Premier Lacrosse League Betting Odds & Picks: Atlas vs. Redwoods, Cannons vs. Archers Best Bets

The 2023 Premier Lacrosse League season begins on Saturday with another Week 1 meeting between the Redwoods and Atlas, then continues with new coach Brian Holman and his son Marcus Holman’s Cannons debut against Marcus’ former team, Archers. Both games feature 2.5-point spreads despite only 14 games in the past two seasons having 2.5-point spreads.

Let’s take a look at each game and where the betting edge lies.

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 lacrosse bet.

Atlas LC (-2.5) vs. Redwoods LC

Odds via bet365.

Atlas vs. Redwoods headlines Saturday and no game has seen more line movement than the season opener. Atlas opened on DraftKings as a 1.5-point favorite before shifting Atlas to a 2.5-point favorite, aligning with sportsbooks like bet365 and Caesars. However, Redwoods quickly got bet back down to a 1.5-point underdog at most sportsbooks.

You can still bet Redwoods +2.5 at -130 on bet365

During the last two seasons, we’ve only seen a 2.5-point spread 14 times, and 2.5-point underdogs have covered in 71% of those games. In fact the Redwoods covered and won outright as 2.5-point underdogs just last year in these teams' second meeting—though Atlas were without MVP Trevor Baptiste.

The Redwoods made a few moves this offseason and while Ryan Lee and Eli McLaughlin will be out due to the NLL Finals, this offense looks to be much improved after adding Wes Berg and hiring John Grant Jr. to helm the offense.

The Woods defense is also looking for a bounce back year and should perform better as long as their goaltending issues don't plague them again this season.

While the Atlas are rightly favored and boast even more talent on the defensive end this year in the form of first and third overall picks Gavin Adler and Brett Makar, I'm interested to see how much chemistry this defense will have after just one week together. Redwoods also have the ability to stretch the field and score from distance and Atlas goalie Jack Concannon's only flaw is he struggles to stop outside shots.

Overall, I think these teams are too evenly matched to warrant this spread and I like betting Redwoods +2.5 to start the season.

Pick: Redwoods +2.5

Archers LC (-2.5) vs. Cannons LC

Odds via Caesars Sportsbook

The second game on Saturday features the two teams that saw the most roster turnover this offseason. Former Archers Marcus Holman and Adam Ghitelman joined Cannons LC along with several other free agents, but the notable absence for the Boom Squad is their MVP candidate from last year, Lyle Thompson, who will sit out the 2023 PLL season.

Meanwhile, the Archers replaced Ghitelman with arguably the best young goaltender in pro lacrosse, Brett Dobson, and acquired sharpshooter Mac O’Keefe to replace the production lost from Holman and Will Manny.O’Keefe will have a larger role on offense with the Archers than he did with Chaos and will benefit from being reunited with his college teammate and fellow attackman Grant Ament.

While I’m high on the Archers this season, I’m hesitant to back them as heavy favorites considering that it will be faceoff athlete Mike Sisselberger’s debut—with faceoff being the hardest position to adjust to for rookies—and the Archers will be without defender Warren Jeffrey. While I think the Cannons have some questions of their own, I’d rather bet both offenses to have big days on Saturday and bet over 23.5.

Both teams aren’t afraid to push the ball in transition and neither will have a substantial possession advantage, which makes me think they won’t be afraid to play fast. There’s also the added bonus of the shot clock resetting from 52 to 32 following faceoffs and shots on goal within 32 seconds. Pair that with a smaller two-point arc on the sides and you should see slightly higher totals in 2023.

I also like betting Mac O’Keefe to go over his goals prop of 1.5 (+124 on FanDuel.) You can’t simply look at O’Keefe’s production these past two seasons to determine his projected stats in this new offense. Whether it’s Ament from the right, Tom Schreiber from up top or Connor Fields on the left side, O’Keefe is going to be on the receiving end of a lot of goals this season and this week may be the last time we see his goals prop at 1.5.

At a plus money price, I think betting O’Keefe to find the back of the net at least twice this weekend is a steal.

Picks: Over 23.5 | Mac O'Keefe Over 1.5 Goals