Join us for a live Google+ Hangout on the Lakers and Clippers

Sep. 25, 2012

12 AM

&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;The &amp;amp;lt;runtime:topic id="ORSPT000104"&amp;amp;gt;Lakers&amp;amp;lt;/runtime:topic&amp;amp;gt; and &amp;amp;lt;runtime:topic id="ORSPT000103"&amp;amp;gt;Clippers&amp;amp;lt;/runtime:topic&amp;amp;gt; are both expected to be playoff teams this season, and both teams are vying for the role of top team in Los Angeles.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;Join us for a &amp;amp;lt;runtime:topic id="ORCRP006761"&amp;amp;gt;Google&amp;amp;lt;/runtime:topic&amp;amp;gt;+ hangout starting at 1 p.m. Pacific time when Lakers writer Mike Bresnahan, Clippers writer Brad Turner and Deputy Sports Editor John Cherwa discuss the upcoming season for both teams.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;Bettors have such robust faith in the refortified Lakers that they have placed more wagers on them to win the 2013 &amp;amp;lt;a class="taxInlineTagLink” href="https://www.latimes.com/topic/sports/basketball/national-basketball-association-15008001.topic"&amp;amp;gt;NBA&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt; title than any other team at nearly a dozen Las Vegas sports books, Times reporter Ben Bolch &amp;amp;lt;a href="https://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-lakers-nba-odds-20120925,0,1951090.story"&amp;amp;gt;noted today&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;Yes, that includes the defending champion &amp;amp;lt;a class="taxInlineTagLink” href="https://www.latimes.com/topic/sports/basketball/miami-heat-ORSPT000190.topic"&amp;amp;gt;Miami Heat&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt; and the same &amp;amp;lt;a class="taxInlineTagLink” href="https://www.latimes.com/topic/sports/basketball/oklahoma-city-thunder-ORSPT000117.topic"&amp;amp;gt;Oklahoma City Thunder&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt; that quickly bounced the Lakers out of the playoffs this year. The Heat has slightly more money bet on it at several sports books but lags far behind the Lakers in terms of number of bets.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;Adding the game’s best center and a soon-to-be Hall of Fame point guard to a roster already featuring &amp;amp;lt;a class="taxInlineTagLink” href="https://www.latimes.com/topic/sports/basketball/kobe-bryant-PESPT000948.topic"&amp;amp;gt;Kobe Bryant&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt; and &amp;amp;lt;a class="taxInlineTagLink” href="https://www.latimes.com/topic/sports/basketball/pau-gasol-PESPT002503.topic"&amp;amp;gt;Pau Gasol&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt; has made many bettors consider the Lakers a (purple and) gold ticket.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;Kornegay said the Lakers have “by far the most tickets on them” to win the title at his sports book, where they have drawn more than twice the money to win the title than the Heat. The Lakers have four times as many bets placed on them at MGM Resorts than does the Heat.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;This avalanche of wagers on the Lakers turned them into co-favorites to win the title this season, matching the same 9-4 odds as Miami and topping the Thunder’s 4-1 odds, according to the Las Vegas Hotel and Casino.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;The resurgent &amp;amp;lt;a class="taxInlineTagLink” href="https://www.latimes.com/topic/sports/basketball/los-angeles-clippers-ORSPT000103.topic"&amp;amp;gt;Clippers&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt; are at 30-1 title odds as they continue to distance themselves from the franchise’s days as a triple-digit longshot.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;The Times’ Lakers-Clippers Google+ hangout airs at 1 p.m. today, on this blog post. &amp;amp;lt;span&amp;amp;gt;If you have a question for Mike or Brad, please email it to &amp;amp;lt;a class="smarterwiki-linkify” href="mailto:sportshangout@latimes.com"&amp;amp;gt;sportshangout@latimes.com&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt; and they will try to address it during the chat.&amp;amp;lt;/span&amp;amp;gt;

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