The Los Angeles Lakers entered the All-Star break at 28-29, 10th in the West and three full games back of the in-town rival Clippers.
Still, with LeBron James on board, many fans continue to expect L.A. to find its way into the postseason to continue LeBron’s streak of 13 consecutive playoff appearances alive. James is one of a very few players (if not the only one) capable of dragging a team to the postseason, whatever the roster, but this season has been a bit different and, yes, part of that is him now being in the much more competitive (at least in the middle of the conference) West.
On Monday, with the All-Star Game behind us, the good folks at the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook issued a new prop with eyes towards the postseason in L.A., and they list LeBron and company as a +120 underdog to make the playoffs.
So @SuperBookUSA just posted this Lakers prop: pic.twitter.com/31ZZUGqAGp
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) February 18, 2019
Again, given that they’re 10th out West this wouldn’t normally come as a surprise, but LeBron’s presence makes it noteworthy that a team of his is getting plus odds to make the postseason with well over half the season completed. This indicates the book’s power ratings of teams in the West don’t see the Lakers as favorable to leap the Clippers and Kings (or whatever combination of teams ahead of them) despite LeBron’s presence.
That’s notable, given the way he’s played after the All-Star break in recent years. There were murmurs out of All-Star that the Lakers were wondering if he would be able to find that level this season, and the oddsmakers seem to have similar concerns. You can bet (no pun intended) Lakers fans will be hammering that Yes number where it is, but the wise guys may have finally grown willing to question the King.
