Why should you bet on the Lakers to win the West?
Last week, the Dallas Mavericks stunned the NBA world when they traded Luka Dončić — for my money, the best player in the NBA the last three years — to the Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a future first-round pick.
The trade will have seismic repercussions for years, but let’s focus on the short term.
Will Luka and LeBron, two generational stars who need the ball in their hands, be able to work together?
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Obviously, the answer is yes.
There will be hiccups, just like every pairing in the history of basketball, but this one should work so spectacularly well that you should put down some money on the Lakers to win the West.
Currently, the Lakers are +900 to reach the NBA Finals, significantly behind the OKC Thunder (-105) and Denver Nuggets (+550).
Yes, Oklahoma City looks incredible. Statistically, the Thunder are a juggernaut. They’re fifth in offensive efficiency and first in defense. They’re built for the regular season, with 11 very good players and a hunger to make a deep playoff run after getting bounced in the second round last year — despite having home-court advantage.
But remember, they lost to Luka Dončić.
If you forgot about that series, here’s a quick recap.
The Mavs lost Game 1, then Dončić bounced back with 29-10-7 in a Game 2 win. The Mavs lost Game 4, and Dončić bounced back with 31-11-10 in Game 5 on the road.
In short, the Thunder have no answer for him. Not Lu Dort, not Alex Caruso, and certainly not Jalen Williams.
The Lakers will be underdogs, and SGA might win the NBA MVP award, but the best two players on the floor will be James and Dončić.
Rachel Nichols breaks down Luka Doncic’s debut as a Los Angeles Laker alongside LeBron James
Denver started slow but is back near the top of the standings, led by the indomitable Nikola Jokić. He is unstoppable, as in, Anthony Davis can’t stop him.
Jokić averaged 28-16-9 last year in the 4-1 series win over the Lakers and shot 59% from the field.
Then Jokić averaged 29-11-7 against Rudy Gobert in the second round and the Nuggets lost.
The point is, nobody stops Jokić. He went for 24-19-7 in Game 7 at home and they lost.
Yes, he will be a massive problem for the Lakers, who don’t have the bodies to slow the Joker. But the smart question is whether the Lakers can slow Jamal Murray and have enough offense to take down the Nuggets.
With Dončić? Of course, they do.
Health will be paramount, but when isn’t it? The Lakers will have — give or take — 25 games to work out the kinks of the new group, and that’s plenty of time to get ready for the playoffs.
Didn’t we all stop doubting James 15 years ago?
Jason McIntyre is a FOX Sports betting analyst who also writes about the NFL and NBA Draft. Before arriving at FOX, he created the website The Big Lead. Follow him on Twitter @JasonRMcIntyre.
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