Yahoo Sports NBA betting: Most bettors believe Suns will cover, but line has moved toward Lakers
Reverse line movement is always interesting to track.
What is it? When a majority of bets and money are on one team, but the line moves the other way, that's reverse line movement. It's something you always want to take note of, because it theoretically means sharp money is on the less popular side.
The Los Angeles Lakers are probably the most public team there is; bettors love taking them when they're good. But that's not the case for Game 3 of their first-round series against the Phoenix Suns.
The Suns are getting 67 percent of the bets and 58 percent of the money at BetMGM, however, the line moved the Lakers' way.
Bettors like the Suns in Game 3
The Lakers opened as 6.5-point favorites for Game 3. That line has moved to -7, despite two-thirds of the bets coming in on the Suns. That typically means bigger bets, and respected bettors, are on the Lakers.
The Suns getting so much betting love is a bit surprising. The ever-popular Lakers got a huge win in Game 2. LeBron James and Anthony Davis, who were criticized after Game 1, came up big. The Lakers are the favorites in the West and now -350 favorites to win the series against Phoenix, who have to be concerned about Chris Paul's limitations due to a shoulder injury.
But it's a lot of points. The Suns looked good in a Game 1 win and Game 2 was close deep into the fourth quarter. If Paul can rebound physically and play to his typical great standard, the Suns +7 could be great value.
Plenty of bettors think so.
Who are bettors taking in the other games?
There are two other NBA playoff games on Thursday night, and bettors like the favorites.
The Bucks are -2 against the Miami Heat, and 76 percent of bets and 68 percent of money at BetMGM is on Milwaukee. The line has moved from Bucks +1 to Bucks -2. Bettors obviously were impressed at how Milwaukee dominated Game 2 of the series.
In the late game, the Denver Nuggets are 4-point underdogs against the Portland Trail Blazers, and 55 percent of bets and 67 percent of money is on the Blazers. That series is tied 1-1, with Portland taking Game 1 and Denver winning Game 2.
Bettors generally lean toward favorites, though that's not the case in the marquee NBA game of the night.
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