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The NBA season is less than a month away from tipping off, and Las Vegas is getting ready for basketball betting season. The Westgate Superbook released over/under odds on win totals for the season, and the Los Angeles Lakers sit at 31.5, as compiled by ESPN.
Over/under is a pretty simple estimate to how the season will play out, but it's a good show of how Las Vegas' experts feel about teams heading into the season. The 31.5 over/under means experts expect the Lakers to perform better than they did last season, but only marginally. Los Angeles is coming off a franchise-worst 27-55 season and look to be headed in a similar direction, according to the Westgate odds.
Making matters worse, Los Angeles is projected as the eight-worst team in the NBA, which would mean they'd likely have to watch the Phoenix Suns cash in on their 2015 first-round draft selection (top-five protected). The teams below the Lakers are the Sacramento Kings, Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics, Utah Jazz, Minnesota Timberwolves, Milwaukee Bucks and, coming in last, the Philadelphia 76ers.
LeBron James' return to the Cleveland Cavaliers has them at the top of the NBA's regular season over/under, sitting at 58.5 games. The Oklahoma City Thunder (57.5) and San Antonio Spurs (56.5) round out the top-three.
What do you think? Will the Lakers win more than 31.5 games, or less?