Taking A Shot On The Unrivaled League

Vinyl vs. Laces, 8:15 ET

I've said this a bunch of times in my WNBA articles and since this is in the same vain, I want to share it here: any bet cashes, or loses, the same regardless of the sport that you bet on. If I bet $100 on the Chiefs to beat the Bills, it cashes the exact same as if I bet on the Vinyl to beat the Laces. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, we can focus on what has been some pretty fun to watch basketball in the Unrivaled League. This game between the Vinyl and Laces will be my first bet on it, so hopefully I can start with a 1-0 record.

It always helps to know who is playing so let's start there. All of the teams are comprised of WNBA players, with various levels of talent on each team. On the Vinyl, they have Aliyah Boston, Rae Burrell, Jordin Canada, Dearica Hamby, Rhyne Howard, and Arike Ogunbowale. Boston is one of the better Centers in the WNBA, but she isn't quite dominant. Ogunbowale and Howard are two of the best scorers in the league and know how to get to their spots. They are effective in both isolation and in a team scoring situation. I'm not overly crazy about their head coach Teresa Weatherspoon. She coached the Chicago Sky last year, and the team was often unfocused, bad on defense, and looked like it embraced the individual statistics instead of winning. Still the trio of Boston, Howard, and Ogunbowale should be offensively gifted enough to compete in virtually any game. With this being a 3-on-3 league, there is a lot more space to operate. You probably didn't watch the All-Star game last year, but Ogunbowale got so hot it was like watching Steph Curry out there for a quarter. 

Jan 17, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Arike Ogunbowale (24) of the Vinyl grabs a rebound over Chelsea Gray (12) of the Rose during the second half of the Unrivaled women’s professional 3v3 basketball league at Wayfair Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

The Laces have been very good on defense through two games. In their two games, they have held opponents to under 50 points in both of them. They are the best rebounding team, have the most steals, and more assists per game than any other team in the league. They are clearly working very well together. Their roster is Stephanie Dolson, Tiffany Hayes, Kate Martin, Kayla McBride, Alyssa Thomas, and Jackie Young. I'm not overly impressed by this roster, but Alyssa Thomas and Jackie Young are walking buckets. However, Young hasn't played yet and I'm not sure she will be in this one either. McBride is good, as are the other three players, but to me, they wouldn't be the focal point of this team. Martin is a fan favorite, and as mean as it sounds, she probably was only invited because the league was trying to get Caitlin Clark to play. They seem like they are doing a good job of dictating pace of play in these games. For example, they held the Mist to 43 points, but the first game the Mist played they scored 80. 

This actually should be a pretty good game. The Laces have kind of smothered their first two opponents and coasted to big wins. They don't score a ton of points and I think that is likely to happen again here. If they can control the tempo and pace of the game, it should stay under the 140.5. However, I'm not sure they will as I expect that Ogunbowale and Howard look to push the ball up court. Boston is a better big than Dolson so I think there is an edge there. I'm going to take the Vinyl here at -105. You can choose the +1.5 if you'd like. 

For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024