🍻 Layup Lines: Tall Girls in Toronto

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Happy Thursday and welcome back to Layup Lines, your quick recap of what’s going on in the WNBA. It’s not technically the weekend yet, but with 13 games on between now and Sunday night, you have permission to let loose.

• Programming note: We’ll be back Tuesday morning to preview the Commissioner's Cup final between the Liberty and Aces.

This 578 word newsletter should take about 2 minutes to read.

🩼 Oof

Yesterday was not a great day on the injury front. We saw:

• Caitlin Clark leave the Fever’s 111-109 loss to Phoenix early with a back injury that semed to come after a couple of pretty obvious fouls. After the game, Indiana coach Stephanie White called the lack of fouls called “absolutely disrespectful.”

  • Not to diminish these concerns — I’ve been writing all season that the refs are bad enough to be both a current and existential crisis to the league — but Indiana also set a WNBA record last night for most losses in a season when scoring 100+ points (4). It’s still June! And that has very little to do with officiating.

• Kelsey Plum miss time with a leg injury, play 36 minutes in her first game back for some reason, and now be ruled out at least four weeks with what appears to be an injury on the same leg.

  • Never say never, but the 8-8 Sparks have statistically the worst defense in the league and are now missing their leader in minutes, points and assists until probably August. Might be it on both this season and coach Lynne Roberts’ time in LA.

• Alanna Smith enter concussion protocol, which might not be the worst thing for the Wings. The 11th-highest paid player in the league has been a disaster so far as Dallas’ big free agent signing and this opens up more playing time for Li Yueru.

• Atlanta guard Allisha Gray leaving the Dream’s loss to Golden State last night early with an “upper body injury.” Too early to speculate, but she stirs Atlanta’s drink and the Dream can’t afford too many games without her.

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📺 What’s on this weekend

• Lots of fun games! I’d recommend:

  • Tonight: Dallas @ Las Vegas (10pm ET, NBA TV)

  • Friday: Atlanta @ Golden State (10pm, ION)

  • Sunday: Minnesota @ Dallas (2pm, CBS) and New York @ Golden State (7pm, ESPN)

    • *If you’re looking to wager, I like Toronto -1.5 vs. LA tonight, under 161.5 points scored between Atlanta / Golden State tomorrow and the Lynx at whatever the spread is vs. the Wings on Sunday.

      • *I am 11-7 on bets I like this year.

🗞️ Good reads from around the league

• The WNBA made a 30th anniversary poster and left off Bird, Clark and Taurasi? (USA TODAY)

• Arike Ogunbowale still finding fit in Wings’ backcourt trio (The IX)

• WNBA Power Rankings: Atlanta on top after a week of chaos (ESPN)

🍺 Promo to go

• The Toronto Tempo and Coors Light Canada are selling “Tall Girl” cans of beer — a play on what are usually called tall boys — at home games in July.

  • Any Canadian readers out there willing to risk an international shipping scandal to get a case to Brooklyn? These cans would sell out instantly in my neighborhood.

Layup Lines is written 100% by a human being. I very much appreciate you reading!

— Everett Cook, Founder & Editor