LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Lakers often attract large betting interest anyway, but the controversial midseason trade that landed Luka Doncic from Dallas has people emptying their bank accounts to put money on Los Angeles.
And the money, mostly fueled by casual bettors, is still coming.
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Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, right, shoots near Los Angeles Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt, left, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)
Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler III brings the ball up the court against the Memphis Grizzlies during the first half of an NBA play-in tournament basketball game in San Francisco, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Boston Celtics' Jaylen Brown, right, talks with former teammate, Washington Wizards' Marcus Smart, following an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) get looked at by the medics during second half of an NBA basketball game against theSacramento Kings, Friday, April 11, 2025, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Marshall)
Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic (77) and LeBron James, center, right, hug and celebrate late in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
BetMGM trading manager Halvor Egeland said 99% of the bets on the Lakers' opening-round NBA playoffs series against Minnesota is on LA. That series opens Saturday in Los Angeles.
“It's pretty much all Lakers money coming in so far in the series,” Egeland said. “I think they opened up -160 (favorites), and we've taken some bigger bets on it. There's excitement around the Lakers for sure, but it's surprising how much we've taken on the Lakers.”
LeBron James and the Lakers now are -200 favorites at BetMGM to beat the Timberwolves.
Caesars Sportsbook also has been hit hard with bets on the Lakers, who are drawing strong money to win the Western Conference and NBA Finals.
“It's been kind of a running theme for a few months now,” Caesars pro basketball lead trader David Lieberman said.
They went from about 40-1 at Caesars to win the championship before the Doncic trade to now 10-1.
The Lakers remain Southern California's glamour team, but the Clippers might be playing at a higher level. Bettors certainly are coming around on them.
The Clippers went from underdogs to favorites at BetMGM and Caesars in their first-round series against Denver even though the Nuggets have home-court advantage.
“I really think the Clippers could come out of the West,” CBS SportsLine handicapper Bruce Marshall said. “Nobody's talking about them. ... but I think they could win everything, I really do. It's a great veteran mix. They're not too old. They've got guys who've been around and won titles.”
The oft-injured Kawhi Leonard finally looks like the player who won championships in San Antonio and Toronto.
“Personally, it does come to Kawhi's health,” Egeland said. “Right now, he's been great, but history repeats itself frequently — Kawhi Leonard gets hurt and James Harden no-shows in some games in the playoffs. There does seem to be a belief in (Leonard), but we'll see what happens.”
Boston might be headed into the playoffs as the second seed in the Eastern Conference behind Cleveland, but the Celtics are favored at both sportsbooks to make the NBA Finals.
The Celtics are trying to become the NBA's first repeat champion since 2018 when Golden State won its third title in four years.
They are +200 at BetMGM win the title, just behind Oklahoma City at +185. The numbers are similar at Caesars — +200 for the Celtics to +170 for the Thunder.
“Boston was playing pretty well down the stretch,” Marshall said. “They’d probably be favored over (East top seed) Cleveland even though they wouldn’t have home court.”
There will be plenty of focus on Jaylen Brown. The MVP of last year's NBA Finals has received knee injections and hasn't played much over the past month.
“On paper, I think the Celtics have a pretty big edge (in the East) if they’re healthy,” Lieberman said. “But I feel like they probably won’t be entirely healthy.”
A Golden State championship would be bad news for the sportsbooks after all the money that has come in on the Warriors since they acquired Jimmy Butler. He helped spark a late-season run before the Warriors lost three of their final five regular-season games.
That forced the Warriors into the Play-In Tournament, and they defeated Memphis 121-116 on Tuesday night to secure the seventh seed.
“I am a little bit skeptical they can make a run all the way through the West,” Lieberman said. “A lot of their players are pretty old and it's hard to see them surviving the gauntlet. On talent alone, you have (Steph) Curry and Butler playing at a high level and the experience they have going up against younger teams in Houston and OKC (Oklahoma City). I won't count them out.”
Top-seeded Oklahoma City is almost being overlooked by the bettors, but much of that has to do with the price point rather than the team youth and inexperience playing in the playoffs.
The Thunder, led by MVP favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, are heavy favorites to at least make the NBA Finals. Many gamblers are finding greater value with other teams in what is a deep Western Conference.
“I don't think that they're doubting the Thunder,” Egeland said. “I think it's more that you don't want to place a bet on a team with that short of odds.”
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Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, right, shoots near Los Angeles Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt, left, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)
Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler III brings the ball up the court against the Memphis Grizzlies during the first half of an NBA play-in tournament basketball game in San Francisco, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Boston Celtics' Jaylen Brown, right, talks with former teammate, Washington Wizards' Marcus Smart, following an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) get looked at by the medics during second half of an NBA basketball game against theSacramento Kings, Friday, April 11, 2025, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Marshall)
Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic (77) and LeBron James, center, right, hug and celebrate late in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip on Friday killed at least 64 people, hospitals said, as U.S. President Donald Trump wraps up his Middle East visit that skipped Israel and offered no prospect for a ceasefire in the war-battered territory.
