Nets and Lakers need to turn around slow start to season

The Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers were major disappointments last season. This season looks a lot like a sequel.

The Nets are 1-2 and the Lakers are 0-3 as they each get a close-up on ESPN’s Wednesday doubleheader. Neither is favored to win.

The Nets take on the Milwaukee Bucks, who are 3.5-point favorites at BetMGM. The Lakers are 5.5-point underdogs at the Denver Nuggets.

At least the Nets have one win. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have been great, combining for 59.3 points per game, but there’s not a lot going on around them. Ben Simmons has gotten a lot of heat. He is averaging 5.7 points and has fouled out of two of Brooklyn’s three games. The Nets have been awful on defense. They face the Bucks, who have the best defensive efficiency rating at this early part of the season. Milwaukee is 2-0 and has been just fine without Khris Middleton, who is out for a few weeks with a wrist injury.

The Lakers are looking for their first win. The Lakers have been bad on offense, mostly because they can’t knock down shots. That might not change much either. The Nuggets have been bad on defense so perhaps the Lakers can put up some points. Denver has been up and down. They have a great road win over the Golden State Warriors already. They also have ugly, blowout losses at Portland and Utah. Who knows what comes next.

The Bucks seem like a better bet on Wednesday than the Nuggets. As the Lakers struggle and make more headlines, the lines will get inflated. Denver is still a bit of a mystery and it’s hard to trust them as a 5.5-point favorite, even at home.

The one thing we get to see on Wednesday night is a pair of high-profile teams that are getting desperate for a win. And it’s still October.

Here is the first look at the sports betting slate on Wednesday:

The rest of the NBA schedule

There are 10 games in the NBA on Wednesday night. Another team that had high hopes and is off to a slow start, the Philadelphia 76ers, are 1.5-point favorites at the Toronto Raptors. The 76ers are just 1-2 to start the season.

Story continues

The only game Wednesday between two teams with winning records is the Charlotte Hornets at the New York Knicks. Both are 2-1. Are the Knicks going to be good this season? They’re a 7.5-point favorite at home against Charlotte.

Three NHL games including Rangers-Islanders

There are three NHL games, two of which are part of a TNT doubleheader. The New York Rangers face the New York Islanders. The Rangers are coming off a hard-fought loss to the Colorado Avalanche that went to a shootout on Tuesday night, and the Islanders are a -120 favorite. The second game of the TNT doubleheader is the Tampa Bay Lightning (-155) at the Anaheim Ducks.

What’s the best bet?

I’m a fan of this Raptors team and it’s disrespectful that they’re a home underdog. Let’s go with the Raptors over a 76ers team that might take a while to hit its stride.