The Lakers are the clear favorite at Las Vegas sportsbooks to win the 2021 NBA title. But that doesn’t mean they’re an automatic bet to cover the spread in Tuesday’s opener.
Basketball
The Los Angeles Lakers are the +250 favorites to repeat as NBA champions in the 2020-21 season, scheduled to tip off Tuesday.
Less than two weeks before the 2020-21 72-game NBA season starts Dec. 22, the Mavericks guard is the clear favorite to end the Bucks forward’s two-year reign as MVP.
The Lakers are the +275 favorites to repeat as champions, the Bucks have the league’s highest win total at 49½ and Luka Doncic is the 4-1 favorite to claim MVP honors.
The experts agree that Gonzaga is the top college basketball team in the country. Saturday could show how far the Bulldogs are ahead of the pack.
Westgate oddsmaker Ed Salmons said he has more than 30 teams ranked within five points of one another at the top of his power ratings as the season starts this week.
The Lakers are now the 3-1 favorites to win the title at the Westgate, followed by the Brooklyn Nets, who could have a big move to make.
Bettors and bookmakers will have to compete to keep up with news on about 350 Division I teams during the season that starts Nov. 25.
The Westgate sportsbook posted 2020-21 NBA season win totals Saturday after the NBA Players Association approved a plan for a Dec. 22 start to the season that includes a reduced 72-game schedule.
The Lakers are the +350 favorites at the Westgate win the 2021 NBA title, followed by the Clippers (5-1), Bucks (7-1), Warriors (8-1) and Nets (10-1).
A Westgate bettor made a $10,000 wager to win $50,000 on the Lakers before they acquired Anthony Davis in June 2019, and bettors continued to pound LA at lower odds all season.
Sportsbooks have bumped up the price on the Lakers significantly from Game 1 with Heat starters Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo expected to be out.
The Lakers opened as -450 series favorites and the Heat as +375 underdogs. But heavy action on Miami caused those numbers to drop Tuesday to -335 and +275.
There’s no Battle of Los Angeles in the Western Conference Finals. Instead, the Lakers are 7-point favorites in Game 1 against the Nuggets.
Westgate vice president of risk Jeff Sherman said he’d prefer to see the Clippers beat the Nuggets to set up a marquee Western Conference Finals matchup with the Lakers.