Are the Lakers a lock for the play-in game?

Mar 30, 2023 - 7:41 PM

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A season’s worth of games across the league is going to come down to the final weeks. For the Lakers, it’s been a long, arduous road that has them far removed from their horrendous start to the year.

Now, they sit in the middle of the play-in race with the ability to move into the playoffs themselves...or the ability to fall out entirely. So much remains at stake in the final week that seemingly anywhere from the fourth spot to the 11th spot in the Western Conference standings feels up for grabs.

Where are the Lakers going to land in that mess? Well...

DraftKings Odds

The constantly-changing nature of the play-in race means the odds are also constantly changing. Last week, our friends at DraftKings had the Lakers were listed as a 50/50 shot at making the playoffs and were the second favorites to take part in the play-in game at -210 odds.

Fast forward a week to present day and the Lakers are listed at -200 odds to make the playoffs and +160 to miss them while being -500 odds to take part in the play-in game. Comparatively, the Mavericks were listed as the favorites to make the play-in game last week and are now third-favorites.

It’s a bit of a catch-22 if you’re betting on the Lakers to take part in the play-in game because that means you don’t expect them to be too successful to play their way out of the play-in spots.

If you’re a believer that this team can string together a handful of wins at the right time now to move above the play-in, those -200 odds could be enticing. Right now, it’s hard to recommend either bet right now as neither feels particularly valuable.

But, to some extent, it’s a good thing for the Lakers overall. If their odds currently reflect little value, it means they’re in a good position to be in the playoffs. Right now, on the heels of their win in Chicago, hopes and optimism are both high.

Does all that result in a playoff berth? Considering what we’ve seen this season, that’s something that changes on a daily basis.

Check out DraftKings Sportsbook, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation. You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.