The influx of world-class basketball talent in Los Angeles in 2019 was destined to lead to one of the most fascinating intra-city rivalries in recent sporting memory, and so far, it has not disappointed.
Both franchises in the City of Angels came into the campaign as the two most-fancied teams to win the NBA Championship, after 2019 Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard chose to join the Clippers along with Paul George, and Anthony Davis left New Orleans to link up with Lebron James and the Lakers.
Doc Rivers’ Clippers had made the playoffs in 2019 and taken the Golden State Warriors to game six, so adding a pair of elite two-way wings to an already competent roster was enough to convince the oddsmakers that they would be the team to beat this time around. As such, they were standalone +300 favorites.
The Lakers, meanwhile, failed to make the postseason last term and had to give up a lot of assets in order to land Davis in a trade with the Pelicans. But the ‘Bron and Brow’ partnership had to be taken very seriously even though James turns 35 in December. Their starting price was +500.
On opening night, it was the Clippers who landed the first blow at the Staples Center, defeating the Lakers 112-102. The sloppy Lakers offense and under-utilization of the James and Davis pick-and-roll had some analysts jumping to negative conclusions, but the 16-time NBA champions have been almost perfect since, while the Clippers have somewhat stagnated.
NBA sportsbooks that offer futures markets now have both at around the +300 mark to win the chip. The Lakers boast the superior record but George missed the first 11 games of the season and the Clippers have made no secret about the load management they plan to implement with their star players in order to ensure prime condition heading into the playoffs.
There is great depth in the league that goes beyond LA. The Dallas Mavericks have been on a tear with Luka Doncic leading their charge, and their record is a healthy 17-7 with the Mavs’ most impressive triumph coming at the home of the Lakers. Anyone that backed them at +8000 will be feeling good about the current +2,400 price.
Houston (+800), Denver (+1,300) and Utah (+1,600) are the other outfits currently above .500 in the West. Golden State, +1,200 before the season, are already done for thanks to injuries, and now priced at +60,000 with the worst record in basketball.
While the Western Conference has been perceived as the dominant force in recent years, things are happening in the East that the bookmakers have not been able to ignore.
The Milwaukee Bucks lost Malcolm Brogdon and Nikola Mirotic in the offseason, but even with All-Star Khris Middleton’s injury problems, last year’s beaten Eastern Conference finalists look to be taking further steps forward, which is largely down to the extraordinary form of reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is a +180 favorite to make it back-to-back MVP awards. The Bucks are now just behind the LA organizations with odds of +400.
Canadian betting sites had the Toronto Raptors priced at +4,000 to retain their championship heading into 2019-20, but Canada’s only NBA team is coping pretty well without Leonard, and have shortened to +1500 with some bookies.
Among the biggest surprise packages have been the Boston Celtics, who look terrific with Kemba Walker at point guard and have come in from +2400 to +1600, while the Miami Heat are making waves in second place, now priced at +2600 after starting at +6000.
Also in the mix are the Philadelphia 76ers who many tipped to make it out of the East this year after their buzzer-beater heartbreak in May. But odds have drifted from +650 to +700 because of some poor results after a promising 5-0 start.
Ja Morant has stolen a march in the Rookie of the Year market with the Pelicans’ #1 overall draft pick Zion Williamson sidelined. The Memphis Grizzlies guard is +140, with Zion second-favorite at +275 despite not having played a minute of professional basketball.
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