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The Los Angeles Lakers have received a lot of betting interest recently even though they are coming off a 33-49 season and haven't made any major moves as of yet in free agency.
David Purdum of ESPN provided the report:
"In a 24-hour span, beginning Thursday afternoon, multiple sportsbooks reported receiving a surge of betting interest on the Lakers to win next season's championship. The Lakers' title odds moved from 22-1 to 10-1 at Caesars Sportsbook, where Los Angeles attracted 3.5 times more betting handle than any other team since Wednesday afternoon. Included in the rush of Lakers action was a $10,000 bet at 22-1 odds from a bettor in New York, according to Caesars."
L.A. will welcome back one of the game's all-time and current greats in LeBron James, who missed 26 games last year. Eight-time All-Star Anthony Davis, who sat 42 games, should also be back in the mix.
The Lakers did make a change at head coach, parting ways with Frank Vogel and adding Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham to lead their sidelines.
They also filled out their rotation with intriguing talents on one-year deals with Lonnie Walker IV, Juan Toscano-Anderson and Troy Brown Jr.
The wild card in a potential Lakers surge this year is the reported mutual interest between the team and Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving, who exercised his $36.9 million player option to remain in town.
However, with Kevin Durant requesting a trade, the Nets could be blowing up their team. With that, it makes sense to deal Irving and reboot the franchise.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Lakers were the only known team looking to land Irving in a sign-and-trade. ESPN's Stephen A. Smith said Irving is telling people he plans on going to Los Angeles.
And ESPN's Brian Windhorst backed the Smith report too.
"Kyrie Irving is out of town as fast as he possibly can. He's focused, as [Stephen A. Smith] said, on forcing himself to the L.A. Lakers," Windhorst said on Thursday's episode of SportsCenter.
If Irving can find himself in L.A., then the bettors who jumped aboard the Lakers' bandwagon of late may have gotten some good value wagers in place. Irving averaged 27.4 points and 5.8 assists last year.
The seven-time All-Star also has built-in chemistry with James, as the two helped lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to three Eastern Conference titles and one NBA championship.
The Western Conference is going to be a gauntlet to run through even if the Lakers land Irving, but the sincere betting interest in the team is something to watch as the offseason progresses.
For all the latest betting information and reaction, check out B/R Betting.
With the NBA season set to tip off on Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Lakers have generated more money from bettors to win the championship than any other team in the league by a wide margin.
Per ESPN's David Purdum, the Lakers have generated 51 percent of all dollars bet to win the 2021-22 NBA Finals at Caesars Sportsbook.
"That's four times as much as has been bet on the Nets," Purdum wrote.
Purdum noted that even though the Lakers are generating a significant portion of the bets, the Brooklyn Nets are still the odds-on-favorite to win the championship at +230 (bet $100 to win $230).
The Lakers are second at +400, followed by the Milwaukee Bucks at +1000.
Jeff Sherman, who oversees NBA odds for the Westgate SuperBook, told Purdum the biggest bet on the Lakers came in at $100,000 with 7-2 odds after they acquired Russell Westbrook in August.
There are a number of potential explanations for this Lakers lovefest from bettors.
The Lakers have more name recognition than any other franchise in the NBA, so people will naturally keep a close eye on them. They are led by LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Westbrook, three of the biggest stars in the league right now.
As long as James and Davis stay healthy, the Lakers are going to be able to compete with anyone. Westbrook is a wild card, but they don't need him to be great and win.
There's also a lot of uncertainty around several other Western Conference contenders. The Utah Jazz were the No. 1 seed last year, but lost in the second round to a Los Angeles Clippers team that didn't have Kawhi Leonard for the final two games of the series.
The Clippers may not even have Leonard at all this season after he underwent surgery in July to repair a partially torn ACL. The Denver Nuggets are in a similar position with Jamal Murray, who had ACL surgery in April.
The Phoenix Suns went to the NBA Finals, but they were losing their first-round series to the Lakers before Davis injured his groin in Game 4. The Golden State Warriors need Klay Thompson to play at an All-Star level after missing the previous two seasons with injuries.
The Portland Trail Blazers and Dallas Mavericks each have a legitimate MVP candidate on their roster, but the talent supporting Damian Lillard and Luka Doncic are major question marks.
