This past weekend was a huge success for the PLL. Not only did we see the induction of the inaugural Professional Lacrosse Hall of Fame class, we also saw the homecoming for many LI natives, as this weekend was hosted by Hofstra Stadium. We even got a Paul Rabil interview on Barstool Sports’ Pardon My Take podcast, where he spoke to the future of the PLL. All good things here in the lacrosse community. Three of the four game were great, and really could have gone either way. The Chrome nearly blew a lead early in the fourth, but came back to win against the Waterdogs. The Whipsnakes are looking better and better every week as they took down the Atlas comfortably. The Archers put up 20 goals against the Cannons, and the Redwoods got their first win against the Chaos.
We had a great weekend when it comes to our picks, with a record of 4-1. Our one loss was the Chaos +1.5 against the Redwoods. The Always Custom parlay did not work out as the Chaos lost to the Redwoods by four goals. With the 4-1 weekend that brings our season record to 5-4 – above 50%. The PLL is making its way to Maryland this weekend for another homecoming weekend in a hotbed state. Let’s take a look at the board and see where we can find some value.
Whipsnakes vs Redwoods (+1.5, O/U22.5) Friday June 24 6:30pm ESPN 2
Pick: Over 22.5
The NLL season is officially over after the Mammoth won the title. This means Zed Williams should be back in the starting lineup, and the Whipsnakes will be even more dangerous. The Redwoods seemed to find their rhythm, taking down the Chaos for their first win of the season, and will be looking to carry that momentum to Baltimore. If you are looking to take a spread or money line on this game, we think the safe pick would be the Whipsnakes money line. The Redwoods win is keeping us from picking a side, so our official pick is going to be over 22.5 goals. With the Redwoods coming off a win, and the Whipsnakes getting a huge piece of their puzzle back on offense, we’re think this is a recipe for a tight game, with a lot of ginos in the stat column.
Chaos vs Waterdogs (+1.5, O/U 23.5) Friday June 24 9:15pm ESPN+
Pick: Chaos -1.5
The Chaos should be entering this week with their full squad for the first game this season. Now that the NLL season is over, they get a bunch of their stars back. Despite not grabbing their first win yet, the squad has still looked good given the circumstances. Adding Josh Byrne and Dhane Smith back into the mix is going to be a major lift for the Chaos. The Waterdogs are off to a rocky start; they are dead last in face off percentage at 37%, and they have the second worst points against average in the league at 15.0 points allowed per game. You don’t want to be bottom of the pack in either of those columns, never mind last in both. We think the Chaos team has been playing much better than the Waterdogs in their past 3 games, and adding their star players back in makes their -1.5 line look primed for the taking, especially at -115.
Chrome vs Cannons (+1.5, O/U 24.5) Saturday June 25 6pm ESPN+
Pick: Cannons ML
There is no denying that the Chrome are one of the top dogs in the league right now sitting at 3-0, so now the question is, when will this undefeated streak run out? They have been great all over the field: whether it be offense, defense, or in between the lines. They are ranked in the top 3 in scores, face-offs won, and scores against average. The Cannons are looking for some structure in their offense which is hard when you lose the best player in Lyle Thompson for week 2. Week three Lyle was back, but the Archers gave the Cannons a beat down. Call us crazy, but we think we’re siding with the Cannons on this game. There were a couple of Chrome guys having their Long Island Homecoming, which definitely gave them some momentum, but now we go down to Baltimore to play Saturday night. We think Lyle Thompson gets back to lighting up the scoreboard and the Cannons give the Chrome a harder time than the odds are showing. Take the spread if you want to be safe, but the LU pick is Cannons ML at +150.
Atlas vs Archers (+1.5, O/U 25.5) Saturday June 25 8:45pm ESPN+
Pick: Archers +1.5
It is crazy to us that the Archers just scored 20 goals, won by 11 and are not favored in a game where the Atlas are coming off a loss? Oh, and the Archers will most likely have Grant Ament back from his injury. The Atlas have a solid squad this year, there’s no doubt about that with Gray and Teat destroying defenses. But if the Archers are getting goals given to them in the spread, we feel comfortable taking it. Ament or no Ament, this Archers team has proven that they are dangerous no matter what. The big question mark is how much will Baptiste dominate at the faceoff X? The Atlas have a league-leading faceoff percentage of 65%, and the Archers are second to last at 39%. That stat will make the game interesting and could be the deciding factor, but we’re comfortable taking the Archers here.
Always Custom Parlay
+1123 odds $20 wins $244.66
Redwoods vs Whpsnakes Over 22.5| Cannons +1.5| Chaos -1.5| Archers +1.5
This is the week the Always Custom Parlay comes up clutch for us. We are going with all of our picks that we selected individually, except the Cannons. We are taking the Cannons spread to play it safe for the parlay. Everything is looking like it will be in our favor so we just have to wait it out now, and get back to you with fat pockets on Monday.