The best of the best in the NBA will head to New Orleans this weekend for the 2017 All-Star proceedings. The action kicks off Saturday, the 17th of February (AEDT) with the annual celebrity game followed by the Team World vs Team USA rookie/sophomore game.
Sunday’s action will feature the always exciting skills challenge, three-point contest and the dunk contest followed by the All-Star game itself on Monday. We’ve got a full preview and betting tips for every event below!
2017 NBA All-Star Weekend Betting Tips
Celebrity Game (11am Saturday AEDT)
ESPN co-hosts Jemele Hill and Michael Smith will coach the East and West teams respectively in what is usually a pretty fun event. The West roster will be led by the likes of former NBA player Baron Davis, celebrity game veteran Romeo Miller and billionaire Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. As the former NBA players always take it easy, it’s usually guys like Miller who turn it on in these games.
The East roster boasts former NBA player Jason Williams, recording artist Nick Cannon and my pick for MVP, Arcade Fire’s lead singer Win Butler. I’ve seen Butler play in a few different celebrity games over the years, and one thing is for sure, he takes them way too seriously. With the likes of former professional players Brandon Armstrong and Oscar Schmidt in the ranks, the West should be too strong here. But let’s face it, this could really go either way.
TIP: West -3 - $1.91 at Sportsbet
Rising Stars Challenge (1pm Saturday AEDT)
It’s Team World vs Team USA here in the annual rookie/sophomore game and both teams are packed full of young talent. Team USA will be led by Karl-Anthony Townes while the backcourt duo of Phoenix guard Devin Booker and Laker D’Angelo Russel will provide plenty of outside shooting. The three ball could reign supreme here in what is always a high scoring match, and both teams have plenty of guys who can let it fly.
The World team is stacked full of bigs including Knicks centre Kristapz Porzingus along with Nikola Jokic, Dario Saric and Domantas Sabonis. Australian Dante Exum will also suit up for Team World after a decent first half of the season with the Jazz. Team World come into this one as underdogs, with nowhere near as much three-point shooting as their counterparts, I think they could struggle to keep up with the USA team in what will be an absolute shootout. It could really go either way though, so we’ll look to the Total market for value.
Last years game blew out the line as the two teams combined for 311 points, I’m predicting another shootout this year and going with the over.
TIP: Total Points OVER 291.5 - $1.91 at Sportsbet
Three Point Contest (from 12pm Sunday AEDT)
Over the past five or so years the three-point contest has become one of the most anticipated events of the All-Star weekend. With the three-point shot being used more and more in regular games every year, three point specialists are finding themselves shooting upwards of 40% from downtown on a regular basis.
Warriors guard Klay Thompson will enter the competition as the red-hot favourite after winning last year’s event with a record tying 27 points in his final round. He’ll be tough to beat, he’s ready made for this competition, he uses minimal legs in his action which means he doesn’t tire out at the end of a run like some of his opponents. However, all it takes is two hot performances on the night, and there’s no more streaky player in the NBA than Lakers guard Nick ‘Swaggy P’ Young. Young has been lobbying to get in the three-point contest for years and now he finally has his chance. If you haven’t already backed Klay Thompson to win, it would be a travesty not to barrack for the controversial Laker.
TIP: Nick Young to win - $8 at Sportsbet
Slam Dunk Contest (from 12pm Sunday AEDT)
Last year we saw one of the best dunk contests in history as Aaron Gordon and Zach LaVine went toe to toe in an epic dunk off. LaVine won’t be there to defend his title due to injury, but we will get another dose of Aaron Gordon has he attempts to win his first title. He’ll be going up against Glenn Robinson III, DeAndre Jordan and NBA D-League highflyer Derrick Jones Jr.
Jones Jr is an underrated chance here, he took out the D-League contest with some ridiculous dunks and has reportedly been working with Team Flight Brothers, who specialise in dunk contest dunks. I’m backing him to upset the favourite in Gordon here.
TIP: Derrick Jones Jr to win - $2.40 at Sportsbet
2017 NBA All-Star Game
Onto the big one, the 2017 All-Star game features a host of new names making their first appearance as an All-Star including Gordon Hayward, DeAndre Jordan, Kemba Walker and Celtics pocket dynamo Isaiah Thomas. As in every All-Star game, both teams are choc full of talent, and it’s near on impossible to predict a winner. The West have won 5 of the last 6 All-Star games, coincidentally, the last game the East won was the 2014 game which was also played in New Orleans.
On paper alone, the West might just seem to have the edge in the starters department. With Steph Curry, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis making up the core unit. Add two time All-Star MVP Russel Westbrook off the bench and you have a recipe for a dominant team.
What I’m most excited to see is the East team roll out a 5-man PG unit with Isaiah Thomas, Kemba Walker, John Wall, Kyrie Irving and Kyle Lowry all playing at once. Hopefully head coach Brad Stevens makes this happen. Carmelo Anthony was added to the East line-up as a replacement for the injured Kevin Love, marking his 10th All-Star appearance. Regardless of the score in the last quarter, the players usually try to even up the contest towards the end to give the fans a good show, so I like the East here getting the 5.5 point handicap. Consider the over here if the line is anything under 300 points and if you want a real smokey for your MVP bet, think about Klay Thompson, who has proven he only needs to be on the court for 15 minutes to score 40 in a game like this.
TIP: East +5.5 - $1.91 at Sportsbet
TIP: Klay Thompson MVP - $41 at Sportsbet
