I look for Golden State to win and cover on Wednesday against Las Vegas for game 2  in the WNBA playoffs.

After taking game 1 by 71-60 Golden State should be able to win game 2 as well. What stood out about game 1 was how physical they played. They won the rebounding battle by 52 to 25. 17 offensive boards and 20 second chance points. Las Vegas was held to 60 points a season low and only shot 33.9%. Gabby Williams had a great game with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Kiah Stokes pulled down 14 rebounds and had 4 blocks. She did a great job on A'ja Wilson as well.

Las Vegas will definitely improve on their rebounding Wednesday. There is no way Becky Hammon will let their defense slide like that again. They have plenty of stars to compete with Golden State and always come out playing better after losing in the playoffs. One concern I have about Las Vegas is their depth. With Jewell Loyd listed as questionable with a leg injury and Dana Evans and Stephanie Talbot hurting it may cause their starting lineup to play too many minutes.

Golden State will have home court advantage once again for this series. They played very well at home going 32-12 and won their division to go along with being the number 2 seed. Defense is what this team prides itself on and will show in game 2 as well. Depth is something they have as well. They out scored Las Vegas by 27 points to 7 on the bench.

 I think Las Vegas will score more than they did in game 1 with Wilson having a good game. But I believe Golden State will win late due to their defense and rebounding.

Jim's Play: Golden State Valkyries

I like the under here in game three of the AL Divisional series between the Yankees and the Rays.  The Yankees are down 0-2 as they head back to the Bronx and look to stave off elimination in the postseason.  

The biggest reason is Max Fried. Fried comes into the game with a 2.80 ERA on the season and has been historically great against Tampa Bay, posting a 5-1 record with a 1.81 ERA in seven career starts versus the Rays. He also looked sharp in his Wild Card start against Boston, holding them to one run across six innings. Fried provides New York with the type of starter that can control a game and keep Tampa Bay from jumping ahead in elimination mode.

On the other side, the Rays go with Nick Martinez, who put together an amazing season at 15-6 with a 3.10 ERA and was even better on the road. Martinez gave up just three runs over 12 innings across two starts at Yankee Stadium this year so this is far from a plus matchup against a New York lineup that has struggled mightily. However, I do expect the Yankees to be much more competitive offensively in this one at home. They don’t need to blow it open, they just need some timely hitting and to play cleaner baseball.

Defense could play a big role in this game as well. New York committed four errors in Game 2 and Tampa Bay turned those into a 5-2 victory. If the Yankees can simply stop handing over free outs, Fried should be able to navigate through the lineup enough to keep them in the game deep into the game.

I just see this being another low-scoring game early on, with both Fried and Martinez pitching well. Both starters should keep this game low scoring heading into the late innings where two good bullpens will take over.  I’m taking the under in this one.

Jim’s Play: 941. Rays / Yankees UNDER