Lakers Win Total Prediction
With the addition of one of the all-time greats in NBA history, can the Los Angeles Lakers final get back to being a playoff contender in the 2018-19 NBA Season?
According to oddsmakers at BetNow.eu, the Lakers are being listed with an over/under of 48.5 wins for the upcoming season. The over carries a -120 line while the under is listed at -110.
The Los Angeles Lakers have been in the dumps of the NBA for a while. They have posted losing seasons the last five years and haven’t went over 48 wins since the 2010-11 NBA season. Just last year, the Lakers went 35-47 and finished 11th in the West. Luke Walton is coming into his third season as head coach, posting a 61-103 record over the first two seasons.
It was a busy offseason for the Lakers, most notably adding LeBron James to the squad on a 4-year deal. James is entering his 16th season of play. He has reached the NBA Finals the last eight seasons, claiming three championships in the process. Last year, James put up 27.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game. He played on a pretty depleted roster throughout the year and played all 82 games for the first time in his career.
The Lakers added a lot other complimentary pieces to go with LeBron, signing Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson, JaVale McGee and Michael Beasley in free agency. They join young stars like Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball, as well as veteran Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
The Lakers had 35 wins last year, so the question is does LeBron give them another 14 wins. The West is certainly stacked, but if you look at the standings, you had teams like the Thunder, Jazz and Pelicans all around that 49-win mark. One thing is for sure, the Lakers will improve as the season moves along. LeBron will get the best out of this team over time and is too much of a competitor to settle for anything less. While they can’t compete with Golden State or Houston, I think the Lakers can compete with almost anyone else. Barring an injury to LeBron, I like the Lakers to get to 49 wins and be more of a competitor in the West than many may think.
NBA Predictions: Los Angeles Lakers Over 48.5 Wins