By Dan Behringer for LVSportsBiz.com
Well, that was ugly.
Laying 11 points against the New York Liberty in their final WNBA game before the All-Star break, the Las Vegas Aces found themselves on the wrong end of a 116-107 final.
Not winning. Not covering. One in particular is not very endearing to bettors.
Though if you were foresightful enough to bet the Liberty on the money line in the +450 to +500 range, you were obviously pleased with the results.
The loss came before a home crowd of 8,405 at Michelob Ultra Arena and capped an inglorious streak that saw the Aces fail to cover eight of their last 10 games. The streak included five outright losses in the last seven games.
In other words, the Aces went careening into the All-Star break like a teenage driver with a learner’s permit crashing the family minivan into a row of metal trash cans. Bang, boom, sound of breaking glass.
It left their record at 15-7. Notably, their once virtually pristine ATS streak has stumbled to 10-12.
“We caught a good team on a good night,” Hammon told the Las Vegas Review-Journal after the loss to the Liberty.
So, what’s up the Aces? Have their opponents figured them out? What happened to coach Becky Hammon’s relentless approach to defense?
As the chuckleheads on the evening news like to say, we have more questions than answers.
But some of the answers will be revealed when the Aces resume play in the second half of the season. The first test is when they face the Liberty again on Tuesday, this time in New York. No official line yet for that game, but we would suspect the Aces will be laying about -5 for the game with the total in the 170 range.
Elsewhere:
— Summer games: The NBA Summer League is underway with games through July 17 at Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion on the UNLV campus. At NBABet.com, the Detroit Pistons have the shortest odds to win the Summer League title at +650. The Oklahoma City Thunder are next at +750 followed by the Houston Rockets at +1200.
A strong performance by the Thunder’s Chet Holmgren propelled the Thunder up the odds board. The former Gonzaga standout became the first-ever player to register at least five blocks and sink four 3-pointers in a Summer League contest, according to NBABet.
The NBA Summer League is obviously considered a showcase of future talent vs. existing stars. The reigning champion Golden State Warriors are +4000 along with the Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets and Washington Wizards.
Looking for an angle? According to the Action Network, underdogs have gone 171-108-7 (61.3%) against-the-spread (ATS), covering by an average of 3.38 points since 2016 when the website began compiling Summer League data.
— On the road again: The UFC is moving to Elmont, New York, for the next installment of Fight Night on Saturday. The event is originating from UBS Arena on Long Island.
In the featured featherweight bout, Brian Ortega is -170 vs. Yair Rodriguez, who is +140 on the buyback.
Ortega will be attempting to bounce back from his unanimous decision loss to reigning featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski in September. Rodriguez is also coming off a five-round decision loss to Max Holloway at UFC Vegas 42.
— Laugher of the week: If you took a shot on the Yankees-Pirates game going over the total of 8.5 on Wednesday, were you just gambling? The Yankees had lost to the Bucs the previous day, 5-2, with the total going under 9. But 24 hours later, the Pinstripes’ potent offense got in gear and routed the Pirates, 16-0.
“The team has been rolling with a good lead in the (AL) East,” slugger Aaron Judge told the New York Post. The Yankees had 22 hits in the offensive assault. You can mention that to Scott Van Pelt of “SportsCenter” the next time he’s hyperventilating about bad beats.