The best start of any team in the league hasn’t been enough to make the Los Angeles Lakers NBA favorites. The Los Angeles Clippers still have the best odds to win the 2020 NBA Finals.

The Lakers have the best record in the league through the first two weeks of the 2019-2020 season. They are 1.5 games ahead of the Clippers, who fell to 5-3 with a loss at home against the Milwaukee Bucks Wednesday night.

The championship odds for the Lakers and the Clippers remain unchanged from Opening Night. FanDuel Sportsbook lists Kawhi Leonard and Co. as +350 favorites. LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers are second in the league with +440 odds.

Milwaukee isn’t far behind at +550. The Philadelphia 76ers have +600 odds. The Houston Rockets are the only other team with better than 10/1 odds at +800.

Kawhi Leonard Los Angeles Clippers
Kawhi Leonard #2 of the LA Clippers dribbles during a 111-91 Denver Nuggets preseason win at Staples Center on October 10, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. Harry How/Getty Images

The Lakers would be perfect on the year if it wasn’t for the Clippers. The Clippers beat the Lakers—quite comfortably in fact—in the season opener 112-102.

Since that loss, LeBron James has performed like the very early MVP, leading the Lakers on a six-game winning streak. Four of those victories have come against teams that are above .500.

Injuries and load management have the Clippers outside of the top four in the Western Conference. Two of their three losses have come with Leonard sitting because of back-to-back games. Paul George hasn’t made his Clippers’ debut as he recovers from offseason shoulder surgery.

When the Clippers are at full strength, they might be in a class of their own. They have the deepest roster in the NBA. Leonard certainly looked like the best player in basketball when he led the Toronto Raptors to their first-ever championship and he won his second NBA Finals MVP award.

Leonard got the better of James in their first matchup of the season.

James has quickly reminded the league that he was the league’s top player for a decade, and he might even still be on a level ahead of Leonard when he’s at his absolute best. Even with George coming off a top-three MVP finish, James and Davis give the Lakers’ the NBA’s best duo.

If the Lakers continue to play this way and the Clippers get healthy, the West might not be as wide open as it once appeared.

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