The Premier Lacrosse League returns after a two-week hiatus due to the World Lacrosse Championship.
PLL Week 4 kicks off on Saturday in Minneapolis with a doubleheader featuring a few teams looking to get to .500.
The 2-1 Waterdogs face a last-place Chrome team to start the weekend, and the 1-2 Atlas and 1-2 Cannons square off in a battle between the two first-year coaches.
Let’s take a look at my best bets for both games.
If you’re an avid bettor who’s new to lacrosse or a lacrosse fan who’s new to betting, check out my guide on how to bet on lacrosse for some tips to use when placing a bet.
Chrome LC vs. Waterdogs LC (-1.5)
| Chrome Odds | +100 |
| Waterdogs Odds | -122 |
| Total | 24.5 |
| Time | Saturday · 6 p.m. ET |
| TV | ESPN+ |
Odds via FanDuel
The Chrome and Waterdogs face off to start PLL Week 4, with the Waterdogs entering as 1.5-point favorites. The total is currently 23.5 or 24.5 depending on the sportsbook.
Both teams are banged heading into this game, with the Waterdogs missing midfielder and Week 3 hero Connor Kelly and the Chrome lacking starting defenders JT Giles-Harris and Jesse Bernhardt.
I’m going to avoid betting a side and instead target some player props.
The first player prop angle I have is betting Jackson Morrill to stay under his points prop of both 4.5 (-215 on DraftKings) and 3.5 (+118 on FanDuel).
In the absence of 2022 PLL Rookie of the Year Brendan Nichtern, Morrill has been the Chrome’s quarterback on offense, and he's performed well so far this season.
Nichtern is back in the lineup this week, though, and while both will still be starting on attack, I think this will limit Morrill’s impact.
Morrill recorded two five-point games in his first two outings this season, which has caused this total to inflate. He’s only scored four or more points three times in 23 games and has never done it with Nichtern in the lineup.
While Morrill will retain a larger role in this game compared to last season, I think he’ll struggle to reach four or more points against this Waterdogs defense.
I think the juice is worth the squeeze to bet him to stay under his points prop of 4.5 — even at -215 — but I also recommend betting him to stay under 3.5 points, as well, at +118. Build a ladder by betting 1.5 units on under 4.5 points and 1 unit on under 3.5 points.
I’m also betting on Dillon Ward to surpass his saves prop of 12.5. Ward is widely considered one of the best goalies in the world and demonstrated that during the Waterdogs’ championship run last season.
However, he’s been streaky during his time in the PLL, which is likely why we’re seeing his saves prop at 12.5.
Last week, Ward got pulled in his first start of 2023, but still managed to make seven saves and stop 50% of the shots he faced.
I think he’ll get the start and remain in net during the entirety of this game, and I like this matchup against a Chrome offense that has looked inconsistent through three weeks and ranks last in shooting percentage.
Additionally, the Waterdogs are opting to not use a faceoff specialist this weekend, which could result in a lot of short possessions for the Chrome. That should result in a higher shot volume for Ward.
The Chrome are only converting on 21.4% of their 32-second possessions, and with the Waterdogs attempting to force the Chrome to take contested shots off the faceoff, we could see some easy save opportunities for Ward.
Ward has made more than 12.5 saves in six of his last 10 games, making +108 on FanDuel a great price to back him to go over this saves total.
Picks: Jackson Morrill Under 4.5 Points (1.5 Unit) / Under 3.5 Points (1 Unit) | Dillon Ward Over 12.5 Saves
Atlas LC (-1.5) vs. Cannons LC
| Atlas Odds | -185 |
| Cannons Odds | +150 |
| Total | 24.5 |
| Time | Saturday · 8:30 p.m. ET |
| TV | ESPN+ |
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
After hiring new head coaches this offseason, both the Atlas and Cannons find themselves in similar situations. Both teams are a win away from getting to .500 and have dealt with some tight games through three weeks.
While I think Atlas are rightly favored, their price is far too steep on both the spread and moneyline.
This Cannons team has started to figure things out and the personnel changes of adding Cade van Raaphorst and starting Colin Kirst paid off last week. I expect them to continue to make some noise after securing their first win in over a year last week.
I think this is a winnable game for Cannons, but I’ll opt to play the total instead.
The total sits at 24.5 at most sportsbooks and has even moved to 25.5 on Caesars. I think we’ll see a lot of goals scored between two teams that have played in high-scoring games already this season.
All three of Cannons’ games this season have gone well over 24.5 goals and two of Atlas’ three games have seen 25 goals or more. Between the six combined games these teams have played, an average of 28 goals have been scored.
The Cannons and Atlas also both rank in the top three in shooting percentage, and I think this matchup sets up for another high-scoring contest. Bet this total to surpass 24.5 goals at -115 on DraftKings.
I'm also targeting the two-point goal prop of over 1.5 (-120 on DraftKings) in this game.
The Cannons have scored at least one two-point goal in all three of their games this season and have plenty of players on their roster who can score from long range again on Saturday night.
They’ll also be facing Jack Concannon, a goalie who has consistently struggled to stop shots from beyond the arc, allowing four two-pointers already this season and 14 in his last 14 games.
The Atlas have plenty of two-point threats on their team as well, with Bryan Costabile, Romar Dennis or Chris Gray as the likeliest candidates to score from beyond the arc.
I expect both teams to hunt for two-point opportunities and for this game to see at least a pair of two-point goals scored.
