A disturbing trend has developed in La La Land — and no, we’re not talking about Luka Dončić’s altercation with J.J. Redick.
Actually, it’s a betting trend.
The Lakers are 37-25 on the season, firmly in the mix for the third seed in the West, assuming OKC and San Antonio continue to lead the pack at the top of the conference. Overall, L.A. is 29-9 when favored — 16-5 when favored at home and 13-4 when favored on the road.
Pretty good, right?
But there is always the other side of the coin.
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The Lakers are 8-16 overall as an underdog, including 2-7 as the home ‘dog and 6-9 as the road ’dog.
To take it a step further, consider this: The Lakers have failed to cover in 12 straight games as an underdog.
Check out the recent results:
Dec. 23 @ Phoenix: Lakers (+3.5) lose by 24
Dec. 25 vs. Houston: Lakers (+2.5) lose by 23
Dec. 30 vs. Detroit: Lakers (+2.5) lose by 22
Jan. 7 @ San Antonio: Lakers (+8.5) lose by 16
Jan. 17 @ Portland: Lakers (+3.5) lose by 16
Jan. 22 @ LA Clippers: Lakers (+2.5) lose by 8
Jan. 28 @ Cleveland: Lakers (+3.5) lose by 30
Feb. 1 @ New York: Lakers (+6.5) lose by 12
Feb. 9 vs. OKC: Lakers (+6.5) lose by 9
Feb. 10 vs. San Antonio: Lakers (+13.5) lose by 28
Feb. 22 vs. Boston: Lakers (+1.5) lose by 22
March 6 vs. Denver: Lakers (+5.5) lose by 7
Yeesh.
And not only are the Lakers failing to cover as underdogs, they are getting blown out. In those 12 games, they’ve lost by 10 or more in nine of them and 20 or more in six of them.
Five of those losses have also come on their home floor, by an average of 20.8 points. Granted, those five home games were against five of the best teams in the league, but the best teams in the league exist in the playoffs.
The last time L.A. covered as an underdog was back on Dec. 14, when it beat Phoenix by two as a 1.5-point favorite.