Fading Lakers? Pro bettor, oddsmaker down on defending champs

If not for LeBron James’ 34-foot, go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute, the Lakers might not have escaped with a 103-100 win over the Warriors in Wednesday’s NBA play-in game.

But the defending NBA champions won’t make it out of the Western Conference in the playoffs. At least that’s the opinion of professional sports bettor Erin Rynning, Westgate sportsbook vice president of risk Jeff Sherman and ESPN host Doug Kezirian.

Rynning (@Ersports1) bet the ‘No’ on the Lakers to win the West a few weeks ago at Circa and Sherman said the injuries that have plagued LeBron James and Anthony Davis this season will be too much for Los Angeles to overcome.

“From what I’ve seen, I don’t think Davis or LeBron is going to be right until next season,” he said. “The way they’re battling through these injuries will make it too tough on them and the whole team.”

LA is a 2½-point underdog to the second-seeded Suns in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series Sunday. The Lakers opened as -185 series favorites Thursday at the Westgate before dropping to -140 and then climbing back to -160 on Friday.

“It came out less than we had anticipated just because they had such a tough performance (Wednesday),” Sherman said. “If they had won that game by 10 points, it would’ve been Lakers -250 and pick’em or a 1-point favorite in the game.

“It depends how they look, but if they’re ultimately up against the Clippers or Jazz, they would be an underdog to one of those teams.”

Sherman forecasts the Clippers to win the West and Kezirian likes the Clippers to win it all.

“If they don’t do it now, they’re never going to do it,” Kezirian said. “They’re loaded and every other contender in the West has injuries.”

The Lakers lead the way in money and tickets — including a $30,800 wager to win $70,840 — to repeat as NBA champions at William Hill, where they’re the +350 second choice.

The Brooklyn Nets are the +180 favorites and second in money and tickets, including a $100,000 wager to win $250,000.

“The Nets, we’ve gotten it to where them winning is no big deal,” William Hill sportsbook director Nick Bogdanovich said. “We still lose six figures with the Lakers, though.”

The Clippers are 6-1 to win their first title. A William Hill bettor wagered $40,000 to win $130,000 on LA to win the West.

“I would love to see the Clippers win it, it’d be a great story,” Bogdanovich said. “The Clippers were the worst franchise in the world for forever. We do really well with them, so from that standpoint, I have another big reason to root for them.

“It just boils down to whether they can flip the switch, sort of like the Lakers. It’ll be interesting to see if one of those teams can turn it around and get hot.”

Kezirian likes the Suns over the Lakers in Game 1, noting LA lost series openers to the Rockets and Trail Blazers in last year’s playoffs.

“LeBron always starts series slow,” he said. “I don’t think he’s healthy and when the Suns are at full strength, they’re a very, very good team.”

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.