 points on 9-12 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds against Phoenix. While the nature of injuries like Smith’s is tricky, she’s showing no ill effects on the court, and the fact that she both started and played 33 minutes in her last game suggests that the Fever no longer have her on any sort of restrictions.

Las Vegas Aces

Are the Aces mortal? Their Commissioner’s Cup loss to New York doesn’t count in the standings, but their recent loss to Los Angeles does, and we may be seeing signs of the Aces’ dependency on their starters starting to wear on them, with guards Chelsea Gray and Kelsey Plum combining to shoot 8-25 against the Sparks. This isn’t going to change anything, however; Las Vegas will continue playing its four All-Stars heavy minutes, with Kiah Stokes and Alysha Clark the only of the team’s complementary players carrying any sort of fantasy value. Maybe head coach Becky Hammon will scale things back a bit when her team clinches the top overall playoff seed, but we haven’t seen that yet.

Los Angeles Sparks

The Sparks are playing their best basketball of the season with four straight wins (the most recent coming on the road against Las Vegas), and even though they’re still quite shorthanded, the players they’ve been leaning on to fill bigger roles have stepped things up. Layshia Clarendon, for example, has been excellent, racking up 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists against the Aces, while Jordin Canada continues her career year; the Sparks’ point guard is now averaging 13.8 points, 6 assists, and 2 steals per game on the season.

Much of this is due to Lexie Brown’s (illness) continued absence, and we still don’t know the severity of her illness or when she’ll return. Until she does, Clarendon is a must-play, while Karlie Samuelson is a low-usage streaming option for deeper leagues. Rookie Zia Cooke is a significantly riskier play; she scored 10 points in back-to-back games earlier in the month but played just 8 minutes and went scoreless last Saturday.

Minnesota Lynx

There’s been conversation on social media about Aerial Powers falling out of the Lynx’ rotation, and in her defense, it’s strange to see a player earning her kind of money not getting any kind of playing time. Powers scored 12 points in 16 minutes in Minnesota’s most recent game against Seattle – she’s always been a statistically productive per-minute player – but we’d wager that she’ll be suiting up for another team next season and that her contributions to the Lynx for the rest of 2023 will be meager at best.

As for players who are in Minnesota’s long-term plans, rookie big Dorka Juhász is now coming off the bench, which has limited her scoring (9 total points in her last three games) but not her rebounding (22 rebounds). Juhász, Jessica Shepard, and Nikolina Milic have all been occupying a similar role in the Lynx’ rotation – a traditional big to be paired with star forward Napheesa Collier, that is – and while this doesn’t seem like an ideal fantasy situation, each of the three have been reasonably productive, especially Shepard, who is averaging 8.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 27.5 minutes per game this season. Shepard isn’t playing as much as she did early on, though, and with Juhász firmly entrenched at the Lynx’ center of the future, her role may be smaller next year.

New York Liberty

There’s not much to report out of New York. The Liberty are really, really good, and the only reason their starters didn’t play as many minutes in their recent game against Phoenix is because the game was essentially over after three quarters, allowing Marine Johannès (18 points, 4 3-pointers in 28 minutes to run roughshod off the bench. Betnijah Laney’s recent performance has been noteworthy, too; she’s shot 50% or better from the field in every game (besides the Commissioner’s Cup final) dating back to August 4. Laney is rarely any higher than 4th on the Liberty’s pecking order, but while she won’t reach the volume of yesteryear, her overall efficiency has benefited tremendously from playing alongside the rest of New York’s stars.

Phoenix Mercury

Center Brittney Griner is in health and safety protocols and has missed the last two Mercury games (both Phoenix losses, unsurprisingly), which should mean that Megan Gustafson is an auto-add for as long as Griner is out. We know that Brianna Turner may pick up a few more minutes in Griner’s absence, but won’t shoot the basketball; Gustafson will, though, and it will contribute to efficient fantasy stat lines. Last Sunday against Indiana, Gustafson posted 15 points and 8 rebounds in 28 minutes off the bench, and since Phoenix doesn’t have any other center they’re truly invested in, she’ll continue to get those opportunities without Griner in the lineup.

Diana Taurasi also left the Mercury’s most recent game due to a toe injury and didn’t return. With only a handful of games remaining, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the 41-year old guard continues to miss time, in which case players like Sophie Cunningham (who has led the Mercury in scoring in each of their past three games) and Michaela Onyenwere would benefit the most. Sug Sutton is also worth a shot as a streamer, though her recent shooting woes make her a riskier fantasy play.

Seattle Storm

Ever since the Storm lost forward Gabby Williams to a stress fracture, their lineups have been more traditional, with a three-big rotation. That’s been good news for rookie Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu, who pulled down a career-high 15 rebounds in Seattle’s most recent game. She won’t shoot the ball often, but Fankam Mendjiadeu showed early on that she’s an elite rebounder if she gets the minutes, and that seems like a sure thing for the rest of the season.

Rookie point guard Jade Melbourne has also been pressed into action since the team released Ivana Dojkic. The 21-year old has backed up Sami Whitcomb, who is playing 30 minutes per game in August, and while Australian basketball fans know all about Melbourne’s stat-sheet-stuffing potential, she’s not going to have much of a role if things in Seattle continue like this. The Storm will eventually embrace the tank, but don’t rush to pick up Melbourne just yet.

Washington Mystics

Elena Delle Donne is back – or was back. The Mystics’ star forward, who has previously missed over a month with an ankle injury, returned to play just 13 minutes last Friday, and she’s now out again with what the team is calling a hip injury. This is nothing new for Delle Donne, who has struggled to stay healthy for an entire season since 2019, so be aware that the Mystics will probably play it safe with her until the playoffs.

Similarly, center Shakira Austin appears to be on an injury recovery plan as she comes back from a hip injury of her own. Austin played 14 and 15 minutes in her first two games back, respectively, and sat out the Mystics’ most recent game. This, too, will likely be a recurring theme for the remainder of the regular season, and will keep Tianna Hawkins and Queen Egbo fantasy-relevant.

With the Mystics’ starting frontcourt still in flux, guard Brittney Sykes has picked up the slack and then some. She recorded back-to-back 30-point games and swiped 5 steals in her most recent game, and she’s absolutely destroying her ADP of 41.2. Though Ariel Atkins has returned from an ankle injury, don’t hesitate to keep playing Sykes, whose ability to function as a primary ball handler has made her all the more valuable through the Mystics’ injury-riddled season.