LA Lakers 2020 NBA Championship Betting Debrief
By
Oct 12, 2020
Odds.com’ LA Lakers 2020 NBA Championship Betting Debrief: The Lakers win the NBA Championship with a 16-5 record, and a perfect 57-0 when leading headed into the 4th quarter.
Your 2020 NBA Champions
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67617048/1279727607.jpg.0.jpg "LA Lakers 2020 NBA Championship Betting Debrief 2")
The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat in 6 games of the 2020 NBA Finals on Sunday night. With the finals victory, it is the Lakers 17th championship in franchise history, the first since the late Kobe Bryan brought them to the promise land in 2010. For Lebron James, it is his fourth NBA championship, as well as his 4th finals MVP. Lebron is the first NBA player to win three MVPs with three different teams.
For the Lakers, and the NBA, it was the most unique playoffs in the league’s history. The Orlando NBA bubble spanned from mid-July up until October. With the unique circumstances, there were a number of non-comparable factors in the Lakers championship run. The Lakers didn’t model their game after any other team, this wasn’t a copy cat of strategy like we’ve seen before. The Lakers, Lebron James, and Anthony Davis dominated when they had to, and took steps back and sat out when rest was needed.
The Lakers won the 2020 NBA Championship without losing two games in a row. With a 16-5 record in the playoff bubble, the Lakers rebounded after all five of their losses and did not drop back to back games all playoffs.
A Title Unlike Any Other
Not only was this 2020 NBA playoffs the most unique of it’s kind, but the same can be said about the team that won it. From the very beginning, the critics were out in full force against this Lakers team. Oddsmakers weren’t very impressed with the Lakers starting rotation either, and Lebron and Los Angeles opened at +700 to win the NBA title, behind both the Clippers (+600) and the Bucks (+550)
Too much of their doubter’s chagrin, the Lakers had an exceptional season. Winning 52 of 71 games, and going 16-5 in the NBA playoffs, on their way to an NBA championship.
Lakers in a League of Their Own
One of the most impressive stats that has followed this Lakers team, has been their ability to hold onto leads down the stretch. In 42 games in the regular season, the Lakers had a lead going into the 4th quarter, in all 42 of those games, the Lakers came out with the victory. In the playoffs, the Lakers took a lead into the 4th quarter 15 times, and went a perfect 15-0 in all of those games as well. A 57-0 record when leading after 36 minutes. An absolutely remarkable stat considering how many teams blow leads in the modern NBA.
The interesting thing about their ability to hold leads down the stretch, is that it’s not exactly contrasting with their performance against expectation. Even as an undefeated team carrying a lead into the final frame, the Lakers put up a surprisng 6-14-1 ATS record in the 4th quarter during the playoffs.
This was a trend that followed the Lakers all throughout the season. The Lakers finished the season with an average scoring margin of +4.4 in the 1st half, but just +1.4 in the second, and even lower at +1.2 in the fourt quarter.
The Lakers were a team that took big leads off the hop early, and slowly took their foot off the gas as the games went on. Along with their incredibly lopsided 4th quarter ATS record, the Lakers were also a bet against team in the 2nd half all playoffs long. The Lakers managed to cover the 2nd half in only 4 of their 21 playoff games, going 4-17 ATS in the second half.