Some athletes are aware of what Vegas is saying about their team on any given night. Others are very much not.
Rajon Rondo might fall into the latter camp.
Understandably fired up towards the end of a victory over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night, the Los Angeles Lakers guard chatted with a courtside fan, saying he hoped they put “10 racks” on L.A.
There was just a slight problem with Rondo’s advice: the Lakers didn’t cover the spread.
Heading into the matchup with the Pistons, Los Angeles was favored at -6.5 and -300 on the moneyline, per Tipico Sportsbook. The Lakers won, 121-116, failing to cover by one possession.
“Hope you bet with us tonight… 10 racks”
Rondo giving some gambling advice to a fan courtside 💀 pic.twitter.com/xtJI2uSVS8
— br_betting (@br_betting) November 22, 2021
The Lakers weren’t even covering at the time Rondo made his comment. The next play saw Los Angeles allow a layup to Jerami Grant, too, all but ensuring the Pistons would beat the spread.
Following the ejection of LeBron James for elbowing Isaiah Stewart in the third quarter — and nearly setting off the NBA’s wildest brawl since, well….you know — the Lakers pulled themselves together to snap a three-game losing streak. That may have boosted their egos a bit. Especially when Detroit led by as much as 17 in the second half after James got tossed.
The reality is the Lakers are 9-9 on the season and a league-worst 6-12 against the spread. Rondo is great at a lot of things, but maybe don’t take betting advice from him.
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