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Lakers' NBA Finals Odds Hit Rock Bottom Ahead of Game 4 With Luka Doncic Out

The Lakers are extreme long shots to win the NBA Finals.
Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick.
Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick. | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

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No team in NBA history has ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit, and the Los Angeles Lakers aren't expected to change that in the Western Conference semifinals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Los Angeles has suffered three straight losses to OKC by 18 or more points, falling to 0-7 (including regular season) against the defending champions this season. Now, the Lakers are last in the odds to win the NBA Finals at +50000 at DraftKings Sportsbook.

With Luka Doncic out, the Lakers simply don't have enough depth -- or offensive talent -- to hang around with a team as deep and talented as the Thunder, and it's unlikely Doncic plays at all in this series. The star guard revealed last week that he was given an eight-week timeline to return from his hamstring injury, and he's only 5-6 weeks into that process.

As a result, the Lakers are 10.5-point underdogs at home in Game 4, and this line has moved two points in favor of the Thunder after they dominated in the second half of Game 3. The Lakers have been up at the half in back-to-back games, but OKC has completely turned things around in the second half of those matchups.

Even if the Lakers pull off an upset on Monday night, their Finals odds show that oddsmakers expect that Thunder to eventually advance to the Western Conference Finals. OKC is -175 to win the title for the second straight season.

The Lakers shocked a lot of people by easily handling the Houston Rockets in the first round despite Doncic missing the entire series and Austin Reaves missing four of the six games, but the Thunder are on a completely different level.

L.A. has yet to cover the spread in this series, and OKC now has a plus-18.8 net rating, and a 7-0 record, this postseason. If the Lakers do win Game 4, I wouldn't expect their Finals odds to change much, as they'll likely be double-digit underdogs on the road in a potential Game 5.


Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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Peter Dewey
PETER DEWEY

Peter is a senior editor for Sports Illustrated Betting. He has worked as a writer and editor for BetSided, NBC Sports, the Connecticut Sun and the Meriden Record-Journal covering the NBA, WNBA, NFL, MLB, and more. A New York City resident, he is a hoops fanatic with a soft spot for his New York Knicks.

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