Betting News and Notes for NBA All Star Weekend.
All-Star Props & Odds
VegasInsider.com
The 2017 NBA All-Star weekend is upon as the best basketball players in the world head to the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana this weekend. The exhibition game takes place on Sunday Feb. 19 in a primetime affair and the game will be televised nationally on TNT.
Prior to the All-Star game, bettors have opportunities on both Friday and Saturday.
The more popular wagers take place on Saturday with individual events and Sportsbook.ag currently has odds posted on two of them.
The winners from the 2016 All-Star events from Toronto are listed below:
Skills Challenge - Karl-Anthony Towns
Three-Point Contest - Klay Thompson
Slam Dunk Contest - Zach LaVine
Odds to win 2017 Skills Challenge
Isaiah Thomas (Celtics) 2/1
John Wall (Wizards) 12/5
Devin Booker (Suns) 4/1
Gordon Hayward (Jazz) 8/1
Anthony Davis (Pelicans) 10/1
Kristaps Porzingis (Knicks) 10/1
DeMarcus Cousins (Kings) 15/1
Odds to win 2017 Three-Point Contest
Klay Thompson (Warriors) 10/11
Kyrie Irving (Cavaliers) 5/1
CJ McCollum (Blazers) 8/1
Kyle Lowry (Raptors) 17/2
Eric Gordon (Rockets) 10/1
Kemba Walker (Hornets) 10/1
Nick Young (Lakers) 10/1
Wes Matthews (Mavericks) 10/1
Odds to win 2017 Slam Dunk Contest
Aaron Gordon (Magic) 5/9
Derrick Jones Jr. (Suns) 7/5
Glenn Robinson III (Pacers) 17/2
DeAndre Jordan (Clippers) 10/1
NBA All-Star Weekend Picks
By Tony Mejia
VegasInsider.com
If you're bummed out that you won't have the NBA regular season back to wager on until Thursday, there's a way to at least stock up on a few wins this weekend to tide you over until the Trail Blazers and Magic breathe life into your dreary existence on Feb. 23.
NBA All-Star Weekend is often unpredictable, but there are some locks and leans worth cashing in on.
Zach LaVine has won the slam dunk title as the favorite in consecutive years. Before it switched to its current USA vs. International format, the Rising Stars Challenge usually favored the more polished Sophomores. Although the 3-point shootout is typically a compettive crapshoot, Steph Curry won as the favorite in 2015 and reached the final round last year, losing to Splash Brother Klay Thompson.
A handful of guys will have multiple assignments this week, but none will match Damian Lillard's feat last time the All-Star weekend was in New Orleans back in 2014. The Blazers guard competted in the Rising Stars, the dunk contest, 3-point shootout and even the skills competition. Ironically, he's not in any event this time around, snubbed for the big game once again despite averaging 25.7 points. It just goes to demonstrate how special it is to most of these guys to be involved, because you never know what will change from one year to the next.
It won't be easy in New Orleans, but I've got some picks for you to try and cash in on while the festivities play out. Here are my picks for the 2017 All-Star weekend:
Skills Challenge
Contestants (Odds via WestgateLV Superbook): John Wall, Washington (9/4); Isaiah Thomas, Boston (9/4); Devin Booker, Phoenix (11/2); Gordon Hayward, Utah (8/1); Anthony Davis, New Orleans (10/1); Kristaps Porzingis, New York (+800); DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento (15/1); Nikola Jokic, Denver (15/1)
Breakdown: Karl-Anthony Towns won this event as a rookie last season despite entering as the biggest longshot, cashing for those who took a shot on him at +1250. Thomas has participated before and is favored along with Wall to bring the glory back to the point guards. Booker and Hayward are the top shooters in the group, but don't sleep on Davis' desire to make it back-to-back Kentucky unicorns taking home the hardware. He'll be invested to put on a good show.
Projected winner: Everything is coming up Thomas these days, so don't be surprised to see him take this competition, more than doubling your investment.
Slam Dunk Contest
Breakdown: The 2016 dunk contest made a bid to upstage the entire weekend and ened up being the most memorable in years. Minnesota’s Zach LaVine (-270) earned his second consecutive title with some gorgeous dunks, including a few from the free-throw line, holding off Orlando’s Aaron Gordon, who was +420 at 5Dimes coming in and nearly pulled off an upset. Gordon pulled off an amazing dunk where he essentially took a seat in mid-air while jumping over Stuff the Magic Dragon, plucking the ball out of the mascot’s hand, switching it from one hand to the other underneath his legs while finally flushing it on the way down.
LaVine opted not to participate even before he tore his ACL earlier this month, which put a damper on the hype for this event and made Gordon the heavy favorite. According toSportsbook.ag, the Magic forward is a 5-to-9 favorite. Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (10/1) and Indiana's Glenn Robinson III (17/2) are the longshots and unlikely to have enough sustained flavor to pull out a win. They may open some eyes and drop some jaws, but stamina and a full repertoire goes a long way in winning a dunk contest, so if you're looking to fade Gordon, virtual unknown Derrick Jones Jr. is the way to go.
Jones, a 20-year old from Philadelphia who played one season at UNLV, is in the mix here for a reason. The kid can get up, so despite the fact he's only played seven games and made more field goals in his last game (three) than he'd managed in his other six games with the Suns, he's a threat. Gordon has been dealing with a bone bruise in his foot that has cost time of late, so he's not physically 100 percent and may be vulnerable as a result.
