Layup Lines: Unimaginable riches

Happy Thursday and welcome back to Layup Lines, your quick recap of what’s going on in the WNBA. We only made one bet last night but it was a big one — three units on the Fever and Mystics to go under their point total when most public money was on the over.

• Without Caitlin Clark, Indiana kept it close but still scored under 80 points for the first time this season. Something to monitor!

This 437 word newsletter should take less than 2 minutes to read.

Bets of the day

• We’re 13-14 this season and have $1,000.77 remaining of our initial $1,000 to wager. Yes, that’s right — if you followed every Layup Lines bet so far this year you’d be up an incredible 77 cents.

  • So as you enjoy the free sip of your evening inebriant tonight, think about the journey that led us to this windfall. Smile and reflect on the good times. You earned it.

• There are two games tonight — Golden State @ New York (7pm, League Pass) and Dallas @ Chicago (8pm, Prime Video).

  • The Liberty just beat the Valkyries by 28 at home on Tuesday but are now banged up in the frontcourt, with centers Jonquel Jones and Nyara Sabally both out with knee injuries. The lack of interior defense should open things up for the Valks.

    • Bet: New York / Golden State over 163.5 total points, $50 to win $45.

  • The Sky are scoring around 75 points per game and this number is high, even against the Wings.

    • Bet: Chicago under 86.5 points scored, $50 to win $42.

Take of the day

• I love what the Washington Mystics are building. Rookies Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen are the perfect match together and while she’s not anywhere near it yet, second-year forward Aaliyah Edwards still has the talent to be an All-Star.

• Throw in Georgia Amoore returning from an ACL tear next year and a first-round pick swap with the lowly Sky in a loaded 2027 draft and the Mystics could be perennial contenders in a few years.

Good reads from around the league

• Plum, Cloud lead WNBA newcomer impact rankings (ESPN)

• Pistons exec "optimistic" on Detroit WNBA (Axios Detroit)

• Sky to retire jersey of Candace Parker (Yahoo)

Card of the day

I’m going to Barclays tonight to catch the Liberty in person for the first time since 2019! Expect some takes tomorrow.

Thanks for reading Layup Lines. Your friends / loved ones / upstairs neighbors can subscribe here.

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

— Everett Cook, Founder & Editor