- The Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers will play a decisive Game 7 on Tuesday night.
- The winner of the Nuggets-Clippers series will face the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.
- Bookmakers think a ‘Battle of Los Angeles’ West Finals would be better for business.
The Los Angeles Clippers have been among the favorites to win the 2020 NBA Championship since before the season began. If that is to transpire they’ll have to get past their hometown rivals the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals first. Actually, the Clippers first order of business is just to get to the Conference Finals. LA has all they can handle with the Denver Nuggets who rallied from 19 points down in the second half on Sunday to win Game 6 and force the decisive final game to be played on Tuesday.
The Clippers had a 3-1 lead in the series before dropping two straight to the plucky Nuggets who came back from a 3-1 deficit to the Utah Jazz in their previous series. If Denver manages to get past the Clippers and reach the Conference Finals they’ll be the first team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 series deficit twice in the same postseason. Win or lose, Denver coach Michael Malone is thrilled with his team’s tenacity:
”I’m running out of adjectives, superlatives, whatever you want to call it to speak on our team. That is a tough, resilient group of you-know-whats. I love our team. I love our team. I love our toughness.”
Nevada bookmakers may or may not share Malone’s sentiments but they still want to see the Clippers win on Tuesday night. Not so much for their financial position in this series but to set up a Western Conference Finals matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James. Westgate Superbook VP of Risk Jeff Sherman told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that a ‘Battle of Los Angeles’ would create more bettor interest not only in the Western Conference Finals but in a potential NBA Finals matchup:
“It’s better for the book and better for the handle if we get the Clippers in there. A Lakers-Clippers Western Conference Finals might do more (action) than one of those teams playing against the Heat or Celtics in the NBA Finals.”
The winner of the Western Conference Championship will advance to the NBA Finals to face the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics. Game 1 between the Heat and Celtics will also take place on Tuesday with Boston a -1.5 point favorite and the total set at 209.5. For the series, the Celtics are a -135 favorite with takeback on the Heat at +115. The Don Best odds screen is showing 59% of bets on the Celtics with 61% of wagers on the game to stay ‘Under’ the total.
In the Clippers/Nuggets Game 7, Los Angeles is a -7.5 point favorite at most books with a few places at -7 including the Wynn Las Vegas and theScore Bet. The total on the game can be found at either 207 or 207.5. The Don Best betting breakdown is showing 54% of wagers on the underdog Nuggets with an equal 54% on the game to go ‘Over’ the total.
Interestingly, despite Colorado’s status as a booming sports betting market there isn’t any clear ‘regional bias’ on or against the Nuggets shown in the state. All of the mobile sportsbook apps in Colorado are showing the Nuggets at +7.5 and the total at 207.5 except for theScore Bet and ELITE Sportsbook both showing Denver +7 and the total at 207.
