DraftKings Sportsbook<\/a>, while the Lunar Owls sit as +350 underdogs. The game total is set at 140.5 points. Let\u2019s get into my prediction and pick for this Unrivaled matchup.<\/p>\nLaces vs. Lunar Owls Preview<\/p>\n
The depth of this Laces team is unparalleled. Jackie Young and Alyssa Thomas were the locked-in stars they depend on, but there were some questions about the rest of the roster. Brittney Sykes is defending like a madman while shooting the cover off the ball, and it has changed the starting lineup\u2019s outlook. Their bench has really come together around Naz Hillmon, providing a lot of versatility and lineup optionality for head coach Andrew Wade. It has produced some incredible results; the Laces have allowed the fewest points in the league and have the best overall point differential.<\/p>\n
The Lunar Owls are not having a fun season. But they did have one of the most memorable moments of the year in their last game. Facing the defending champs, Rose BC, they got an all-time performance out of Marina Mabrey. Her 47 points included 27 in the first quarter and lit Philly Unrivaled on fire. She capped it off with a game-winner to erase the dire vibes that have dogged the Lunar Owls all season long.<\/p>\n
Being a competitive team remains a tall order for this group, but when Mabrey goes off, there\u2019s not much you can do to stop it. Her team will be hoping for a repeat performance on Friday.<\/p>\n
Laces vs. Lunar Owls Pick<\/p>\n
For those not familiar with the Caris LeVert wheel, let me enlighten you. There\u2019s a running joke that LeVert spins a wheel before each game, deciding whether he\u2019s going to be Michael Jordan or the worst player you\u2019ve ever seen. Mabrey isn\u2019t quite that severe in her volatility, but remains in the same vein.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not confident that she can spin the wheel on the right landing spot again. With Brittney Sykes up in her face all night, it becomes considerably harder to change the game with her shot-making. The Laces can contain Mabrey well enough to make this a comfortable win.<\/p>\n
Best Bet: Laces -8.5 (-115)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Charlie Cummings breaks down his prediction and pick for Friday\u2019s Unrivaled matchup between the Laces and the Lunar…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":453270,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[99,434],"class_list":["post-453269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=453269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/453270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=453269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=453269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=453269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}