The 2023 Premier Lacrosse League season kicks off this weekend and sportsbooks have provided bettors with a robust selection of preseason props, win totals and championship odds. I'll take a look at the future odds being offered for each team and give my six favorite bets to make before the season starts.
If you’re an avid bettor who’s new to lacrosse or a lacrosse fan who’s new to betting, check outmy guide on how to bet on lacrosse for some tips to use when placing a lacrosse bet.
Atlas LC To Win 2023 PLL Championship
The Atlas are favored in nearly every market, and rightly so. Their win total (6.5) is the highest on both DraftKings and FanDuel and they're the favorite to finish with at least a top-three seed at FanDuel (-135) and the No. 1 overall seed on DraftKings (+225).
The Bulls boast a versatile midfield, the best faceoff athlete in the league and reigning MVP Trevor Baptiste, and a Jack Concannon-led defense that added two of the top defenders in the PLL Draft this offseason.
So, how do you bet this Atlas team, which is rightly favored across the board?
Bet them to win it all.
The Atlas could conceivably go over 6.5 wins and land a first-round bye via the top seed, but if you like them to do either of those things, then the value is in their championship odds. It's the only market where they aren't favored at every sportsbook and it's certainly worth betting prior to the season.
Pick: Atlas to win 2023 PLL Championship (+550 on bet365/BetMGM)
Archers LC Over 5.5 Wins
I'm bullish on the Archers this season. Despite losing offensive cornerstones in Marcus Holman and Will Manny, the Archers somehow managed to get better. They added sharpshooter Mac O'Keefe, who will play more attack than he has in previous seasons, in free agency, deepened their midfield with two-way threats, got younger at goaltender and secured the top faceoff specialist in the draft.
If the Archers are able to stay healthy and faceoff man Mike Sisselberger is able to make an immediate impact, then this Archers team should easily surpass its win total of 5.5 (+118 on FanDuel.)
While the price to bet this win total has worsened a bit, dropping from its +134 opening price, I still think there is better than a 45% chance the Archers surpass this total.
Pick: Over 5.5 Wins (+118 on FanDuel)
Chaos LC Under 4.5 Wins
Much like last season, Chaos LC will start the season without a handful of key players due to Game 3 of the NLL Finals. Last year, the majority of their stars missed 3-4 games following the NLL Finals. Despite a smaller overlap this summer, Chaos could get off to another slow start, one I’m not sure they’ll recover from.
They’ll enter PLL Week 1 without Dhane Smith, Chris Cloutier, Ian MacKay, Max Adler, Chase Fraser and Josh Byrne. Even with the NLL season ending Saturday, it’s no guarantee those players will be available for Week 2 after a grueling seven-month NLL season. One player in particular to monitor is Byrne, who missed the first two games of the NLL Finals with an undisclosed injury. His timetable is unknown, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if he missed more than two weeks. Their left side already had some questions with Mac O’Keefe departing via free agency, so if Byrne can’t go, Chaos could be in danger of another 0-4 start.
Despite making three straight championship appearances, Chaos are 6-17 in the regular season over the past three years and have failed to win more than four games in each season since 2019.
Pick: Under 4.5 Wins (-150 on DraftKings)
Chrome LC Over 5.5 Wins
There are several great ways to buy in on a team that I think has a great chance at winning it all. A future on Chrome at +600 is still a solid bet even if the odds have fallen a bit since opening at +800. You could also bet Chrome — which finished second in the 2022 regular season standings and is fresh off a title in the PLL Championship Series — to earn one of the top-three seeds (+105 on FanDuel). However, I feel the best bet on the board is Chrome to go over their win total of 5.5 (+110 on DraftKings.)
They're the most complete team and managed to address their lack of offensive depth by drafting midfielder and top prospect Sam Handley, and Cross Ferrara, arguably the best offensive player in NCAA Division III lacrosse. Their defense, which was one of the best last season, will see all of their key starters return and with opposing faceoff athletes like Jake Withers and Joe Nardella injured, Connor Farrell should have some favorable matchups in the first four weeks of the season.
Pick: Over 5.5 Wins (+110 on DraftKings)
Waterdogs LC to Earn a Top 3 Seed
Aside from a couple retirements, the defending champions return nearly every player and also managed to add Jake Carraway in free agency. While they’ll be without a few key pieces for Week 1, they get a favorable matchup against a Chaos team missing even more starters.
While I think betting the Waterdogs to go over 5.5 wins on DraftKings is a good bet, -120 is not as good a price as +110 when considering it'll likely take just six wins to claim one of the top-three seeds in this year's playoffs. The Waterdogs also have some favorable matchups to build up their goal differential. Before the season starts, bet the Waterdogs to claim one of the top-three seeds.
Pick: Top 3 Seed (+110 on FanDuel)
Whipsnakes LC Under 6.5 Wins
The Whipsnakes saw players retire and leave in free agency, but responded by orchestrating a savvy offseason.
They drafted Tucker Dordevic and acquired Will Manny in free agency to bolster an offense that underperformed — by their standards — last year. Even though they’ll remain a contending team, the loss of Joe Nardella (ACL injury), coupled with a tough schedule, could make it tough for the Whips to replicate the nine-win season they had last summer.
If I'm a Whips fan, I'm not pressing the panic button, but seven or more wins could be tough to achieve as the Snakes play Archers and Chrome — teams I like to go over their win totals of 5.5 — twice this season. It's rare when an opportunity to fade the two-time PLL champions arises, but at -125 on FanDuel, I think the price to bet the Whips to stay under 6.5 wins is a good one.
Pick: Under 6.5 Wins (-125 on FanDuel)
