Will The Lakers Make the Playoffs? DraftKings Sportsbook NBA Futures Betting – DraftKings Nation

DraftKings contributors Garion Thorne, Matt Meiselman, and RotoWires Nick Whalen, join Emerson Lotzia and Jessie Coffield to discuss some NBA Futures bets you can make on the DraftKings Sportsbook.

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Jessie Coffield: Anthony Davis is going to be out for at least a month with a foot injury, Russell Westbrook is continuously riding the bench and LeBron is doing everything he can, averaging a career-high 29 points per game. But this team is in danger of missing the playoffs, and you can bet on that right now on the DK Sportsbook at -135 to miss +105 to make it; which one would you bet on right now, Garion?

Garion Thorne: Im going to bet on them to make it. Its simply because the Lakers are going to get to the play-in. Theyre on an island right now, theyre six games back in the sixth seed but theyve got a pretty comfy cushion on the 10th seed considering the team currently in the 10th spot doesnt want to be there and told their best player yesterday, Hey, youre hurt, trust us, youre hurt. So, theyre probably going to end up having like the two one-game playoffs. The first ones going to be against Sacramento and the second one, yeah, maybe its against like Minnesota whos frisky. Perhaps it is against the Clippers who have got one of their two-star players back, but at the end of the day, if youre telling me one side has Lebron James and a healthy Anthony Davis by that point, Im just going to take that team in a one-game playoff regardless of where that game is taking place, so I think they end up making the playoffs. They dont make much noise once they get into it, but they do win the play-in.

Jessie Coffield: Nick, which side are you on?

Nick Whalen: Im out on this Lakers team. I cant do it anymore. I dont think they make it. Who knows which of the big three is even going to be available at that point. Anthony Davis is basically 50-50 to make it through any game that he starts at this point. I dont see some sort of miraculous turnaround chemistry-wise happening over these last 24 games. You know by that point the Clippers will likely have Paul George back; maybe they would have Kawhi Leonard back so if thats the case and thats the matchup to get in, I think the Clippers win that and even Minnesota. Right now, you look at that Minnesota roster top to bottom yeah, the Lakers maybe have the two best players when Davis and LeBron are healthy in that series, but Minnesota are much deeper. One thing that I think has flown under the radar with the Lakers is not only has Davis been injured, Westbrook has struggled, but pretty much every single role player for them has been terrible. Other teams are just so much deeper when you look at the three through 10 positions, so maybe LeBron and Davis could carry the Lakers in a one-game playoff, but man, right now its tough to put faith in this team, so Ill say they miss.

Jessie Coffield: Matt, in or out on the Lakers?

Matt Meiselman: Oh yeah, I mean, you have to know at this point Im going out on the Lakers. Still, this has been my favorite question to answer for basically the entire season. I think its just too narrow of a path for them to get in, they need everything to go right, they need to win, most likely two play-in games in a row. The first of the two may be against an inferior opponent like the Pelicans, or the Spurs, or the Kings, or maybe the Blazers. But they have to win two of those and the second one is likely Minnesota or the Clippers with Paul George. Both of those are better teams than the healthy Lakers, but then the other concern is Anthony Davis is hurt; LeBron James has been dealing with injuries all season. The idea that we can guarantee that both of them will be healthy at that point just seems crazy to me. It may even be more likely than not that one of them is still out at that point and also with how many more minutes and how much more usage LeBron will have while Davis is out. If theres something that can increase LeBrons injury risk in the near future, it does not have Anthony Davis there to take off some of that burden. If LeBron sees Russell Westbrook start to take on more of the offense and do poorly, LeBrons just not going to give him the ball as much and try to do more himself. Yeah, the chances of LeBron and Davis staying healthy to me are nowhere near 100 percent for all of those reasons; something probably goes wrong for this team. I think even at -130, -135, whatever it is now, I still would bet them not to make the playoffs.

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Will The Lakers Make the Playoffs? DraftKings Sportsbook NBA Futures Betting - DraftKings Nation