Online sports betting odds favor the Lakers even though the team is dealing with injuries. Kobe Bryant has been in and out of the lineup with a variety of injuries while center Andrew Bynum has missed time. The Lakers are still favored though to come out of the Western Conference in offshore sports betting NBA odds.
Online sports betting NBA odds will be on the board for the playoffs that begin this weekend. The Lakers are heavily favored in offshore sports betting to win their series against Oklahoma City. Los Angeles is expected to have Kobe and Bynum available this weekend. “Drew seemed to be in good spirits this morning,” head coach Phil Jackson said, “Our anticipation is he’s going to do some individual work on Thursday, even though we don’t have a practice scheduled for our team, then he’ll practice Friday and Saturday.”
Bynum has been injury prone so it is nothing new to see him miss time. Having Kobe Byrant out of the lineup though is something the Lakers are not used to. He has a fracture in his finger and has been sitting out to rest. Bryant fractured the finger back in December but he has played in most of the games since then. “I just think it’s an accumulation of things,” Jackson said. “Yeah, I guess you can call him a little bit worn down from the season. It’s maybe two-three years of playing in long-term basketball [seasons] too.”
Online sports betting stats indicated that Kobe had played in 235 straight games until sitting out due to an ankle injury this season. “Obviously there are some extenuating circumstances there physically that he thinks he can help out and I gave him the liberty to make that choice [to sit out],” Jackson said. Kobe has played well this season even with the injury. He has not been sharp recently though as online sports betting stats indicated that he was 21 for 70 shooting in his last three games. “Certainly I’m concerned about it; I’m not worried about it that much,” Jackson said. “We’ll have harder practices, we’ll have practice time. Obviously there should be two or three days between our end game and the start of the playoffs, so I think he’ll find a rhythm.” The Lakers have a winning record this season without Kobe in the lineup but they don’t get as much respect in NBA online sports betting odds.