Clippers were laying 8-8.5 pts a game to Denver. LAL only 6 pts.

Oddsmakers basically saying LAL not as good as the Clippers. LA will still advance but interesting.

One of the biggest factors in setting a point spread is public perception. Many people spend decades wagering sports without learning this simple fact. I learned it in the 8th grade. Oddsmakers aren't saying "...the Lakers aren't as good as the Clippers." They are saying "...the public perception of how good the Nuggets are is higher after the last series than what it was before the last series." Oddsmakers just want to split the action.

great insight 

This is true and for a long time thought it was the only truth. But then I talked to a guy who used to help make lines and he said it’s 50% public perception and 50%!statistics. He said more often than not the public perception and statistical analysis matched up (i.e., there was not a great discrepancy).

public is learning about the nuggets.  5-2 ats versus clips.  2-1 ats versus lakers.  that's 8-3.  oddsmakers adjust accordingly.

I took Nuggets + pts every game this series and will continue to do so. Hopefully they can win this series. 

It always changes. The reasons are plenty. They literally know how Bron is gonna play tomorrow depending what outfit he's gonna wear on game day.

They know everything about a team and their players. Literally everything.

50/50 sounds about right but i've never known the exact split. I'm sure odds on games involving teams like the Patriots, the Cowboys, the Redsox, the Yankees, have a little more public perception baked into them. Personally I prefer to wager on small conference college basketball and football. Very little public perception goes into those games. Never understood guys who insisted on having a play on those marquee saturday night game of the week match ups.

The bigger the game the sharper the lines. 

oddsmakers realized the Nuggets ain't as bad. Everyone thought Clippers and Lakers were going be the finals West they know now public likes the Nuggets 

That is not what that means at all. Matchups, Public betting, trends all go into the spread. It is no where near as simple as subtracting those two numbers and saying the Clippers are 2 points better than the Lakers...

or oddsmakers getting better sense of spreads as the games go on... 

game 1 versus clips - spread was 9.5 and slowly tightened that by game 7, down to 7.5 and so game 1 of lakers at 7.0 is a natural extension of that tightening journey by oddsmakers 

but yes, oddsmakers have Regular season clips 1.5-2pts better than the lakers... confident that in playoffs, game 1 would be roughly a pick-em 

Thats just not true. And if it is, why are the Lakers always favored when facing the Clippers? Lakers were consistently 1-2 point fav when facing the Clips. 

Oddsmakers underestimated Denver all year long. 6 pts is accurate and 6 pts is a shitload of a difference

Umm lakers always favored when playing the Clips? I cannot debate with someone who thinks the earth is flat.. go check your facts buddy, good gawd rubbish

Lakers vs Clippers 2019-20 Games with Spreads...

10/22- Lakers -3.5 

12/25- Lakers -2.5 

3/08- Clippers -2.5 

7/30- Lakers -4 

Rubbish? Lakers were favored in 3 of the 4 games this year. Check your facts,BUDDY