Los Angeles Lakers rumors still have the team trying to acquire pieces for the coming season, but are the 2018 NBA Playoffs going to be part of the storyline? Following the selection of Lonzo Ball in the 2017 NBA Draft, a report by ESPN put the current odds for the Lakers to win the championship at 100 to one. That means that for every dollar that a Lakers fan were to put on the team, they would win $100 if the championship banner was hoisted at Staples Center.
The Lakers’ odds haven’t shifted in the past few weeks, with most betting lines in Las Vegas still putting the team at 100 to one odds to win the 2018 NBA Finals. The Golden State Warriors are still the clear favorites at 10 to 17 odds, with the Cleveland Cavaliers coming in second with five to one odds. More interesting than the odds to win the NBA title may be the projected win totals and whether the current over/under would put the Lakers in the postseason.
These Los Angeles Lakers rumors aren’t flattering to the team because it indicates that the oddsmakers are not looking favorably upon the franchise. As one example, the oddsmakers at SportInsights.com have set the current Lakers over/under win total at 32.5 as of July 13. That’s actually a drop from the projected win total of 36.5 earlier in the month. Fans who feel the signing of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will significantly improve the team could now try to outsmart the experts.
Officially in that purple and gold! KCP is going with number 1 for his new look. #LakeShow pic.twitter.com/v4Dqzwm6dW
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) July 14, 2017
To put it bluntly, the people setting the betting lines don’t feel that the Lakers are good enough to make the 2018 NBA Playoffs. In fact, they are indicating that the Lakers have a better chance at losing 50 games than they do at winning 40 games. With a projected record of 32.5-49.5, the Lakers would finish around eight or nine games out of the postseason. This indicates that the NBA experts don’t feel the Lakers had a very successful offseason, despite adding Brook Lopez and Lonzo Ball to the roster.
We can get used to this. 14 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds for @ZO2_ . pic.twitter.com/NpLZ2RJn9T
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) July 14, 2017
Some of the other over/under lines have the Golden State Warriors at 67.5, the Houston Rockets at 56.5, and the Los Angeles Clippers at 41.5 wins for this season. Twelve teams are projected to finish the season with more wins than the Lakers in the Western Conference, which would result in the team missing the postseason again.
The experts have been wrong before, though, and Lonzo Ball is turning heads in the summer league. Is the team talented enough to overcome the preseason projections? Los Angeles Lakers rumors indicate the team is still looking to add more pieces, so the work on this roster may not be done yet.
[Featured Image by Ethan Miller/Getty Images]
