Brooklyn Nets vs Los Angeles Lakers
October 3, 2021 3:30 pm EDT
The Line: Los Angeles Lakers -3.5 / Brooklyn Nets +3.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers meet Sunday in NBA preseason action at the STAPLES Center. The Brooklyn Nets enter the season as the betting favorite to win the NBA title this season. The Los Angeles Lakers are notably different from a year ago, as they have 10 new players on their roster.
The Nets are the team to beat with a healthy trio of Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and James Harden, however, there are questions to how much Kyrie plays due to his vaccine status. As long as those three are available, the Nets have to like their chances to win their first title since the 1975-76 ABA season. The Nets did get richer this season with the additions of Paul Millsap, Patty Mills and James Johnson, three guys who are still solid role players in the NBA. It will also be interesting to see how much LaMarcus Aldridge can contribute after previously retiring due to an irregular heartbeat. If Blake Griffin picks up where he left off last year and Joe Harris has a bounce back season, the Nets are going to be extremely tough to beat in the 2021-22 NBA season.
The biggest addition for the Lakers was Russell Westbrook, but Rajon Rondo and Dwight Howard return after a brief absence and Carmelo Anthony looks to finally get a ring. Kendrick Nunn and Malik Monk add a splash of youth to the Lakers roster, while Wayne Ellington, DeAndre Jordan and Trevor Ariza hope to strengthen the bench. The Lakers roster is on the old side, but with age comes experience and there’s a lot of championships and past all-star appearances across the board. Of course, you can’t forget about LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the cornerstones of this Lakers team and what puts them over the top in terms of championship odds. The Lakers are title or bust once again and it’s going to be interesting to see how quickly this new look squad can come together.
The Nets are 4-10 ATS in their last 14 Sunday games and 13-4 ATS in their last 17 games overall. The Lakers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 home games and 6-14-1 ATS in their last 21 games overall. The under is 6-1-1 in Nets last 8 overall. The under is 5-1-1 in Lakers last 7 overall. The Nets are 8-2-1 ATS in the last 11 meetings in Los Angeles.
This is a tricky spot because you have no idea how much either team is going to play key players. You’d assume the Nets guys get more run given they have less preseason contests, but you often see the stars sit out or play very limited minutes. What we do know is the Lakers are at home and they’re the far and away deeper team. I’d also think the Lakers would want to hit the ground running and build some chemistry given that there’s so many new faces on this roster.
I lean Lakers in this preseason opener, but I’ll have an official pick once a line is released.
Update: It looks like none of the stars are going to play in this game, but the Lakers have more vets who should see the floor in some capacity. The Nets are resting pretty much their entire core. At home, and with a cheap price, I have to side with the Lakers.
