The National Lacrosse League enters Week 11 with two Friday night matchups, and I’m targeting one game in particular. The Thunderbirds host the Las Vegas Desert Dogs and Halifax is favored by as many as 3.5 points at some sportsbooks. Rather than bet a side or target the total, I’m betting a player prop in this game. Let’s take a look at what my best bet is for Friday night in the NLL.
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Halifax Thunderbirds vs. Las Vegas Desert Dogs
| Halifax (-2.5) Odds | -320 |
| Las Vegas (+2.5) Odds | +220 |
| Total | 23.5 |
| Time | Friday · 6:30 p.m. ET |
| TV | ESPN+ |
Odds via bet365
The Las Vegas Desert Dogs have been a tough team to handicap. They have four losses with a combined -29 point differential, yet their three wins have come against Panther City, San Diego and most recently Albany; the latter two teams are sitting in second and third place in the standings and Panther City is one win out of a playoff spot. Anything can happen with this team. We could see a double-digit loss or an outright victory as multi-point underdogs.
As inconsistent as Las Vegas has been, its defense has improved, holding both San Diego and Albany to less than eight points. Lumped in between those recent wins was a 21-12 beatdown by Panther City, but Las Vegas was missing top defender John Wagner, who ranks 12th in goals defended and third in shooting percentage allowed with a stunning 5.1%, according to LaxMetrics. While you can't completely throw out their loss to Panther City, the game got away from them quickly and I expect we’ll see a defensive effort more akin to their games against San Diego and Albany, even if it ends in another multi-goal loss.
One player I expect the Desert Dogs to be able to limit is Halifax forward Ryan Benesch. Benesch fell a half-point short of his points total of 4.5 last week and yet bet365 set his points total this week at 5.5. Benesch has surpassed this mark just once in seven games this season and only four times in his last 26 games with Halifax, so -140 is a great price to bet him to stay under again. Even if the Desert Dogs struggle, there are a lot of mouths to feed on this Halifax offense and Benesch could struggle to reach six points even if the Thunderbirds have a big day on offense.
Pick: Ryan Benesch Under 5.5 Points
