LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Lakers often attract large betting interest anyway, but the controversial midseason trade that landed Luka Doncic from Dallas has people emptying their bank accounts to put money on Los Angeles.
And the money, mostly fueled by casual bettors, is still coming.
BetMGM trading manager Halvor Egeland said 99% of the bets on the Lakers' opening-round NBA playoffs series against Minnesota is on LA. That series opens Saturday in Los Angeles.
“It's pretty much all Lakers money coming in so far in the series,” Egeland said. “I think they opened up -160 (favorites), and we've taken some bigger bets on it. There's excitement around the Lakers for sure, but it's surprising how much we've taken on the Lakers.”
LeBron James and the Lakers now are -200 favorites at BetMGM to beat the Timberwolves.
Caesars Sportsbook also has been hit hard with bets on the Lakers, who are drawing strong money to win the Western Conference and NBA Finals.
“It's been kind of a running theme for a few months now,” Caesars pro basketball lead trader David Lieberman said.
They went from about 40-1 at Caesars to win the championship before the Doncic trade to now 10-1.
The other LA team
The Lakers remain Southern California's glamour team, but the Clippers might be playing at a higher level. Bettors certainly are coming around on them.
The Clippers went from underdogs to favorites at BetMGM and Caesars in their first-round series against Denver even though the Nuggets have home-court advantage.
“I really think the Clippers could come out of the West,” CBS SportsLine handicapper Bruce Marshall said. “Nobody's talking about them. ... but I think they could win everything, I really do. It's a great veteran mix. They're not too old. They've got guys who've been around and won titles.”
The oft-injured Kawhi Leonard finally looks like the player who won championships in San Antonio and Toronto.
“Personally, it does come to Kawhi's health,” Egeland said. “Right now, he's been great, but history repeats itself frequently — Kawhi Leonard gets hurt and James Harden no-shows in some games in the playoffs. There does seem to be a belief in (Leonard), but we'll see what happens.”
Celtics still the champs
Boston might be headed into the playoffs as the second seed in the Eastern Conference behind Cleveland, but the Celtics are favored at both sportsbooks to make the NBA Finals.
The Celtics are trying to become the NBA's first repeat champion since 2018 when Golden State won its third title in four years.
They are +200 at BetMGM win the title, just behind Oklahoma City at +185. The numbers are similar at Caesars — +200 for the Celtics to +170 for the Thunder.
“Boston was playing pretty well down the stretch,” Marshall said. “They’d probably be favored over (East top seed) Cleveland even though they wouldn’t have home court.”
There will be plenty of focus on Jaylen Brown. The MVP of last year's NBA Finals has received knee injections and hasn't played much over the past month.
“On paper, I think the Celtics have a pretty big edge (in the East) if they’re healthy,” Lieberman said. “But I feel like they probably won’t be entirely healthy.”
Watch the Warriors
A Golden State championship would be bad news for the sportsbooks after all the money that has come in on the Warriors since they acquired Jimmy Butler. He helped spark a late-season run before the Warriors lost three of their final five regular-season games.
That forced the Warriors into the Play-In Tournament, and they defeated Memphis 121-116 on Tuesday night to secure the seventh seed.
“I am a little bit skeptical they can make a run all the way through the West,” Lieberman said. “A lot of their players are pretty old and it's hard to see them surviving the gauntlet. On talent alone, you have (Steph) Curry and Butler playing at a high level and the experience they have going up against younger teams in Houston and OKC (Oklahoma City). I won't count them out.”
Are the Thunder ready?
Top-seeded Oklahoma City is almost being overlooked by the bettors, but much of that has to do with the price point rather than the team youth and inexperience playing in the playoffs.
The Thunder, led by MVP favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, are heavy favorites to at least make the NBA Finals. Many gamblers are finding greater value with other teams in what is a deep Western Conference.
“I don't think that they're doubting the Thunder,” Egeland said. “I think it's more that you don't want to place a bet on a team with that short of odds.”
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Mark Anderson, The Associated Press