At least 48 bodies were brought to the Indonesian Hospital and another 16 bodies were taken to Nasser Hospital, health officials said, as strikes overnight into Friday morning hit the outskirts of Deir al-Balah and the city of Khan Younis.
The widespread attacks across come as Trump finishes his visit to Gulf states but not Israel. There had been widespread hope that his regional trip could usher in a ceasefire deal or renewal of humanitarian aid to Gaza. An Israeli blockade of the territory is now in its third month.
Speaking to reporters at a business forum in Abu Dhabi on the final day of his trip, Trump said he was looking to resolve a range of global crises, including Gaza. “We’re looking at Gaza,” he said. “And we’ve got to get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving. A lot of people are — there’s a lot of bad things going on.”
The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strikes, which lasted hours into Friday morning and sent people fleeing from the Jabaliya refugee camp and the town of Beit Lahiya. They followed days of similar attacks that killed more than 130 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
After the strikes, dark smoke was seen rising over Jabaliya as people grabbed what they could of their belongings and fled on donkey carts, by car and foot.
“The army entered upon us, bombing, killing. ... We got out of the house with difficulty, killing and death, we did not take anything,” said Feisal Al-Attar, who was displaced from Beit Lahiya.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed earlier in the week to push ahead with a promised escalation of force in Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip to pursue his aim of destroying the Hamas militant group, which governs Gaza.
In comments released by Netanyahu’s office Tuesday, the prime minister said Israeli forces were days away from entering Gaza “with great strength to complete the mission ... It means destroying Hamas.”
An Israeli official said the strikes on Friday were preparatory actions in the lead-up to a larger operation and to send a message to Hamas that it will begin soon if there isn’t an agreement to release hostages. The official was not authorized to brief media and spoke on condition of anonymity
The same official said that Cabinet members were meeting Friday to assess the negotiations in Qatar, where ceasefire talks are taking place, and to decide on next steps.
Israeli government spokesman David Mencer told The Associated Press on Friday that Israel’s military is intensifying its operations as it has done since Hamas stopped releasing hostages. “Our objective is to get them home and get Hamas to relinquish power,” he said. He said Israel will continue pressuring Hamas while negotiating, saying that it's getting results.
On Friday, families of the hostages said they awoke up with “heavy hearts” to reports of increased attacks and called on Netanyahu to “join hands” with Trump’s efforts to release the hostages.
“Missing this historic opportunity for a deal to bring the hostages home would be a resounding failure that will be remembered in infamy forever,” the families said in a statement released by the hostage forum, which supports them.
On Friday, families of the hostages said they awoke up with “heavy hearts” to reports of increased attacks and called on Netanyahu to “join hands” with Trump’s efforts to release the hostages.
“Missing this historic opportunity for a deal to bring the hostages home would be a resounding failure that will be remembered in infamy forever," the families said in a statement released by the hostage forum, which supports them.
The war began when Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people in an Oct. 7, 2023, intrusion into southern Israel. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, many of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. Almost 3,000 have been killed since Israel broke a ceasefire on March 18, the ministry said.
Hamas still holds 58 of the roughly 250 hostages it took during its Oct. 7 attack on Israel, with 23 believed to still be alive, although Israeli authorities have expressed concern for the status of three of those.
The attacks come as Israel enters its third month of blockading Gaza, preventing food, fuel medicine and all other supplies from entering, worsening a humanitarian crisis. Israel says the blockade aims to pressure Hamas to release the hostages it still holds and that it won’t allow aid S
Earlier this week, a new humanitarian organization that has U.S. backing to take over aid delivery said it expects to begin operations before the end of the month — after what it describes as key agreements from Israeli officials.
A statement from the group, called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, identified several U.S. military veterans, former humanitarian coordinators and security contractors that it said would lead the delivery effort.
Many in the humanitarian community, including the U.N., said the system does not align with humanitarian principles and won't be able to meet the needs of Palestinians in Gaza and won't participate it.
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Mroue reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Tia Goldenberg and Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel contributed to this report.
Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Displaced Palestinians fleeing Beit Lahia amid ongoing Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip arrive in Jabalia, northern Gaza, on Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Displaced Palestinians fleeing Beit Lahia amid ongoing Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip arrive in Jabalia, northern Gaza, on Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Displaced Palestinians fleeing Beit Lahia amid ongoing Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip arrive in Jabalia, northern Gaza, on Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Displaced Palestinians fleeing Beit Lahia amid ongoing Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip arrive in Jabalia, northern Gaza, on Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Displaced Palestinians fleeing Beit Lahia amid ongoing Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip arrive in Jabalia, northern Gaza, on Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Palestinians struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Israeli soldiers work on tanks and APCs at a staging area near the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
