The injury of LeBron James and an impressive series by the Brooklyn Nets without Kevin Durant have boosted the NBA betting market.
The Nets have surpassed the Los Angeles Lakers on several sports books and are now the consensus favorite to win the NBA title. Brooklyn has won 15 of its last 17 games and moved to second place in the Eastern Conference, one game back from the Philadelphia 76ers. Durant has missed the last 15 games with a hamstring injury that is expected to tip him a few more games.
James suffered a high ankle sprain on Saturday in a loss to the Atlanta Hawks, an injury that could have caused him to miss several times. The Lakers are already without Anthony Davis, who has been out for more than a month with a calf strain and tendinosis in his right leg and is expected to miss at least another week.
The Lakers lost their second consecutive game Sunday in Phoenix and fell to third place in the Western Conference. They are only four games ahead of eighth-place Dallas Mavericks.
“You’re going to see the Lakers as a big underdog on the road and a little underdog at home,” said Jeff Sherman, vice president of risk at the SuperBook in Westgate Las Vegas. ‘You take those two guys [James and Davis] from the team and it’s going to be a battle for a playoff spot. ‘
Sherman moved the Nets to 2-1 to win the NBA title after James’ injury and dropped the Lakers to 4-1, their longest chance of the season.
Other sports books were more cautious with the odds on the Lakers awaiting James and Davis to return for the playoffs. In New Jersey, on William Hill’s Caesars Sportsbook, the Lakers remained the title favorites at +260, slightly ahead of the Nets at +280.
“I increased the chances of the Lakers a little bit and dropped some of the other Western Conference teams,” Adam Pullen, assistant director of William Hill, told ESPN. ‘But can not get too crazy like [James] has enough time to recover before the playoffs, if he needs it. If it turns out that the injury is much worse, we need to make some important adjustments. ‘
DraftKings’ sports book also held the Lakers as the favorite on Monday morning, but most books have the Nets with the best odds.
With James and 76ers star Joel Embiid sidelined with injuries, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has become the favorite to win the MVP in the regular season. Jokic is +110 at William Hill, followed by James (+450) and Embiid (+600).
James Harden of the Nets, who at one point was about 100-1 to win MVP, is now 10-1.