After a disappointing 100-94 loss against the below average Cleveland Cavaliers Tuesday night, the Lakers fell four games behind the .500 mark. If you’re one of the now dwindling and devoted Lakers fans who still has faith in the purple and gold squad winning a championship this season, this article just may be for you, and you might want to hop on a plane to Sin City.
Before the start of the season, the Lakers were featured as the runners up to the Miami Heat in the sports books, with the Oklahoma City Thunder falling in third. Generally, when it comes to NBA futures odds, pending no season ending injuries to star players, the favorites don’t tend to change. This has held true so far for the Miami Heat, who have been on top from day one, currently with 19-10 odds to win the championship.
After an understated rough start to the season, the Lakers who had originally started out with 5-2 odds, have dropped to the third favored team. As fan hopes are dwindling so are the betting odds, which have drifted now to 11-2. If you’ve got $100 bucks to spare, a bill could turn into $550 if the superstar roster can learn to play defense, make their free throws, and limit the turnovers. Unfortunately, if you’ve been following the Lakers game by game, you know how much this is asking.
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With the betting attention moving away from the Lakers, where is the curiosity trending? Tennessee, folks. That’s right. The Memphis Grizzlies had 40-1 futures odds in the preseason, and have impressively creeped up to 15-1. And, according to Kevin Bradley, the Sports Book Manager at Bovada, the 14-4 Grizzlies are garnering a lot of attention as of late.
So, the question arises, with the Lakers’ odds dwindling, the loss column increasing, and the injuries lingering, would you bet on the Lakers to win the championship this year?
If not, who would you place your money on? Full list of current futures odds are below, courtesy of Bovada (Twitter: @BovadaLV).
Odds to win 2013 NBA Championship
Miami Heat 19/10
Oklahoma City Thunder 4/1
Los Angeles Lakers 11/2
San Antonio Spurs 9/1
Los Angeles Clippers 10/1
Memphis Grizzlies 15/1
New York Knicks 15/1
Chicago Bulls 20/1
Boston Celtics 25/1
Brooklyn Nets 33/1
Dallas Mavericks 50/1
Denver Nuggets 50/1
Indiana Pacers 50/1
Atlanta Hawks 66/1
Minnesota Timberwolves 66/1
Philadelphia 76ers 66/1
Golden State Warriors 75/1
Houston Rockets 100/1
Milwaukee Bucks 100/1
Utah Jazz 100/1
Portland Trail Blazers 200/1
Charlotte Bobcats 500/1
Detroit Pistons 500/1
New Orleans Hornets 500/1
Orlando Magic 500/1
Phoenix Suns 500/1
Sacramento Kings 500/1
Cleveland Cavaliers 1000/1
Toronto Raptors 1000/1
Washington Wizards 1000/1