Meanwhile, in the Eastern Conference, the Nets are at least going to start the season without Kyrie Irving because he is refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine. They also have to deal with the prospect of going up against the defending champion Bucks.
Even though the Philadelphia 76ers are a powder keg ready to explode at any moment given the ongoing situation with Ben Simmons, other contenders like the Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks could emerge as solid playoff threats.
The Chicago Bulls invested a lot of money in free agency with the hope of becoming a playoff team. The Indiana Pacers should be better under head coach Rick Carlisle. The Miami Heat added Kyle Lowry to their roster after a disappointing 2020-21 season.
There are so many storylines in the NBA as the season is set to begin. All of the questions will begin to be answered on Tuesday night when the Nets take on the Bucks and Lakers host the Warriors.
The 2021-22 season is just four days from getting underway, with sportsbooks locking in their over-under win totals for the season.
Here is a look at how all 30 teams are lining up at FanDuel Sportsbook.
Atlanta Hawks: 47.5
Boston Celtics: 46.5
Brooklyn Nets: 55.5
Charlotte Hornets: 38.5
Chicago Bulls: 43.5
Cleveland Cavaliers: 27.5
Dallas Mavericks: 48.5
Denver Nuggets: 47.5
Detroit Pistons: 25.5
Golden State Warriors: 47.5
Houston Rockets: 25.5
Indiana Pacers: 42.5
Los Angeles Clippers: 45.5
Los Angeles Lakers: 52.5
Memphis Grizzlies: 41.5
Miami Heat: 48.5
Milwaukee Bucks: 54.5
Minnesota Timberwolves: 35.5
New Orleans Pelicans: 38.5
New York Knicks: 41.5
Oklahoma City Thunder: 22.5
Orlando Magic: 22.5
Philadelphia 76ers: 50.5
Phoenix Suns: 51.5
Portland Trail Blazers: 44.5
Sacramento Kings: 36.5
San Antonio Spurs: 29.5
Toronto Raptors: 36.5
Utah Jazz: 53.5
Washington Wizards: 34.5
The most intriguing numbers are the ones of teams making all the headline as we head for season's tip-off.
The Brooklyn Nets have the highest over-under at 55.5 wins, which seemed like a gimme for the over until the past two weeks. Kyrie Irving's playing status is completely up in the air for the entire 2021-22 season. There's a high likelihood that Irving will miss part of the regular season because he is not yet vaccinated, making him noncompliant with New York City mandates, and the Nets have made it clear in no uncertain terms that Irving will not be a part-time player.
"For guys to be able to not have the uncertainty I think is important," Nets coach Steve Nash told reporters. "It's not kind of hanging over us. A decision was made, and I think that can be beneficial to us starting to really build and have that understanding that this is what's happening instead of we were living in a world that was very uncertain. We weren't sure from one day to the next what was going to change or what was going to happen. That can be difficult, and that can put an extra strain on everybody."
With Irving, James Harden and Kevin Durant all in the fold, the Nets had the highest margin for error of any team in basketball. An injury to one of the three stars would still leave them with two of the 10-15 best players in basketball. With Irving gone, any extended absence for Durant or Harden could lead to a prolonged rough patch.
It's hard to feel safe about betting the 55-win number in either direction now.
The Sixers are likewise a team in complete flux at the moment due to the ongoing Ben Simmons saga. It's increasingly expected that he will at least open the regular season as a member of the Sixers, but there's been no public guarantee he'll ever suit up again for the team.
"I'm assuming he's going to play, but who knows? I can't get in anyone's head," Sixers coach Doc Rivers told reporters this week. "Whether we play him or not, that's going to depend on what we see this week. He's coming from behind, because he hasn't been in camp, obviously. Having said that, do you rush him and put him on the floor? That's a whole other subject. What we see this week is how we determine everything going forward."
Joel Embiid has missed significant time in every NBA season due to injury. If Simmons ultimately winds up being held out of the lineup or winds up traded, the Sixers are looking at a situation where Tobias Harris could be their best player. As much heat as Simmons has deservedly taken, he greatly increases the Sixers' margin for error.
And then there's the Lakers. The greatest team ever assembled in NBA 2K15. This group of veterans has already been bitten by the injury bug—just not by the players we expected. The team's two youngest players, Talen Horton-Tucker and Malik Monk, are set to miss time along with veteran Trevor Ariza.
