Lakers Win Total Drops to 48.5; Value on Taking the Over?
- The Los Angeles Lakers win total has fluctuated during a busy off-season
- Anthony Davis & Dwight Howard were key additions that could lead to a high number of wins
- LeBron James will be motivated to rebound after a disappointing first season in Los Angeles
What can we expect from the Los Angeles Lakers this season?
LeBron James is healthy, Anthony Davis is wearing purple and gold and well, that’s about it. Odds makers have lowered the season win total in La-la Land begging the question – is there value in betting the OVER?
Los Angeles Lakers Win Total
| LA Lakers Win Total | Odds |
|---|---|
| Over 48.5 | -110 |
| Under 48.5 | -110 |
*Odds taken 8/29/19
The NBA win totals tracker shows the Lakers number has been a moving target which is reasonable. They turned over the majority of the roster and recently needed to sign Dwight Howard to replace the injured DeMarcus Cousins. A
Add up all the changes there’s reason to find value in betting the over of 48.5 wins.
Win Total Surprisingly Low
49 wins hits the over on this wager and that’s well within reach for the Lakers this season. Consider the teams that did it last year – Milwaukee, Toronto, Philadelphia, Boston, Golden State, Denver, Portland, Houston, Utah and Oklahoma City. That’s eight teams that reached 49 or more wins while three more finished one win shy.
LeBron in the lab sharpening his tool kit ?(via @KingJames) pic.twitter.com/YajY0puIuB
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 28, 2019
The Lakers themselves had 37 wins last year and that was with LeBron James missing a chunk of the season due to injury and shutting it down early. Asking this edition of the Lakeshow to add 12 wins to last years total seems modest.
Lakers Will Aim for Home Court Advantage
The Western Conference is going to be a dogfight come playoff time, and having as many games at home as possible will be important.
Yes, LeBron will likely take some games off for “load management” and Davis might as well, but it shouldn’t pose too big of a problem. Barring injury, the fact one of those two mega stars will always be on the court of the Lakers will help them pile up the victories.
Updated look at the Lakers roster:
Rajon Rondo
Danny Green
LeBron James
Anthony Davis
Dwight Howard
Kyle Kuzma
KCP
JaVale McGee
Avery Bradley
Quinn Cook
Jared Dudley
Alex Caruso
Talen Horton-Tucker pic.twitter.com/Xc6HZfhokU— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 23, 2019
Assuming the Clippers and Rockets take two of the four top seeds in the conference that leaves two more up for grabs. I imagine the Lakers, Nuggets, Blazers and Jazz will fight for those spots. Only five games separated 3rd from 8th in the standings last year, so I imagine Los Angeles won’t put it into cruise control and will have seeding in their mind all season.
Anthony Davis the X-Factor
Anthony Davis is arguably the best player LeBron has ever played with in the NBA due to his size and unique skill set to score at all levels and be an elite rim protector on the defensive end.
Last year before his trade demand while still playing major minutes in New Orleans, Davis averaged 25.9 points, 12 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. The two years previous he topped 28 points per game. He’s not just a star, he’s one of the games best players. Now that he’s motivated and in the setting he wants alongside James, I expect he’ll be an MVP candidate.
A motivated LeBron plus a motivated Davis? Expect the wins to come early and often in LA.
PICK: Over 48.5 (-110)
Ryan has been working at TSN for over eleven years, and is now a lead writer and content producer at That's Hockey. Over the years, he's launched and hosted TSN's first NCAAF podcast, The College Football Show, and been featured on the likes of TSN 1050, Sportscentre, and That's Hockey 2Nite.
