Nobody benefited more than the Las Vegas Casinos and Sportsbooks when basketball resumed play last month. The action not only spiked in Sin City but across the nation and in the real money online casino and sportsbook sites that take wagers and table game bets.
According to David Purdum, who covers sports betting for ESPN, the team that has commanded the most action Los Angeles Lakers, particularly regarding NBA Championship futures.
“Book by book across Las Vegas, the Los Angeles Lakers have attracted the most bets to win the NBA championship. – David Purdum”
Despite competing with baseball and hockey, with the playoffs in full swing the action betting action has just increased. Here are the top favorites to win the NBA Championship in the Orlando, Florida bubble.
Los Angeles Clippers +260
Ten years ago, who would think that the Los Angeles Clippers would ever be the favorites to win the NBA Championship? Currently, the Clippers sit at +260 to win the title after taking a 3-2 series lead over the Dallas Mavericks. They are currently -550 favorites to win and wrap up the series on Sunday. This is a little surprising given how much early money poured in on both the Lakers and the Milwaukee Bucks, however, they looked unstoppable in that 154-111 win over Dallas last Wednesday.
Los Angeles Lakers +270
With Anthony Davis joining LeBron James the betting interest is not surprising. The Lakers finished the split season with the best record in the Western Conference after the team has failed to reach the playoffs in each of the past eight seasons. The Lakers and Bucks have been trading places as the favorites all season with the Lakers the official favorite going into the Orlando bubble. They are now +270 to win their 17th title and will look to wrap up their first-round series tomorrow vs Portland.
Milwaukee Bucks +340
The Bucks will look to advance to the second round of the playoffs for the second consecutive season when they face the Orlando Magic on Saturday afternoon. The top-seeded Bucks entered the playoffs with the league’s best record, securing them a first-round matchup against a team that won only 33 of 73 games this season. Milwaukee is now -140 to win the Eastern Conference and advance to the finals.
Bubble Betting Notes and Trends
- Since the restart, the favorites have been winning their games outright at a 64.2 percent rate while only covering 53.3 percent against the spread.
- Oddsmakers struggled to adjust their totals numbers on the fly and the OVER is coming through 55.4 percent of the time.
- Futures money has poured in on the Lakers and the Bucks, but sharp bettors have been taking value positions on the Clippers and to a lesser extent the Toronto Raptors and the Boston Celtics.
