Layup Lines: Mini Monday

There's one game today — let's make it count.

Author

Everett Cook
May 19, 2025

Good Monday morning to you and yours and welcome back to Layup Lines, your quick recap of what’s going on in the WNBA. We went 1-1 yesterday and were two Napheesa Collier points away from going 2-0.

  • It’s a sign to avoid player props, at least to start the season. Collier scored 17 points by halftime but the Lynx cruised in the second half and she didn’t need to score much. A better read would’ve been to just ride with Minnesota.

  • But I do feel good about taking the over of the Sun and Mystics. Connecticut has lost so many defensive stalwarts in recent years and Washington is now a fun and surprising 2-0.

This 439 word newsletter should take less than 2 minutes to read.

Bets of the day

  • We’re 3-4 this season and have $936 of our initial $1,000 remaining to wager.

  • There’s one game today and it’s between two 0-1 teams who both got smoked in their season openers — Seattle Storm @ Dallas Wings (8pm ET on NBA TV).

    • I wrote about travel fatigue in yesterday’s newsletter and tonight is the first interesting test of the season. The Storm left Phoenix late Saturday night after scoring just 59 points and then traveled to Dallas, where the Wings have been since losing to the Lynx on Friday.

    • The vibes were also off for both of these teams on opening night, so our bet is that one of them again struggles to score. Which one matters naught.

    • Bet: Storm/Wings Under 166.5, $50 to win $44.

Take of the day

  • There are an incredible eight new head coaches this year. Some are in the top spot for the first time, while others are coaching women for the first time after a career on the men’s side.

  • There is simply no way all eight of these coaches are competent, and those patterns will start to show themselves after a few weeks. Once we sniff out the bozos, taking their opponents to win by more than 10 should be lucrative.

Cheryl Reeve Basketball GIF by WNBA

Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve is going to feast on some of these rookie coaches this season. Gif by wnba on Giphy.

Card of the day

Sue Bird retired in 2022 and the Storm still really miss her leadership. How fun would it be to watch a 44-year-old Bird running point on the second team for 10 minutes a game?

Sue Bird 2004 Ultra WNBA.

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If you bet, please do so responsibly, and we will see you back here tomorrow.

— Everett Cook, Founder & Editor