Canadian Sensation: Lobbin’ Sparkles (June 9th,2023)

6-5-1 +9.4u

Stupid garbage points ruining the under lol. Oh well, I¡¯ll settle for the 4u win. Need to just stick to sides. 

Eyes on LA tomorrow 

Return of Jasmine Thomas gives me some pause, but LA *should* have the edge as far as motivation in this game. 

Recently, Chicago played two tough games against NYL (first at home and then winning in NY) followed by a come from behind OT win at home over Indiana. Now they travel to LA where they meet a team that just lost to Seattle. The stats on that Seattle win are gross, especially the Sparks¡¯ 21 turnovers. No doubt, LA would love to get the taste of that game out of their mouths. Little ¡°revenge¡± spot for Stevens who spent 3 season with Chicago. 

Last, but certainly not least, Chicago is on their way to Las Vegas after this game for a matchup with Candace Parker. I faded the Aces yesterday as a result of this look ahead and I¡¯m likely looking to double up in fading Chicago here. 

Notes on a couple other games¡­

NYL@ATL:

I¡¯m seeing some support for ATL out there and I would like to back them but so far I haven¡¯t found enough to do so. The injury to McDonald seems pretty significant to me. The numbers might not jump off the page, but she has been a steadying presence for them this season and Robinson is still out so it feels like Durr is going over 20 minutes tonight at least. They have a proven ability to score but Atlanta needs facilitators more than scorers. Kind of curious to see if any NY players are reeling from the smog. 

PHX@DAL:

God help me. I actually like this spot for Phoenix. There¡¯s bound to be a few times this season where I consider betting on them, but I really don¡¯t want to haha. Dallas has an appointment in NY just two days from now and the Mercury have just been chillin in Dallas since Wednesday night when they were out rebounded 26-50 and managed just 11 4th quarter points to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Moriah Jefferson is questionable. Maybe I¡¯ll leave it up to chance. If she¡¯s in, it¡¯s probably worth a unit. Ugggghhhh

Failed to mention Haley Jones. She¡¯s been pretty underwhelming for me so far this season (hence my omission) but we did see a bit of a spark from her in the game against Chicago. Honestly, she was okay last game too just nothing special. She does help with ball movement though, and can replace some of McDonald¡¯s playmaking (more than AD). Coming out party for the rookie perhaps? She¡¯s got great size at 6¡¯1¡±compared to NY guards who are all under 6 foot but Thornton and Laney match up well. Might they be too busy trying to contain Howard? Play or not, I am getting excited for this game. 

One last note on the NYL@ATL game. This one is just sort of odd and I don¡¯t think it has *too much* impact on today¡¯s game but from NY¡¯s perspective they are going to play every other game against Atlanta from now until June 23rd. Just weird. 5 games from now til then with games 1, 3, and 5 against Atlanta. No big tests in between with Dallas and Phoenix. Thanks to the Lynx game being postponed, NY is still coming in to this game off of a loss and something tells me they probably saw how close Atlanta played Vegas. Even at 4-2, I think the Liberty come into this game hungrier and with McDonald falling out of the lineup, there are chemistry/lack of experience playing together concerns on both sides 

Any pick Today?

I must really hate myself. Rules are made to be broken, right? 

I didn¡¯t realize playing in Texas was such a homecoming for Griner. Definitely a lot of emotion in that first game and some added incentive to get the win tonight (not that a 1-4 team in an immediate revenge spot coming off a 4th quarter collapse should need it). This would normally be a 2 unit play for me at least, but since it¡¯s PHX I¡¯ll stick to the minimum

Phoenix Mercury +5 @ Dallas Wings (-110)1u

Line dropped from 7.5 to 6.5 before tip off. I find that odd because I saw that number was hovering 7.5 -7 all day

@handycat

 Staying away from NYL@ATL for now. I see the ATL love out there but if I was forced to bet I would probably take the Liberty in this spot. Could look to back them at half depending on the score but I also think they¡¯ll be up at the half. 

I hate this 3.5 number. Maybe it¡¯s trauma from when I used to bet NFL or maybe that¡¯s just how I¡¯m supposed to feel. Either way, I¡¯m putting my money on the Sparks to win this by 2 possessions just like I did when I took Atlanta over Chicago. That game wasn¡¯t even close. Hopefully this one isn¡¯t either because I do think Chicago has better closers and more ¡°belief¡±. We shall see. 

Chicago Sky @ LA Sparks -3.5 (-110)2u

@Portu

 1 unit on PHX+5 and 2 units on LA -3.5

Gluck lip. Love reading your write upd

@handycat

 Thanks, handy. 

I think this is about to get ugly for Atlanta backers. They just don¡¯t have a real PG. Dream have 2 assists, 8 turnovers, and 15 of their 17 points have come from 2 players. Liberty have 6 assists, 2 turnovers, and every starter has scored. 

Coming back. I don't care if they lose. Just cover the damm spread. Caught them +9 1/2 too

@handycat

 Good luck in the 2nd half 

*halftime*

IND@MIN Over 79.5 (-120)1u

So much stupid shit happened in that first. Both teams could and probably should be over 40 already