LeBron James has missed extended time in two of the last three seasons; people don't tend to get healthier in their age-37 season. Anthony Davis has a long history of injuries. Russell Westbrook has been mostly healthy in recent years but has a history of knee issues.
All of this is without mentioning any potential growing pains this all-new Lakers roster will have building chemistry.
From a talent standpoint, they're way better than 52.5 wins. That said, you're playing some pretty long odds that all of this works swimmingly and everyone avoids the injury bug.
Kevin Durant, James Harden, Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets will enter the 2021-22 season as the prohibitive favorites to win the NBA title at +195 odds (bet $100 to win $195), according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
The 2019-20 champion Los Angeles Lakers have the next best odds at +600, followed by Giannis Antetokounmpo and this year's champion Milwaukee Bucks (+850).
The rest of the odds are as follows:
It's no surprise that the Nets are the clear favorites. Durant, Harden and Irving played just eight regular-season games together this past year, as injuries ravaged the squad. They still earned the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs and led the Bucks 2-0 in the conference semifinals without Harden.
But Irving sprained his ankle in Game 4, which ultimately ended his season, while a hobbled Harden returned in Game 5 but was clearly less than 100 percent. Despite being short-handed the Nets took the Bucks to seven games, including overtime in an epic Game 7, with Durant's heroics—he scored 48 points and forced overtime with a game-tying, turnaround jumper that was about an inch away from being a game-winning three—nearly ending Milwaukee's season.
If the Bucks barely squeaked by against a Nets team playing the entire series without their Big Three fully healthy, how much of a chance would they stand against Brooklyn at full strength?
Of course, the Bucks aren't going to give their title back. But it's hard to ignore that injuries played a huge factor in this postseason. The Lakers can attest, as Anthony Davis' injury in the team's first-round loss to the Suns was too much to overcome. The Denver Nuggets were without Jamal Murray. The Boston Celtics didn't have Jaylen Brown. The Los Angeles Clippers didn't have Kawhi Leonard in the Western Conference Finals.
Teams getting star players healthy again will impact the odds. So too will offseason trades and free agency. Will Damian Lillard switch teams? Might Chris Paul and Leonard opt out of player options to become free agents? Could they switch allegiances as well?
A lot of questions will be answered. A lot of betting lines will be altered. But as things stand now, it's hard to argue against the Nets being the prohibitive favorites.
For all the latest betting information and reaction, check out B/R Betting.
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For the second straight season, Luka Doncic is set to be the preseason favorite for NBA MVP.
DraftKings Sportsbook released its odds for the 2021-22 season Wednesday, with Doncic coming in as a +400 favorite (bet $100 to win $400). Joel Embiid is second in the odds at +700, while Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo are all tied at +800.
Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic is surprisingly listed at +1500 to repeat.
The Doncic MVP hype train is understandable, given he finished fourth in 2019-20 and sixth in 2020-21. All it would take is the Mavericks taking the next step as a team in order for Doncic to get himself in the conversation for the individual accolade.
Doncic's numbers are already there. He averaged 27.7 points. 8.0 rebounds and 8.6 assists per game this season, all while showing improvement as a three-point shooter and acting as the Mavericks' offensive fulcrum. Doncic also is not the same injury concern as Embiid, who has missed significant time every year of his NBA career.
None of the lower-odds selections appear to be great bets at this point. Trae Young (+1800) has some momentum after the Hawks' run to the Eastern Conference Finals, but his night-to-night inconsistency could hurt him over the course of a full 82-game season. Devin Booker, James Harden and Anthony Davis all have superstar teammates who get more public shine.
Jokic as a repeat winner may actually be the smartest bet on the board. There's little reason to think his numbers will dip any from this season, and he'll have to shoulder more of an individual load with Jamal Murray likely missing much of the 2021-22 campaign. If Jokic keeps Denver in the top half of Western Conference playoff teams, 15-1 will seem like a bargain.
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Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul sits as a +170 favorite (bet $100 to win $170) at FanDuel Sportsbook to be named the NBA Finals MVP.
Teammate and shooting guard Devin Booker is second at +270 ahead of the Suns' best-of-seven matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks, which begins Tuesday in Phoenix.
Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (+350) is third on the ledger, and teammates Khris Middleton (+650) and Jrue Holiday (+1000) round out the top five.
Antetokounmpo suffered a hyperextended left knee in Game 4 of the Bucks' Eastern Conference Finals matchup against the Atlanta Hawks on June 29. He did not play in Games 5 and 6 of the Bucks' 4-2 series win.
Jared Greenberg of NBA on TNT and NBA TV provided an update on Antetokounmpo's uncertain status ahead of Game 1:
Suns center Deandre Ayton (+2500), Suns forward Mikal Bridges (+12000) and Bucks center Brook Lopez (+13000) round out the NBA Finals MVP odds list.
The Suns are -195 favorites to win the series, per FanDuel. The Bucks are +165 underdogs.
Phoenix is also a six-point favorite for Game 1, which will occur on Tuesday at 9 p.m. at Phoenix Suns Arena.
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One bettor spent the weekend holding his breath.
FanDuel fielded a 16-leg parlay, originally placed for $100, that incorporated weekend results from MLB, NBA and the French Open. When it finished successfully, the bettor won $393,000.
Of all of the different scenarios, the closest call was likely on Sunday, when Novak Djokovic was down two sets to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the French Open final. He battled back to secure the victory—and help this bettor on his way.
For all the latest betting information and reaction, check out B/R Betting.
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The New York Knicks may no longer be in the NBA playoffs, but they can claim the title of being the early betting favorite to acquire Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard.
SportsBetting.ag listed the Knicks at +250 (bet $100 to win $250) in the Lillard sweepstakes. The Los Angeles Clippers (+275) and Miami Heat (+300) followed closely behind.
Lillard hasn't requested a move out of Portland, but the idea at least seems plausible following the Blazers' exit in the first round, their fifth in seven years.
The Knicks have famously struggled to attract stars while mired in mediocrity—three postseason trips between 2004-05 and 2019-20. New York now seems to be on solid footing, thus raising the prospect of the franchise landing the kind of talent it has coveted for years.
Lillard would also address a personnel need with Derrick Rose, Frank Ntilikina and Elfrid Payton all due to hit free agency. Finding an upgrade at point guard will probably be one of the front office's top priorities.
But recent history has shown that betting on something to go right for the Knicks in the offseason is a fool's errand.
More money has been bet on the Brooklyn Nets to win the 2021 NBA championship than any other team.
According to ESPN's David Purdum, nearly 50 percent of the total money wagered on teams to win the NBA title has been bet on the Nets at DraftKings' sportsbook in New Jersey, including the two highest wagers at $30,000 and $23,000. Bettors have wagered more than double the amount of money on the Nets than any other team at the DraftKings sportsbook as well.
FanDuel Sportsbook lists the Nets as the +220 favorite (bet $100 to win $220) to win the title, followed by the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers at +460 and the Los Angeles Clippers and Utah Jazz at +600.
Purdum reported that the largest bet on a team to win the NBA championship at William Hill sportsbook was wagered on the Nets for $100,000 as well.
John Murray, executive director of the SuperBook in Las Vegas, discussed the public interest in Brooklyn as well: "Brooklyn is our biggest liability of the teams that I believe can actually win the title. Our No. 1 liability is Atlanta, overall, and our second-largest liability is Golden State."
According to Purdum, the Atlanta Hawks are currently 80-1 and had a $20,000 bet placed on them at 100-1 on DraftKings last month.
While the Hawks have played well down the stretch and could beat the fourth-seeded New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs as the fifth seed, it is difficult to envision them going on a deep run.
Conversely, the Nets have all the pieces needed to go the distance and win a championship for the first time since 1976 when they were known as the New York Nets.
The Nets are led by their superstar trio of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving, and they are coming off a 48-24 record during the regular season, which was good enough to earn them the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
If not for their stars sitting often because of injuries and rest, the Nets likely could have posted a far better record.
Being the No. 2 seed rather than No. 1 is a significant disadvantage in the East since the Nets will likely have to face the third-seeded Milwaukee Bucks and two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo in the second round.
Meanwhile, the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers should have an easier road to the conference finals against the Knicks or Hawks in the second round.
Ultimately, bettors are banking on elite-level talent winning out, and there is no better superstar trio in the NBA right now than Durant, Harden and Irving.
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