Los Angeles Lakers vs. Phoenix Suns Odds: NBA Playoffs Betting Preview

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Phoenix Suns Odds: NBA Playoffs Betting Preview

After finishing second in the West, the Suns are rewarded with a first round matchup against the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. Lakers vs. Suns odds not only have the Lakers as favorites to win this series, they have them favored to win the West.

This is a tough-luck matchup for the Suns. This may be the best 7 or 8 seed since the Knicks in the shortened 1998-99 season. That said, they did beat the Lakers twice this season. This series is likely going to be a long fight.

The X-factor in this series is obviously LeBron James. As he proved against the Golden State Warriors, even on an off shooting night, LeBron is still capable of winning a game single handedly. He provides so much on the boards, with his passing, and when locked-in defensively as well. Even if the Suns have everything working, it means nothing if LeBron flips a switch. The question is, will he be able to carry this Lakers team to enough wins against a Suns’ team that finished 2nd in the NBA during the regular season.

Lakers vs. Suns Betting Odds

That’s right, despite a rough regular season the Lakers are favored to defeat the #2 seed in the West. Lakers vs. Suns odds give them a -145 shot, or an implied 59.2% chance of winning the series. Meanwhile, the Suns are given +135 odds, or an implied 42.6% chance to pull off the “upset”.

To the Suns’ credit, oddsmakers at least believe the series will be close. Currently, Lakers vs. Suns odds have the Lakers in 6 as the most likely outcome at +290, followed by Lakers in 7 at +400. The bad news is that oddsmakers also believe there’s an equal chance of the Suns winning in 7 and the Lakers winning in 5, both +550.

The Suns won the regular season series 2 games to 1. However, the Lakers were never fully healthy for those games. They were missing Anthony Davis in one of them, LeBron in another, and both of them in another. That won’t be the case in the playoffs.

That’s especially worrying for the Suns, given how much they struggled against the Laker’s stars. LeBron put up 38 points in his one game and Anthony Davis up up 42 in his. In the game they both missed Dennis Schroder put up 22 and Montrezl Harrell put up 23.

Meanwhile, the Lakers held Chris Paul to just 10.7 points per game, and Devin Booker to 21.3. The Suns aren’t going to win many games this series if their big guns aren’t scoring and they can’t stop the Lakers offense.

Lakers vs. Suns Odds