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Following a dominant second-half effort that destroyed the Denver Nuggets, the Lakers are riding high on a three-game winning streak and reminding everyone of why they’re the NBA Championship favorites. They hit a minor bump in the road with their first two road losses last week, but at 17-6, they’re still only half a game back of the No. 1 seeded Jazz for the best record in the entire NBA.
As a result of that strong resume, it shouldn’t be a surprise that oddsmakers also view the Lakers pretty highly. And according to our friends over at Sports Betting Dime, the purple and gold are still a significant championship favorite.
Here are their top 10 favorites for the title:
- Los Angeles Lakers: +260
- Brooklyn Nets: +390
- Los Angeles Clippers: +550
- Milwaukee Bucks: +700
- Philadelphia 76ers: +1400
- Utah Jazz: +1800
- Boston Celtics: +2000
- Denver Nuggets: +2200
- Miami Heat: +2600
- Dallas Mavericks: +4200
Another thing this list is a reminder of is that for as underwhelming as the Lakers have looked at times when they’re not engaged, the other teams that went as far — look at you, Miami — or nearly as far as they did have all underwhelmed to a far greater degree to start the season:
Outside of the Lakers, the other 3 Conference Finalists have a combined 30-31 record this season. I think it's been tough for teams to turn it around so quickly.
— Laker Film Room (@LakerFilmRoom) February 4, 2021
Make that 30-32 after the Nuggets lost to the Lakers last night. The point is, it turns out that it’s tough for NBA teams to get into full gear after just a little over two months off. Who could have guessed? But with that in mind, it’s worth remembering that for as much as this Lakers team can frustrate when they play with their food, their resume is still incredible under the circumstances, and people whose actual job it is to figure out who the best team is have recognized it.
So even if you were one of our SB Nation reacts voters this week who lost confidence in the team...
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...don’t panic. The Lakers are still in a really good spot. Vegas knows it, and we should be able to see it too.
This sponsored post was published according to our guiding principles. For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen.