Layup Lines: One big Saturday

Happy Saturday and welcome back to Layup Lines, your quick recap of what’s going on in the WNBA. Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but we went 1-1 last night thanks to nailing an under and then underestimating the Golden State Valkyries. More on the Valks later.

• For now, join me in following the wise words of Layup Lines reader Kevin Y., who responded to yesterday’s newsletter with, “If friends don’t let friends bet player props this early in the season, they certainly do not let each other bet teasers!” Lesson learned, Kevin Y. 

Programming note: We’re coming to you early today because the best game of the day, New York at Indiana, starts at 1pm ET on CBS.

This 453 word newsletter should take about 2 minutes to read.

Bets of the day

• We are 7-10 this season and have $840 of our initial $1,000 left to wager.

• There are two games today, with Dallas @ Atlanta following the early banger at 3pm ET on CBS Sports Network.

  • The Fever and Dream are both playing their third game in five days after beating each other up twice during the week, which means shaky defense. The Wings are also desperate for their first win of the season and the Liberty have easily cleared 90 points in both their games. We like points today.

    • Bet: Liberty / Fever over 173.5 points scored, $50 to win $46.

    • Bet: Wings / Dream over 170 points scored, $50 to win $44.

  • And for the same fatigue reasons, we’re going to take the best team in the league motivated by playing on national TV.

    • Bet: Liberty -4, $50 to win $45.

Take of the day

• In the very first Layup Lines newsletter, I wrote about how the Valkyries have the worst roster in the WNBA and would be lucky to win nine games this season. Naturally, they are now 2-1 after beating the Sparks by nine last night. 

• I maintain the opinion that this team is full of 3rd and 4th offensive options, but Golden State also leads the league in steals and isn’t committing many fouls.

• A regression could be coming, but we’ve learned our lesson about betting against the disciplined Valks when they’re getting lots of points. 

Card of the day

You might be surprised to learn that the author of a free WNBA newsletter cannot afford a five-figure Caitlin Clark auto card, but I do enjoy having this silver prizm of her 2024 Select rookie card.

Thanks for reading Layup Lines. Your friends / loved ones / wedding officiants can subscribe here.

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

— Everett Cook, Founder & Editor