If you’re still not a believer in the Los Angeles Lakers, you’ve got a couple possibilities to try and take them down at the betting window.
The Lakers are currently big favorites to win the NBA championship. They’re -305 at PointsBet Sportsbook, which means you have to risk $305 to win $100. A -305 favorite also implies around 75% probability. This provides pretty juicy prices on the three other teams.
PointsBet is dealing the Nuggets +4000 right now. I’m good on that bet, because I don’t think Denver is going to overcome their 2-0 series deficit. So I’ll pass.
It starts to get really interesting when you see the prices on both Eastern Conference teams.[[ad:athena]]
The Miami Heat lead the Boston Celtics 2-1 in the East Finals. That series could very easily be tied 2-2 after tomorrow night. PointsBet agrees. They’re offering both Miami and Boston at +600 to win the title. Hmmmmm.
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t interested in splitting a unit on both teams to win it all. One of them is guaranteed to make the NBA Finals no matter what. And there’s absolutely zero chance that the Lakers are going to be a -700 favorite in the next round.
I exchanged several texts with many bookmakers and industry experts about potential series prices. The common answer I received was that L.A. would definitely be a bigger favorite against Miami.
Here’s where we go next level.
The prices discussed were around Lakers -450 to -500 against the Heat and -300 to -400 against the Celtics. If those numbers are true, the Heat would be +400 or +425 in a potential matchup with the Lakers. The Celtics would be lower, closer to the +250 to +325 range.
The Lakers are not a perfect basketball team and their outside shooting is far from great. They’re extremely top heavy with LeBron James and Anthony Davis and the bench leaves a lot to be desired. Both teams in the East are deeper and I believe Brad Stevens and Erik Spoelstra could coach circles around Frank Vogel.
What’s stopping you from betting a half unit on Boston +600 and Miami +600 right now? You’re obviously going to lose one of those bets and honestly, you might lose both. But you’re also getting a price that will not be available in the next round.
And would you really be stunned if the Lakers don’t win the title?
The “Eastern split” is definitely something worth thinking about.
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