LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers have contined their late-season hot streak deep into the 2023 NBA Playoffs. Tomorrow night at 8:30 PM, LA tips off the Western Conference Finals against a Denver Nuggets team that is led by two-time NBA MVP, Nikola Jokic.
The odds for betting on the NBA Playoffs are populating the boards for game one, with lines, series prices, and hundreds of basketball prop bets for most trackable on the court outcomes.
Denver is the number one overall seed and holds the home court edge in the series. The Nuggets are 5.5 point favorites at home, and the over/under suggests that it will be a high scoring affair.
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets Game 1 Betting Line
- Point Spread: Lakers +5.5, Nuggets -5.5
- Moneyline Odds To Win: Lakers +175, Nuggets -210
- Over/Under: 222.5
The Lakers and Nuggets went 2-2 against each other during the 2022-23 NBA season, but all four of those contests came prior to a massive trade on Febrary 10th that infused LA with shooters and sent Brian Westbrook across town to the Clippers.
Perhaps that’s why online NBA sportsbooks aren’t favoring the Nuggets overwhelmingly. The following Western Conference Finals series prices only separate the Lakers and Nuggets by 80 points in the moneyline odds to win.
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets Series Prices
- Lakers +130
- Nuggets -150
Usually, when there are a large field of competitors included in NBA prop bets or futures, most options feature positive moneyline odds due to the difficulty in choosing correctly.
The following MVP prop bet is rather definite in its placement of Nikola Jokic as the series’ Most Valuable Player. Betting on Jokic to win will require more money risked than can be won.
Western Conference Finals MVP Odds
- Nikola Jokic (DEN) -125
- LeBron James (LAL) +250
- Anthony Davis (LAL) +350
- Jamal Murray (DEN) +1400
- Michael Porter Jr. (DEN) +8000
- Austin Reaves (LAL) +8000
- D’Angelo Russell (LAL) +8000
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (DEN) +10000
- Aaron Gordon (DEN) +10000
- Bruce Brown (DEN) +15000
- Rui Hachimura (LAL) +15000
- Dennis Schroder (LAL) +15000
- Lonnie Walker (LAL) +20000
The only time a series MVP has been awarded to a member of a losing team is in 1969 when Jerry West of the LA Lakers won the honors but lost the NBA Finals. That’s probably the strongest indicator of a Nuggets win on the boards at the moment.
If Jokic doesn’t bag the MVP Trophy, the most likely players to do so are the Lakers’ big tw0 – LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
If Denver wins the Western Conference, their odds for betting on the NBA Finals aren’t that favorable.
NBA Futures
- Boston Celtics EVEN
- Denver Nuggets +220
- Los Angeles Lakers +290
- Miami Heat +1400
The Boston Celtics are awarding even money on their odds to win the 2023 NBA Finals, with Denver trailing by 120 points and listed in second place overall. The Lakers are getting +290 to win it all in 2023, so lay some action on that moneyline now becuase it’ll fall closer to zero with each victory.
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