Like all sports leagues, the coronavirus pandemic affected the NBA in significant ways. After an extended shutdown that started this past March, the NBA decided on a bubble format for their return.

The league ended up playing out the rest of their regular season, the playoffs, and the NBA Finals on basketball courts located at the Disney World Resorts in Orlando, Florida.

The bubble strategy worked as the pro hoops league finished the 2019-2020 season with the Los Angeles Lakers winning their seventeenth title with zero coronavirus cases.

The citizens of Los Angeles and the Laker organization barely had eight weeks to celebrate. On December 22, the defending champions and the rest of the National Basketball Association get back to work for the 2020-2021 season.

2020 revenue loss forces the NBA to start before January 1

The National Basketball Association is a volume league. When the NBA can’t play games and can’t play those games in arenas, they lose money, which is why pandemic or no pandemic, Adam Silver and NBA owners made it clear that they had to get back to playing in arenas.

Per an article from Yahoo Sports, last season’s league revenue came in at $1.5 billion less than projected. Part of the reason? The league receives 40% of its revenue from playing games in front of fans and in arenas.

But the NBA’s ratings also took a hit. Declining ratings and the scary revenue shortfall pushed Adam Silver to declare that the league would lose hundreds of millions of dollars if they didn’t start the new season before Christmas, which is why the first game is on December 22.

Lakers, Clippers, and Bucks are title favorites

Three teams have emerged as firm favorites to win the 2021 NBA Championship. The Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, and Milwaukee Bucks have dominated sportsbook betting. Check out previews of each.

Los Angeles Lakers

Anyone looking at ESPN’s Top 100 Players of the 2021 Season list will notice that LeBron James and Anthony Davis, two Laker players, are in the first two spots. LeBron and AD are the reason the Lakers are favored to repeat their 2020 run to rings.

But King James and Davis aren’t the only reason NBA handicappers are hot on the Lakers. Instead of sitting on their laurels, the Lakers made changes to their team that they believe will lead to a second straight title.

When their schedule kicks off on December 22nd, JaVale McGee, Dwight Howard, Danny Green, and Rajon Rondo are no longer on the roster. In their place, the Lakers reloaded with very strong replacements in Marc Gasol, Wesley Matthews, Montrezl Harrell, and Dennis Schroder. That’s not to mention the early surprising preseason play of Talen Horton-Tucker.

Most hoops analysts believe the new-look Lakers will be close to impossible to beat for the championship. But like the 2020 runner-up, the Miami Heat, the Lakers had to play into mid-October. The turnaround to another season is short. Can the aging Lakers hang on for another title run?

Los Angeles Clippers

When the Orlando Playoff started, the Clippers, not the Lakers, were the team that many thought would win the championship. At first, it looked as if Kawhi Leonard and Paul George might lead the Clippers to their first-ever title. LAC had a 3-1 Western Conference Semifinals lead over the Denver Nuggets.

The Nuggets won 3 in a row, though, ending Kawhi’s dream of winning two titles in a row. The other Los Angeles basketball team added a significant piece to the roster. Serge Ibaka is still one of the more effective interior players in the league. He’s a defensive dynamo that can step out and hit the three and has extensive playoff experience.

With Ivica Zuba, last year’s starter at center, backing up Ibaka, Clipper Nation feels that they can compete with their Staples Center sharing rivals and take the West. To do so, Ibaka, Marcus Morris Sr., Luke Kennard, and Nicolas Batum must mind-meld with Kawhi and PG-13.

Milwaukee Bucks

Don’t underplay the significant move Milwaukee made this offseason. The Bucks traded for Jrue Holiday, and that, more than any other action by another team, could take Milwaukee over the top.

Holiday is one of the best all-around point guards in the NBA. Last season with the New Orleans Pelicans, he averaged 19 points, close to 5 rebounds, and close to 7 assists per. Jrue gets to pass the ball to Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has won the NBA MVP for two years running.

Giannis can dominate any team. Forward Khris Middleton scored 21 points per game last season.   With Holiday, Middleton, and Antetokounmpo on the same roster, the Milwaukee Bucks will send the best team in their history to the court.

Lakers enter a new season an underlay favorite

Gambling websites have installed the defending champions the underlay favorite. In gambling business parlance, the word “underlay” means a team offers lower odds than it should. Bookmakers, especially those who offer free betting software like Pay Per Head, want players, or sports bettors, to wager on underlay options.

By doing so, bookies know those players haven’t received value from their bets. Also, sportsbook operators can use bookie software to mitigate risky bets on both underdogs and favorites.

Anyone reading this who wishes to wager on the Lakers or any other team listed should consider finding an individual sportsbook owner. They have more flexibility in regards to the odds they offer.