Getty Los Angeles Lakers forwards Kyle Kuzma and LeBron James
As the 2018-19 NBA season rolls on, the Los Angeles Lakers’ chances to make the playoffs continue to decrease. And in turn, their betting odds of landing in the postseason are moving in the wrong direction. At this point, if you believe LeBron James and company can pull off a late-season run and get into playoffs, betting on it happening will offer a nice payout.
Odds Shark offered the latest betting outlook ahead of Monday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers. Although the Lakers currently hold the same odds as the Sacramento Kings, both teams are considered longshots at +500.
NBA Western Conference current seeding and odds to make the playoffs:
1. Warriors N/A
2. Nuggets N/A
3. Thunder N/A
4. Trail Blazers N/A
5. Rockets N/A
6. Jazz N/A
7. Clippers N/A
8. Spurs -2000
9. Kings +500
10. Lakers +500
The odds look nice on paper for those interested in going this route, but the Lakers’ chances of actually getting the job done are dwindling and very few projections are giving them much love.
Updated Chances for Lakers to Make Playoffs
Of the many systems which project the playoff field and offer updates on a teams likelihood to get in, FiveThirtyEight’s CARMELO system is the only one offering much optimism. That is if you consider a seven percent chance to be an optimistic outlook. This system is predicting the Lakers to finish with a record of 39-43, and that’s the more generous of their two projections.
In the Elo system on FiveThirtyEight, the Lakers were given a one percent chance and pegged to finish at 38-44. They actually have the New Orleans Pelicans finishing with the same record as Luke Walton’s squad when the season wraps up.
Going along with the Elo system, ESPN’s NBA Basketball Power Index (BPI) has given the Pelicans a better chance to make the playoffs than the Lakers. They currently have New Orleans listed with a 1.3 percent chance entering Monday’s action and Los Angeles pegged at 1.1 percent.
Lakers’ Schedule & Outlook Moving Forward
While the Lakers currently sit at 30-33 on the year, their final stretch is tough and specifically, the final five games are brutal. Of the 19 remaining games, 14 of them are against teams with a solid chance to make the playoffs, one comes against the Kings and another is the Washington Wizards, who aren’t out of it either.
Going beyond that, the stretch to finish the year could potentially doom Los Angeles if they’re in the mix at that point. They face the Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors, Clippers, Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers. While three of the five are at home, this may prove to be a make-or-break group of games for their chances, assuming they can get back to winning in the very near future.
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