PLL Week 3 Picks and Predictions

The PLL is once again headed back to Long Island. One of the many things I like about the touring model of the league is that they can get into new markets but it’s nice that they always go back to the roots. Let’s get into it.

**Odds provided by Draftkings Sportsbook**

6/17 6:00 PM EST Chrome -1.5 (-155) vs Waterdogs (+125) O/U 22.5

This week the Chrome find themselves as the favorites for the first time in the season. The past two weeks they have been 2.5 point underdogs and 1.5 point underdogs won both games straight up. Last week they absolutely dismantled the Redwoods winning 12-3. The Wood‘s offense looked sloppy and the Chrome defense took that and turned it right into offense. Goalie Sean Sconone posted a 70% save percentage while Connor Farrell went 67% facing off. That truly is a formula for dominating a team that cannot get anything going offensively. The Waterdogs became the latest victim of a Whipsnakes comeback last week. The Pups were up by as much as 6-1 in the game. I will say that they looked a lot better overall last week than in Week 1. They looked way more cohesive this time around and were getting production from all over the field. Rookie Jack Hannah looked super impressive putting up a hat trick. Michael Sowers was back on his quarterback wave, posting 1 goal and 5 assists. As far as it’s match up between the Chrome and the Dogs is concerned, I find it very intriguing. Both of these teams perform so much better as the underdog in the scenario. Chrome have never covered as a 1.5 point favorite (PLT). Last year the Waterdogs beat the Chrome twice. The Waterdogs are going into this one with some injuries including faceoff man Jake Withers and defender Chris Sabia. If Farrell keeps up his current level of play, the Chrome will get plenty of opportunities. I like the Chrome to win here but I will stick with the moneyline in case the Pups make it close.

The Pick: Chrome -155

6/17 8:45 PM EST Atlas -1.5 (-175) vs Whipsnakes (+145) O/U 24.5

This one is looking like the heavyweight match of the season. In this one we have the “dynasty” team in the Whipsnakes going up against the new blood in the Atlas. The interesting thing is that the Whips are underdogs in this one. I know we’ve talked about this before but any original year of the league this matchup was seen as the professional embodiment of Hopkins vs Maryland. The Bulls have never won in this series, they came as close as a 1 goal loss last year but have never gotten over the hump. Everything has been clicking offensively so far this year for the Atlas. The Whips have made this a very interesting season. They started off the season with two back to back last second come from behind wins. I’m wondering if they are taking it easy to start the season because they know they can turn it on when they need to. Obviously if something they don’t care I just said that they know that they are better than some teams and therefore don’t have to go all out every time. I think that this game will be a high-score one. Both of these offenses have the ability to fill the back of the net. This line is too risky to pick a winner on either side. I’m gonna stick with you over here and root for a shoot out.

The Pick: Over 24.5

6/18 1:00 PM EST Archers -1.5 (-175) vs Cannons (+145) O/U 24.5

Last week the Archers got their first win over the chaos. They showed up and looked more like the team that everyone expected. All other offensive weapons showed up. Rookie Matt Moore got things going with a 4 point performance. Will Manny scored his 390th point to make him ninth all time in career points. They just looked way more cohesive and way more threatening this time around. To the Chaos’ credit, they hung in and tried to make it a game late but Archer's scoring was just too much. They finished the game with a 17-12 victory. The Cannon’s unfortunately became Atlas’ latest victim. Lyle Thompson was ruled out of the game just four hours prior, so the Cannons had to make quick adjustments. They made it a competitive game, even leading at one point. I just think that without their offensive leader they were not able to run with a team like Atlas. As far as this game I think it will be a heavily offensive matchup. The archers defense has not been stellar as they’ve still been allowing opposing teams the score. Outside of goalie Nick Marocco, the Cannons starting three defenseman have not been spectacular. I do not think that Marocco alone will be able to hold up the Cannons forever. He still let in 16 goals on Saturday even though he made plenty of phenomenal saves. Archers Goalie Adam Ghitelman has also not been saving the ball super well. I think this combined with both teams' offensive ceiling makes way for a high scoring matchup, so I’m rolling with the over.

The Pick: Over 24.5

6/18 4:00 PM EST Redwoods -1.5 (-140) vs Chaos (+110) O/U 22.5

Last week the Redwoods got embarrassed by the Chrome.They managed to only score 3 goals in the entirety of a 48 minute professional lacrosse game. Their offense looked very sloppy, having many turnovers. I’m honestly surprised to be talking about them in this way. On paper they look like a very stellar team and they should be. They are some of the best offensive players in the world but for some reason they just cannot get anything going. It’s been a weird downward trajectory for them ever since the first season of the league. They went from being in the league championship to starting off 0-2 with a score differential of -15. As far as the Chaos go, they’ve been doing just as much as they can with what they have at the moment. They almost had the Whips in week one and were starting to make it a game against the Archers last week. Most of their offensive players are playing in the NLL championship on Saturday. This will be their last week without their full roster so I know that guys will be making a case to not be let go once those original guys come back. I don’t expect this to be a super exciting game. I like the under in this one just because the Redwoods offense has not shown me anything yet. The Chaos defense has also been playing very well and of course they have league MVP Blaze Riorden in goal. I also think that this Chaos team has what it takes to be competitive and maybe even beat the redwoods. I will take them and the points as well.

The Picks: Chaos +1.5, Under 22.5

Prop Corner

Props for Lacrosse are back once again. They are only offering player point props at the moment. A player's points in lacrosse are their combined goals and assists for the game. If they have 2 goals and 1 assist, they have 3 points in the stat book.

Here’s what I am taking this weekend:

Brenden Nichtern O2.5 Points

Chris Gray O3.5 Points

Jay Carlson O2.5 Points

Mac O’Keefe O2.5 Points