While Adam Silver has sought parity for the NBA over the past decade, the league has remained far more predictable in determining a champion than its peers in other professional sports.

In the past 36 seasons, the team with the best preseason odds to win the title has gone on to win 18 times, with another eight finishing as runners-up. The Los Angeles Lakers have a 27 percent implied chance of winning the title, which may make them undervalued.

Heavy favorites have done even better, as more than half of the 24 favorites to begin a season with better than 3/1 odds have won the title and only two failed to reach the Finals.

No team outside the top eight in preseason title odds has ever won the championship. The Warriors entered the 14-15 season with eighth best odds and won the title.

Since 1985, only eight NHL favorites have won the Stanley Cup, seven NFL favorites have won the Super Bowl and six MLB favorites have won the World Series.

Alex Caruso sat out Monday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers due to the league's COVID-19 health and safety protocol. 

Frank Vogel said there were no other players or staff members being held out of Monday's game because of the contact tracing portion of the health and safety protocol.

Caruso is averaging 5.3 points and 1.7 rebounds in three games off the bench this season.

Anthony Davis will miss the Los Angeles Lakers' Sunday game against the Minnesota Timberwolves due to a calf contusion.

Davis suffered the injury on opening night against the Clippers, then reaggravated it on Christmas Day against the Mavs.

"We just want to be responsible with it. We want to keep an eye on it," said Vogel about the injury.

Vogel added that the team will approach resting Davis and LeBron James on a "case-by-case basis" throughout the season. 

LeBron James won the AP Male Athlete of the Year award on Saturday for his impact on and off the basketball court.

It was James' fourth time he's won the award, tying a record.

"I still know what I do on the floor, and obviously, I give everything to the game. But I can make a greater impact off the floor right now, more than I can on the floor. And I want to continue to inspire people with the way I play the game of basketball.

"But there's so many more things that I can do off the floor to help cultivate people, inspire people, bring people together, empower them," James told AP.

Patrick Mahomes finished second in voting, with Lewis Hamilton finishing third.

The Los Angeles Lakers and Dennis Schroder have engaged in extension talks and those discussions are expected to pick up agains as soon as mid-February.

Schroder turned down an initial offer from the Lakers worth $33.4 million over two years. The figure represented the maximum allowable offer before Feb. 16.

Schroder could earn as much as $83 million over four years between Feb. 16 and the start of the 2021 offseason. The Lakers can offer a starting salary of $18.6 million starting with the 2021-22 season, which creates much more of a realistic opportunity for the Lakers.

Before Tyronn Lue and the Los Angeles Lakers were unable to agree to a contract to become head coach in 2019, Frank Vogel had agreed to become a top assistant on Lue's staff.

Vogel was offered the job of head coach, but he reached out to Lue for his blessing.

“Someone is going to take the job,” Lue said to Vogel, according to a source familiar with the call that spoke with The Athletic. “Why not you?”

Vogel interviewed on May 9, one day after Lue withdrew. Vogel had not yet interviewed with the Lakers in any capacity as he only had been in communication with Lue for the assistant job.

Lue became an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Clippers under Doc Rivers and is now head coach.

Vogel won a title with the Lakers in his first season.

Host Danny Leroux (@DannyLeroux) and Arturo Galletti (@AmericanNumbers) break down the over/unders for the Western Conference.

They discuss the win total, division, conference and title odds as well as any pertinent individual award lines for the Thunder (3:12), Kings (9:53), Timberwolves (16:43), Spurs (25:44), Grizzlies (32:48), Pelicans (38:36), Rockets (43:43), Suns (51:17), Warriors (57:16), Trail Blazers (1:11:11), Jazz (1:19:53), Mavericks (1:27:25), Nuggets (1:32:47), Clippers (1:45:05) and Lakers (1:54:52).

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Kyle Kuzma has agreed to a three-year, $40 million extension with the Los Angeles Lakers, sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

The contract includes a player option for the 2023-24 season. Kuzma could become a free agent again at 28.

Kuzma started 114 games and averaged 16.0 points over his first three seasons with the Lakers.

Kawhi Leonard chose to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers instead of the Los Angeles Lakers last offseason, but his team was eliminated in the second round while the rival Lakers won the title.

Leonard was asked by Jimmy Kimmel if it is uncomfortable to play against the team he chose not to go to.

"No, not at all," said Leonard. "I'm happy with my decision. They did a great job last year. They did their thing."

Leonard can become a free agent again in 2021.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis are both expected to play when the NBA regular season begins on December 22nd.

“Well, they’re not ready yet, but they will be on the 22nd, and when we’re ready to start games, those guys will be ready to go,” Frank Vogel said on Sunday. “But we’ve been trying to strike that balance of easing them in enough while at the same time making sure they’re working to be ready for the beginning of the season. I think they both look really good. They’re probably not ready to play in a regular-season game today, but they’re both in good shape and hopefully can continue to build up to the start of the season.”

The Lakers expect James and Davis to play in the two remaining preseason games for the Lakers.

“They’ve been participating heavily in practice, and gonna sit these first two preseason games out,” Vogel said. “Hopefully (they) play in the final two preseason games, play some in Game 3 and more in Game 4. Get as close as possible to a dress rehearsal leading into the regular season.”