🧙‍♀️ Layup Lines: Washington's shocking second half

Happy Tuesday and welcome back to Layup Lines, your quick recap of what’s going on in the WNBA.

• I missed you yesterday and hope your Monday was less messy than the sale of the Connecticut Sun.

This 499 word newsletter should take about 2 minutes to read.

Standings update

• Sunday’s five-game slate delivered, with the Fever storming back from a 21-point deficit to beat the Sun and the Mystics pulling off yet another impressive upset win over the Sparks.

  • With the Aces winning, the Storm losing to Phoenix and Golden State dropping to Atlanta, the playoff picture has never been messier. We have three teams within a half game of the last playoff spot, with the 6th place Fever and 7th place Valkyries only two games ahead.

  • I think the Aces have probably cemented their place, which means there are five teams gunning for two spots to end the year.

  • Can Seattle (2-8 in its last 10 games) figure it out? Do the Sparks find another defensive gear? Or do we have the unlikely Valks and Mystics sneaking in for the honor of getting blown out by Minnesota?

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📺 Today’s games

• After once again going 1-2 with picks, we have a paltry $18.92 remaining of our initial $1,000 budget remaining to wager. Slowly losing all your money in front of hundreds of readers is what the newsletter game is all about!

• Of todays’ five games, the fourth Finals rematch of the last few weeks should be the most entertaining. Are the Lynx really about to go 4-0 against the Liberty during the regular season after losing the 2024 championship to them?

  • For the West Coasters / people who can stay up past 10pm on a weeknight, Atlanta @ Las Vegas features fun individual matchups like Brittney Griner vs. A’ja Wilson, Brionna Jones vs. NaLyssa Smith and Allisha Gray vs. Jackie Young.

  • In terms of bets, we’re going to hopefully “stay alive” with:

    • Minnesota moneyline, $5 to win $6.20.

    • Atlanta / Vegas under 166, $5 to win $4.46.

    • Washington -6, $8.92 to win $8.49.

😳 Take of the day

• I was officially wrong about the Mystics rolling over and going quietly into the offseason after trading Brittney Sykes. If anything, it has done the opposite.

  • Washington has won three of its last four and is just a half game out of the last playoff spot right now — plus Sonia Citron is averaging nearly 20 points and four assists per game on insane shooting numbers since the trade.

⛈ Statue to go

• Sue Bird just became the first WNBA player to have a statue outside their home arena and it actually looks like her!

Layup Lines is written 100% by a human being with visual assistance from AI tools. I very much appreciate you reading and will see you back here tomorrow.

— Everett Cook, Founder & Editor