During the offseason, and early in the NBA season, sportsbooks get creative on futures bets. This year, oddsmakers tried to capitalize on the offseason hype surrounding the NBA teams in Los Angeles with a futures wager. Putting out a bet on LA teams is just smart business; it doesn’t matter whether you love or hate the Los Angeles Lakers or Los Angeles Clippers because there will always be buzz that surrounds both championship contenders. 

Both teams were preseason title contenders, which is why BetRivers Sportsbook posted a unique proposition on whether the Lakers or Clippers would make the 2020-21 NBA Finals. The “Yes” option was set to -110 via an Odds Boost from -215.

The “Yes” option at the beginning of the season was enticing. The Lakers were the defending champions and had signed reigning NBA Sixth Man of the Year Montrezl Harrell to team up with their superstars in Anthony Davis and LeBron James. And, while the Clippers were coming off of a disappointing Bubble showing, they too were loaded with stars of their own in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Both teams started the season as title contenders and among the favorites to win it all.

But this is gambling, so the odds move fast. What once seemed like an inevitable Western Conference Finals clash of the titans is not a lock anymore. Fast forward a few months, and neither the Lakers nor the Nets are now favored to win the NBA title. Per PointsBet Sportsbook, the Clippers sit in sixth place to win it all at +1200, while the Lakers are in eighth at +1300 to win the championship.

As for the conference odds, the Clippers come in second (+500) to win the West, while the Lakers are two spots behind them (+650).

The first-round matchup between the Lakers and Phoenix Suns has been a rollercoaster from a betting perspective. The Lakers opened their series as high as -300 to defeat the Suns at some sportsbooks, which was then was bet down to -150 by the start of Game 1. After Phoenix took the first game, Lakers odds shortened and the Suns were even favored in some books. Then, once the Lakers started rolling, they got out to -350 before Game 3 and even -900 at some books before Game 4. But, that is when it all came crashing down. The combination of a Suns win and an Anthony Davis groin pull swung the series price once again, this time to Phoenix being favored at -175 to win the series.

The Suns now hold a 3-2 lead in the series after Tuesday night’s drubbing, which has many fans and bettors counting out the defending champs.

“We shifted the Lakers price out to +225 from +130 after the blowout loss last night in Phoenix,” said PointsBet Sportsbook Analyst Michael Korn. “That being said, with the potential of having AD back in either Game 6 or 7, we can never really write off the Lakers.”

On the flip side, the Clippers have had the opposite ride since the playoffs began. LAC went down 0-2 to the Luka Doncic led Dallas Mavericks, and it seemed like the team was headed for another disappointing exit. 

Since then, Luka Doncic suffered a neck injury, and the Clippers came roaring back thanks to Leonard’s stellar play. But Luka came back in Game 5 and showed his injury may not be that bad, completely dominating the game and leading the Mavs to a win at Staples Center to take a 3-2 series lead.

“Elsewhere in LA, we have seen the Clippers odds shift drastically over the weekend after winning games 3 and 4 in Dallas,” Korn said. “The Clippers got out to +800 to win the West and +1600 to win the title after dropping Games 1 and 2. 

“With the Lakers injury issues, combined with the Clippers evening the series [prior to Game 5], their odds have moved back into +250 and +600, respectively.”

A heartbreaking loss in Game 5 has put the Clippers in a must-win situation, and currently a day before tip-off, the Clippers are -2 (two-point favorites) in Dallas for Game 6. Will the Clippers see themselves exiting the playoffs early for the second straight year? The Lakers, on the other hand, are hoping Davis can come back to help LeBron stave off elimination.

Will the road to the NBA Championship go through Los Angeles once again? Or will the league crown a new champion? The Brooklyn Nets are the betting favorites across all books, thanks to their star trio of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving.

“As of right now, the Clippers have a better shot than the Lakers to win the title,” the oddsmaker states. “Though, it does seem like we could see the NBA title winner come out of the East in the Nets/Bucks second-round series.”

When it comes to futures liabilities, Los Angeles money isn’t weighing down PointsBet. In fact, their book would be perfectly fine with either LA team taking the Larry O’Brien trophy home with them.

“Strangely enough, the book will have a positive result if any team from the Western Conference goes on to win the NBA title,” Korn explained. “The Lakers winning would be good for the book, while the Clippers winning would be great.”

Never count out LeBron, but it’s tough to envision the Lakers coming out of the West right now, which means it might be up to the Clippers to try to help those sitting at home with those BetRivers’ LA futures tickets.

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