LeBron James’ injury and an impressive stretch by the Brooklyn Nets without Kevin Durant have rocked the NBA betting market.
The Nets have surpassed the Los Angeles Lakers in multiple sportsbooks and are now the consensus favorites to win the NBA title. Brooklyn has won 15 of the past 17 games and has moved up to second place in the Eastern Conference, one game behind the Philadelphia 76ers. Durant has missed the past 15 games with a hamstring injury that is expected to sideline him for a few more games.
James sustained a high ankle sprain on Saturday in a defeat to the Atlanta Hawks, an injury that could leave him missing for several weeks. The Lakers are already without Anthony Davis, who has been with a calf strain and tendinosis in his right leg for over a month and is expected to miss at least another week.
The Lakers lost their second game in a row at Phoenix on Sunday, dropping to third place in the Western Conference. They are only five games ahead of eighth place Dallas Mavericks.
“You’re going to think of the Lakers as a big underdog on the road and a small underdog at home,” said Jeff Sherman, vice president of risk at the SuperBook in Westgate Las Vegas. ‘You take those two guys [James and Davis] of the team and it will be a fight for a playoff spot. “
Sherman moved the Nets to 2-1 to win the NBA title after James’s injury, dropping the Lakers to 4-1, their biggest chance of the season.
Other sportsbooks have been more cautious about the Lakers’ chances in anticipation of James and Davis returning for the playoffs. In New Jersey, at William Hill’s Caesars Sportsbook, the Lakers remained the title favorites at +260, slightly ahead of the Nets at +280.
“I’ve increased the Lakers’ odds a little bit and lowered some of the other Western Conference teams,” Adam Pullen, assistant director of trade for William Hill, told ESPN. “But can’t get too crazy [James] has enough time to get well for the playoffs if he needs to. If it turns out that the injury is a lot worse, we will have to make some major adjustments. “
The DraftKings sportsbook also held the Lakers as a favorite from Monday morning, but most books had the Nets with the best odds.
With James and 76ers star Joel Embiid sidelined through injuries, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has emerged as the favorite to win the regular season MVP. Jokic is +110 at William Hill, followed by James (+450) and Embiid (+600).
The Nets’ James Harden, who was as long as 100-1 to win MVP at one point, is now 10-1.