-
Jim McCormick
A long summer season is winding down. With most teams having 10 games left on the schedule, the fantasy playoffs loom for fantasy managers. Many leagues have just this final week before the imaginary postseason begins next Monday.
With the gravity of the moment in mind, it remains important to adapt to the needs of your team and to the trends around the league. In our backcourt endorsements below, you’ll find a rookie rising for the Sun, once again, as well as a savvy vet taking on more work in the wake of injuries. You never know who might help your fantasy squad.
Making the fantasy playoffs is a testament to the team you drafted and curated since May. Retain that same proactive lens into the fantasy playoffs, knowing that there is just a bit more weight added to each move. Let’s look at some promising pickups for the week ahead.
Backcourt
Saniya Rivers, G, Connecticut Sun (Rostered in 21.1% of ESPN leagues): It’s rare, but sometimes players thrive from the bench. Rivers recently shifted out of the starting lineup despite having a solid rookie season. She has responded with brilliant two-way production, providing the Sun and fantasy managers with an awesome blend of points, assists, steals, and, most profoundly, blocks. The momentum for a strong finish only builds with a series of games against the Mystics this week.
Odyssey Sims, G, Indiana Fever (11.2%): Injuries have hit the Fever hard this season. Sophie Cunningham joins Caitlin Clark in the training room, vaulting this veteran combo guard into a familiar role as lead creator. Sims could see a fairly extreme workload in coming games, as she just topped 40 minutes against the Sun en route to 30 fantasy points. The team doesn’t have much margin for error, pushing Sims to deliver strong point guard play deep into the season. The Fever will face a depleted Lynx roster twice this week.
Frontcourt
Maddy Siegrist, F, Dallas Wings (21.4%): An injury to Arike Ogunbowale has led to massive minutes and a superstar workload for Siegrist in recent games. With a series of 20-point performances over the past week and with Ogunbowale still on the mend, Siegrist could thrive early this week against a Sparks team lacking frontcourt depth.
Jessica Shepard, F, Minnesota Lynx (24.7%): Injuries remain influential, as the absence of Napheesa Collier pushes Shepard to the forefront of the Lynx offense. Shepard has stepped up to the moment, with big double-double outings in three of her past five games. The Lynx could open up on offense facing a Fever team missing several key starters.