BetOnline Odds Boosters For Friday, October 2

Happy Friday! We’ve reached another weekend, which means we have another jam-packed sports schedule right in front of us. Friday brings a pair of Major League Baseball playoff games, including a winner-take-all game between the Cardinals and Padres in San Diego. We also have Game 2 of the NBA Finals between the Lakers and the Heat after Los Angeles easily took Game 1 on Wednesday night.

The Friday odds boosters at BetOnline are NBA-centric, with three different ways to bet on the Finals. Let’s dive right in.

NBA: Lakers To Win Series 4-0 (+155)

Game 1 was quite devastating for Miami for a number of reasons. Not only did they lose by 18 points in a game that wasn’t nearly as competitive as the final score may lead you to believe, but they also lost a pair of starters to injury. Goran Dragic, who has really come on strong as the Heat’s primary scorer during the postseason, suffered a torn plantar fascia in his left foot, which is expected to keep him sidelined for Friday’s game.

The Heat will also likely be without All-Star center Bam Adebayo, who suffered a neck strain during Game 1. Both players are officially listed as doubtful, which is obviously terrible news for a team that is already very up against it.

The expected absence of Dragic likely means a promotion into the starting lineup for Kendrick Nunn or Tyler Herro, while Kelly Olynyk should see extra playing time in Adebayo’s place. Jimmy Butler also appeared to sprain his ankle in the second quarter of Game 1, but he says he will be in the lineup tonight.

Miami’s Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic are listed as doubtful for Game 2 of NBA Finals vs. Lakers.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 1, 2020

Obviously, this is all very bad for the Heat’s prospects of winning the series. At this point, some are wondering whether they’ll even be able to win a game. Miami has been the hottest team in the league during these playoffs, but they looked like no match for the Lakers even with Dragic and Adebayo out there to start Game 1.

The Lakers enjoyed some unusually hot shooting from complementary players like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Alex Caruso in Game 1, but Adebayo’s absence is particularly painful. The Heat were already lacking in size against the Lakers’ big frontline, and having to rely more heavily on the likes of Olynyk, Solomon Hill, Meyers Leonard, or Chris Silva certainly isn’t what Erik Spoelstra had in mind when the series began.

After Game 1, BetOnline.ag has the Lakers as massive -1700 favorites to win the series.

NBA: Lakers (-9.5) To Cover AND Over 216.5 Points (+300)

The Lakers were 5.5-point favorites in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, a spread that shrunk to as little as four points thanks to the public hammering the Heat. Miami took the vast majority of the public bets ahead of Game 1, but the devastating result for the Heat in that game has bettors singing a different tune as we get closer to tip-off for Game 2.

The Lakers are 9.5-point favorites tonight, which is one of the biggest spreads you’ll ever see for a Finals matchup. 66 percent of the bets have come in on the Lakers to cover that spread, which is an indication that the public isn’t too confident in a shorthanded Miami team’s chances of keeping this one competitive.

The teams combined to score 214 points in Game 1, and the over/under for this one is at 216.5. Neither team played particularly poorly offensively in Game 1, but these have also been two of the best defensive teams in the NBA all season long. That said, the absence of Adebayo leaves a gigantic hole in the middle of what is normally a stingy Heat defense, and the Lakers would be silly not to exploit that weakness with another heavy dosage of Anthony Davis in Game 2.

NBA: LeBron James To Score At Least 35 Points (+240)

Davis led the way with 34 points for the Lakers in Game 1, while LeBron James took a bit of a backseat offensively. James finished with 25 points, 13 rebounds, and nine assists in the Lakers’ easy victory. LeBron shot 9-for-17 from the field and 5-for-6 from the charity stripe.

LeBron shares what makes his relationship with AD so special. pic.twitter.com/YCqEuDsaaJ

— ESPN (@espn) October 2, 2020

James had a couple of big scoring games in the Lakers’ first-round series against Portland, but he has otherwise not been the team’s No. 1 offensive option for most of the playoff run to this point. LeBron averaged 27.4 points per game against the Blazers, 25.8 points per game against the Rockets, and 27 points per game in the Western Conference Finals against the Nuggets.

He failed to crack 30 points in either regular-season meeting against Miami, as well.

What’s The Best Bet?

The Lakers don’t necessarily need LeBron to have a big game in order to beat the Heat easily. We saw just that in Game 1. While I would expect another excellent all-around showing from James, the Lakers should continue to feed Davis as often as possible against the shorthanded Heat frontcourt. As a result, betting on James to finish with 35-plus points here at +240 looks like a middling bet, at best.

The Lakers to sweep the series at +155 is awfully tempting. The Heat are a resilient team with an excellent coaching staff, and Jimmy Butler is a strong enough leader to where we know Miami won’t just give up now that they’re down a couple of key players. You know the Heat are going to play hard every night, which means this likely won’t be a total cakewalk for LA.

That said, Miami struggled against the sheer brute force of the Lakers in Game 1.

Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro both looked overmatched on the defensive end, and extra minutes for Kelly Olynyk won’t be a panacea for their defensive ills, either. A sweep isn’t the most likely outcome, but that’s baked into the +155 odds. At this point, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see the Lakers go unbeaten in this series, especially if Dragic and/or Adebayo are sidelined for more than just one game.

Betting on Los Angeles to win by double-digits tonight is understandable, but with an over/under set at 216.5 makes it trickier. Without Dragic and Adebayo, Miami is going to need Butler to be more assertive offensively, while open looks for Robinson and Olynyk will have to be falling with regularity. I don’t doubt the Lakers’ ability to score at-will in this matchup, but the Heat look like a team primed to endure some scoring droughts.

All in all, betting on a Lakers sweep at +155 looks like your best bet here. You’ll have to wait a few days for your payoff, but the writing is on the wall for Miami.