Lakers star LeBron James will miss a season opener Tuesday for the first time in his 23-year NBA career because of sciatica.

The absence of the 40-year-old four-time NBA MVP has had an adverse impact on Los Angeles’ betting odds, though it hasn’t stopped bettors from loading up on the Lakers to win the title this season.

The Lakers are the Westgate’s NBA title ticket leader, by more than twice as many as the next team, and the SuperBook’s largest liability. The Lakers were as low as 12-1 in the offseason to win their 18th league championship and sat at 14-1 before shooting up to 16-1 after the team announced that James will miss the start of the season.

“They had a relatively easier schedule to start the season, but now that LeBron’s going to miss what sounds like a month, we jumped the

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