Fansided

NBA Odds: 5 best win totals bets

By Taylor Armosino

Sep 29, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe (left), guard Isaiah Thomas (center) and guard Goran Dragic pose for a portrait during media day at the US Airways Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 29, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe (left), guard Isaiah Thomas (center) and guard Goran Dragic pose for a portrait during media day at the US Airways Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 6
Next
Apr 1, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Nick Young (0) heads down court after a 3 point basket during the first half of the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 1, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Nick Young (0) heads down court after a 3 point basket during the first half of the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Los Angeles Lakers

2013 record: 27-55

2014 projected wins: 31.5

Bet the under.

The Los Angeles Lakers are a horrible basketball team and have a chance to be the worst team in the West this year by a significant margin. They downgraded at head coach, replaced Pau Gasol with the corpse of Carlos Boozer, and have very few plays with any long-term upside.

It was remarkable, and fun, to see the Lakers go into last off-season with a ton of cap space and strike out on every big free agent they pursued. For a minute it looked like they might have a chance with Carmelo Anthony. They ended up with Jeremy Lin and Carlos Boozer, on top of re-signing Jordan Hill and Nick Young to longer, bigger contracts. Yikes.

Yes, Kobe Bryant is back and that is primary reason LA’s win total is as high as it is. Don’t buy into it. Even if he stays healthy, Bryant won’t be nearly as effective as in the past and won’t be good enough to carry them on his back. His defense is still atrocious, as will the team’s.

It’s too bad Mike D’Antoni is no longer the coach because he might’ve actually gotten something out of this roster. Fans think he’s a bad coach because his offense is seen as a gimmick, even though 75% of rest of the teams in the league run some variation of his offense, but he would’ve been interesting to watch with this roster. It was a minor miracle that he got last year’s team to 27 wins. In Houston, Lin was never anywhere close to as good as he was in New York running D’Antoni’s offense. It would’ve been fun to see them re-united and to see whether they could’ve made something out of this sad, sad roster. But as is, very there’s little hope for this team to be any good.

Home/Atlanta Hawks