Oddsmakers say Lakers far from favorites to win 2014 NBA title

On Thursday night, the Miami Heat finished off the San Antonio Spurs in a competitive seven-game NBA Finals to win their second straight title.

Oddsmakers have already given their take on the 2014 NBA Finals, making the Heat the favorite to win three in a row.

Where do the Lakers sit on the list? According to Bovada, the Lakers have 22-1 odds of winning the championship next season. That’s better than the odds at Pregame.com, who has the Lakers at 35-1.

Bovada has the Heat as a 2-1 favorite while Pregame gives Miami 3-1 odds.

Both agree that the Clippers have a better chance than the Lakers with Bovada putting the Clippers at 18-1 and Pregame at 20-1.

They also are in agreement that the Oklahoma City Thunder, Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers, Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, New York Knicks, and Spurs have better chances than the Lakers.

Pregame also gives the Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors equal 35-1 odds as the Lakers -- but Bovada gives the Lakers a slight edge, giving the two Western Conference rivals slightly lower odds at 25-1.

As the off-season unfolds and teams make personnel moves, the oddsmakers will shuffle the list -- but the Heat is likely to lead the list without exception.

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Email Eric Pincus at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.