- The Los Angeles Lakers have +400 odds to win the NBA Championship.
- They took a tough preseason loss to the Brooklyn Nets, which is not predictive, but still interesting.
- The Nets, at +240, are looking for preseason standouts to compete for playing time.
LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets met for the opening of the NBA Preseason.
The Nets took a tough loss to the Lakers on opening day and sports bettors may wonder if there’s anything to learn from the experience.
The Lakers put up only 97 points while the Nets dropped 123, and although preseason isn’t particularly indicative of the future, some performances might be relevant.
2022 NBA Finals Odds
- Brooklyn Nets +240
- Los Angeles Lakers +400
- Golden State Warriors +900
- Milwaukee Bucks +900
- Phoenix Suns +1500
- Utah Jazz +1600
- Los Angeles Clippers +1600
- Philadelphia 76ers +1600
Brooklyn Nets, +240 Odds To Win The NBA Championship
The Nets remain the favorite on the NBA odds boards, even though controversy has been swirling about whether or not the unvaccinated Kyrie Irving will be allowed to play home games.
In the preseason opener, new additions to the Nets showed off their talent, with Paul Millsap putting up 10 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks in 18 minutes.
Nets rookie Cam Thomas put up 21 points in 22 minutes, making six of his seven free throws and shooting only three three-pointers.
The top-end players on the Nets did not play - Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Blake Griffin, Patty Mills, Joe Harris, and James Johnson all combined for zero minutes.
In this context, the high performers in the preseason seem to be battling for bench minutes but frontrunners may have been established in Thomas and Millsap.
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Los Angeles Lakers, +400 Odds To Win The NBA Championship
The Lakers actually did play some of their big named players in the game with Anthony Davis seeing 11 minutes of use.
Davis was fairly ineffective, which is a bad sign for the Lakers, although it was just one game. He put up six points, one rebound, and one assist on 2-6 shooting.
A bright spot for the Lakers was Malik Monk, who put up 15 points in 20 minutes on 6-12 shooting.
The Lakers seem to have much less set in stone than the Nets do - their starting lineup looks to involve Davis at center, with LeBron James at the four.
A player like Monk having a good preseason could actually move him quite close to the starting lineup, especially if he does so via making shots and spacing the floor.
While the Nets preseason players may be battling for playing time, Monk could be making a push to be an important part of this Lakers team.
Online sports betting fans should know that the preseason is not indicative of anything but players can really make an impact and carry that momentum into the regular season.
Maxwell joined the USAOnlineSportsbooks team in 2019. He focuses on creating sports betting content that informs and educates. He focuses on the NBA, the NFL, College Football and Basketball, and whatever else comes across his desk.
