Lakers NBA Championship Odds After Luka Doncic Injury Provide Glimmer of Hope

No one knows how long Luka Doncic will be out after he injured his hamstring in the Los Angeles Lakers' blowout loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night. But if you base anything on the odds, there is hope he’ll be back for the playoffs.

Doncic was ruled out in the third quarter after he crumbled to the floor and grabbed his left leg on a non-contact injury. He’ll undergo an MRI today to determine the extent of the hamstring injury. The Lakers have five games left in the regular season, but their playoff series won’t start until April 18 at the earliest.

Perhaps that’s why their NBA Championship odds haven’t changed after Doncic’s injury. They were +3000 at DraftKings heading into their game against OKC, and they remain +3000 after it.

Doncic, who was +1500 to win NBA MVP before the game, is now off the board in that market.

A lot could change in the NBA futures market depending on the results of the MRI and what happens in the Lakers' final five games. For now, they appear to have avoided a worst-case scenario.

The Lakers are currently the third seed in the West. They have a one-game lead on the Nuggets, who are currently in the fourth seed, and are two ahead in the loss column of the Rockets and three ahead in the loss column against the Timberwolves. The lowest they could fall to is the six seed. They will not be in a play-in game.

That gives the Lakers time to rest Doncic. Surely he’s done for the regular season, which ends Sunday, April 12. The question is, could he return for the first round?

If Doncic is ruled out for the first round, expect the Lakers' odds to tumble. Even with LeBron James and Austin Reaves, the Lakers would be hard-pressed to beat the Nuggets, Rockets or T-Wolves without Doncic. He was third in the MVP odds for a reason.

The Lakers are eighth in the NBA Finals odds overall and fourth in the odds to win the West at +1400 on DK. The Thunder (-120), Spurs (+350) and Nuggets (+475) are all ahead of them in the odds to win the West.

Here are the odds for every team to win the NBA Finals via DK.

NBA Finals Odds

Thunder +130
Celtics +550
Spurs +600
Nuggets +800
Cavaliers +1300
Knicks +1600
Pistons +2500
Lakers +3000
Timberwolves +4500
Rockets +7500
76ers +8000
Hornets +9000
Hawks +15000
Heat +18000
Magic +20000
Clippers +30000
Raptors +30000
Warriors +40000
Suns +50000
Trail Blazers +300000

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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