According to Las Vegas oddsmakers, the Los Angles Lakers are 5:2 favorites to win the NBA championship, and 6-point favorites in Game 1 Thursday night at the Staples Center. The odds are even more overwhelming in the Lakers favor on the Port Arthur News panel of area basketball “experts.”

A sampling of Lincoln legend James Gamble, PAISD Executive Athletic Director Andre Boutte, Lamar University Athletic Director Billy Tubbs and Cardinals basketball coach Steve Roccaforte produced an across-the-board choice of the Lakers.

All but Boutte, who took LA in six, saw a hard-fought, seven-game series.

We’ll get into their reasoning momentarily but first a few random thoughts on the past six weeks of playoffs.

Watching the NBA at this point in the season is both fascinating and infuriating. The skill level and the physicality of the game as it unfolds in the playoffs makes it a compelling view. But the inconsistency of the officiating, and how close games drag on and on and on in the final minutes, makes me want to wait for the highlights.

The way certain star players are protected is a turnoff, something I’ve been saying since Michael Jordan won a championship for the Bulls with a basket scored after an obvious offensive foul went uncalled. LeBron James is now the chosen one, although Kobe Bryant is not far behind.

One of the keys in the Finals will be how Dwight Howard is officiated. Howard is not yet in the protected species category. If he can’t stay on the floor, the Magic have no chance. If he can, it says here the Lakers are going to be stretched to the limit.

Orlando, as it proved against Cleveland, is clearly the best team in the East, although that might not have been the case if Boston’s Kevin Garnett had not been sidelined with a knee injury. The Magic have been undervalued from the start, but their inside-outside combination can be lethal.

If Magic point guard Jameer Nelson were healthy, I’m not so sure the Lakers would even be favored.

Among the intagibles to watch, LA does have a clear edge in quantity of celebrities. The Magic, however, can counter with the world’s most recognizable fan on the nights Tiger Woods shows up. Tiger, who was on hand for the Game 6 clincher over Cleveland, trumps Jack Nicholson.

Orlando also has an edge in TV analyst prejudice. Magic coach Stan Van Gundy’s brother Jeff, the former Houston Rockets coach, told his ESPN/ABC bosses he had no problem if they removed him from the announcing team. When they said no, he made it clear he’s pulling for his brother’s team to win.

OK, enough of that. Here’s what our experts had to say.

JAMES GAMBLE: “I like the Lakers because of their focus, their experience from playing in the Finals last year and the drive that Kobe Bryant has to win another championship. Orlando is better than people think, they look better than Denver to me. But one area where I think they will come up short is rebounding other than Dwight Howard.

The matchup problems people have with Rashard Lewis are going to reverse in this series because Lewis will wind up having to guard one of the Lakers bigs — Pau Gasol or Andrew Bynum. Howard, because the Lakers’ inside people are so much better than Cleveland’s, is going to be subject to foul trouble. They will go at him to try and create fouls.

“One edge I give to Orlando is the Lakers don’t show me anybody coming off the bench like Mickael Pietrus. He makes things happen. A guy I think you’ll see Phil Jackson use more off the bench is Josh Powell. It’s a break for the Lakers that Jameer Nelson is hurt. He’d have been a problem for their guards.”