LAS VEGAS — The NBA In-Season Tournament is intended to be on a neutral court, hosted in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena right off the Strip, with no league team within 267 miles.
So, who is that team within 267 miles? The Los Angeles Lakers, who play in Thursday night's semifinals with a chance at the Finals and $500,00 per player, with the Lakers as a consensus -2 in the Action Network App.
Not only that, but Vegas provides a particular advantage that the Lakers have enjoyed in other competitions.
Vegas is an easy road trip for Angelenos, making it a popular weekend getaway. There is also a large population of LA transplants that live in Vegas, according to a Las Vegas Journal-Review report from a year ago.
And, of course, for a city without its own team, most NBA fans in Vegas back the Lakers, as is the case across the country.
In Las Vegas for the NBA's annual Summer League, the largest crowds are always in attendance for Lakers games.
Pelicans vs. Lakers Odds
- Spread: Lakers -2
- Total: 231 points (o-110/u-110)
- Moneyline: Pelicans +114, Lakers -134
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So with the Lakers in town for the In-Season Tournament, does that make this a "home" game? The answer is, yes, to the smallest extent it can be.
Action Network reached out to several bookmakers to get their thoughts on homecourt advantage for the Lakers.
Jeff Sherman from SuperBook said he had applied a half-point of homecourt advantage for the Lakers, given the circumstances.
DraftKings' Johnny Avello was more aggressive, applying a point of value in favor of the Lakers.
A bookmaker for PointsBet/Fanatics said he did not adjust for homecourt and is treating Thursday night's semifinal as a true neutral-court environment.
The most interesting response came from a trader at Circa Sportsbook in Las Vegas. Circa only applied a half-point toward the Lakers in homecourt, but it wasn't because of the name on the front of the jersey, but the one on the back.
"It's not necessarily because of the crowd noise, but LeBron especially has a presence here [in Vegas] and is comfortable," he said. "It's not the only reason we opened higher, but it is a small factor. Maybe worth a half-point."
The Lakers play in the night semifinal at 6 p.m. local time, giving more time for Vegas residents to make it and offering a wider audience than the 5 p.m. ET matchup between the Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers.
Also interesting is that DraftKings at a full point, Circa at a half-point and SuperBook at a half-point all have the game at Lakers -2. Even with handle adjustment, it presents a curious mismatch in the market, even for just a half-point. Fanatics SportsBook told Action Network that 73% of its handle is on the Lakers moneyline in their semifinal matchup vs. the Pelicans.
If your position is that the Lakers will enjoy more of a homecourt advantage than the books have placed on the game, there's value on the Lakers to advance to the Finals on Saturday.
NBA Futures Analyst Brandon Anderson is one who believes the books aren't accurately capturing how big of an edge the Lakers have in Vegas.
It's wild to make a cap based on NBA Summer League, but that's exactly where I'm at. Before the LeBron era, when all Lakers fans had was a hope and a dream, the team had a couple awesome runs in the Summer League and the arenas were absolutely rocking with Lakers fans. It's just a rite of passage for LA folks to make the trip up I-15 to Vegas, and the arenas were packed for D'Angelo Russell, Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso, the whole crew.
That's where DLo hit some big shots and started the ice-in-his-veins thing, so I think he'll be very comfortable at home in Vegas, and so will these Lakers in front of droves of fans — rabid fans, not just the celebs with all the usual seats in LA. And a comfortable environment that will make things anything but comfortable on the refs in a spot where they already have a lot of pressure to make sure the league gets the Lakers in the finals on Saturday night.
I expect Vegas to be anything but neutral. This could be one of the biggest home-court advantages of the season in favor of the Lakers.
Avery Yang and Patrick Everson contributed to this report.
