NBA Over-Under Records Roundup: Lakers in the Spotlight
The addition of LeBron James has helped the Los Angeles Lakers improve tremendously when he has been on the court for them this season. However, a nagging groin injury has kept him out since Christmas Day, leading to losses in seven of their last 10 games heading into Tuesday night's action.
More than anything, the team's scoring has been impacted without him, with the UNDER going 7-3 for sports bettors in those games, according to the OddsShark NBA Database.
In fact, the UNDER is on a 5-0 run for the Lakers, putting it at 28-15-1 for the season. That is the most lopsided disparity of the OVER and the UNDER for anyone in the league, as one of only two teams with a difference of 10 or more between them. The other team is the Sacramento Kings, who have seen the OVER go 27-17 in their games so far this season.
Interestingly, Los Angeles ranks right in the middle of the pack both offensively and defensively, averaging 111.4 points and giving up 110.6 points per game. That means oddsmakers are simply making their totals too high, and UNDER bettors are cashing in.
If you are an OVER bettor, you should be paying close attention to the entire Atlantic Division in addition to the Kings. All five teams in the Atlantic have seen more OVER results than UNDER results, led by the Toronto Raptors (27-18) and Boston Celtics (26-17).
Even though the Raptors and Celtics each rank in the top 10 defensively in terms of points allowed, they are also among the top six in the Eastern Conference in points scored. The Philadelphia 76ers have been a strong OVER team as well atsports betting sites at 25-19, mostly because they rank in the top 10 offensively and bottom 10 defensively in terms of scoring.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, the Memphis Grizzlies and Indiana Pacers have been the NBA's top two defensive teams, surrendering 102.9 and 103.1 points per game, respectively. It is no surprise then to see the Grizzlies right behind the Lakers with a 26-17 UNDER mark along with the Orlando Magic while the Pacers are at 23-19.
Similarly, the Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards are the league's two worst defensive teams and have seen a lot more OVER results than UNDER results. The Wizards are allowing 116.8 points per game and have an OVER record of 26-18, and the Hawks give up more points (117.7) but score more than four points less on average to put them at 23-20.