Projected winner: I'm riding with Jones, who is paying out 7-to-5.
Three-point Shootout
Contestants (Odds via WestgateLV Superbook): Klay Thompson, Golden State (5/4); CJ McCollum, Portland (6/1); Kyle Lowry, Toronto (6/1); Kyrie Irving, Cleveland (6/1); Kemba Walker, Charlotte (12/1); Nick Young, L.A. Lakers (12/1); Eric Gordon, Houston (12/1); Wes Matthews, Dallas (12/1)
Breakdown: Golden State’s Thompson (+320) took down Splash Brother Curry (+115), keeping the 3-point contest crown in the family by posting a 27 in the final to dethrone the defending champ. Curry decided not to participate this year, leaving Thompson in the favorite's role. The Warriors have shooting contests almost daily, so it's going to take a special effort to dethrone Thompson. Gordon has had a special year for Houston and would be the top threat if not for back issues that have compromised him of late. Swaggy P will feel no pressure and could surprise given his ability to zone out and find a rhythm, so don't be surprised if he excels, but the call here is to ride someone used to making shots with everything on the line.
Projected winner: Irving isn't a great spot-up shooter, but in a contest like this where he can settle in and find a groove, I have a hunch he'll put on a show to add more fuel to the fire in this Cavs-Warriors rivalry.
All-Star Game
Russell Westbrook has won MVP in consecutive games and is always a good bet since he's programmed differently than most of these guys. He's got no chill, approaching this exhibition like he does every game, which means he'll be chasing down rebounds and going to the rim with reckless abandon. How Steve Kerr employs him given the fact that he's coming off the bench and beefing with former teammate Kevin Durant remains to be seen, but odds are strong that he'll put up numbers and it's unlikely that Kerr will keep him sidelined long if he wants to play. Posting a triple-double here while working on averaging one for the entire season is something you definitely shouldn't put past him.
Davis is also going to be out there to put on a show in front of the home crowd, so they'll be the driving force behind a Western Confeence that has opened as a 6.5-point favorite. The total is way up there at 344 following last year's remarkable 196-173 West win, but keep in mind that the previous record was set in '15 at "just" 321, as the West posted a 163-158 win. The highest scoring quarter in that Brooklyn-based contest was 83 points. Last year, 83 points ended up being scored in the lowest-scoring. There were 89 points scored in the second and third quarters and 88 fired in despite the fact the game was out of reach. The Western Conference topped 50 points over the last three after being "held" to 40 in the first. An average of 86 points will have to be scored in each quarter this season to reach the posted total.
Prediction: Western Conference 175, Eastern Conference 171. The WestgateLV SuperBook will release numbers on individual All-Star props as well as total points and highest/lowest-scoring quarters over the course of the weekend, so look for a few free leans in Sunday's version of Dinero Talks.
NBA All-Star Saturday Betting Preview
By Sportsbook.ag
With NBA regular season games on hiatus for the next week, basketball bettors won't mind getting some small action down on the All-Star weekend festivities on Saturday night. There is no question that these events garner much more interest and excitement than the actual All-Star Game itself, so let's take a look at some of the odds for these contests.
Three-Point Contest Odds: Klay Thompson (+110), Kyrie Irving (+500), CJ McCollum (+800), Kyle Lowry (+850), Eric Gordon (+1000), Kemba Walker (+1000), Nick Young (+1000), Wes Matthews (+1000)
Klay Thompson comes in as the heavy favorite as the defending champion and this event is no stranger to repeat performances. Since 1998 there have been three different champions defend their title (Jeff Hornaceck 1998-2000), Peja Stojakovic (2002-03), and Jason Kapono (2007-08). That's not even counting the 12 years prior when Mark Price, Craig Hodges and Larry Bird all defending their crown at least once, with the latter two winning this event three years in a row. Given that history, we should see Thompson be in the final cast of characters again this year, but at just +110 odds the value isn't quite there. Of the other guys worth consideration here there are a few names that stand out.
Kyle Lowry (+850) – Lowry and the Raptors have really been struggling the past month or so, but the Toronto PG remains one of the best 3-point shooters in the league. He's got the 2nd best 3-point % at .417 behind Thompson (.422) in the field and would love to bring this title back to Toronto. Lowry got a taste of what this event is all about last year and I wouldn't be surprised to see him be there at the end.
CJ McCollum (+800) and Nick Young (+1000) – Young and McCollum come next on this list in terms of 3-point percentage in the field with .413 and .411 marks respectively. Both are extremely streaky shooters and if they are on the hot side of a streak in this event the rest of the field better be careful. McCollum might be the guy to lean towards of the two as he was in this event with Lowry and Thompson last year and the young Portland star has really taken off since this time a year ago.
Slam Dunk Contest Odds: Aaron Gordon (-170), Derrick Jones Jr (+140), Glenn Robinson III (+850), DeAndre Jordan (+1000)
Judging by these odds it's going to be a two-man show between Gordon and Jones Jr. on Saturday. Gordon arguably should have won last year's event with multiple spectacular dunks and it will be very interesting to see what he pulls out this year.
Jones Jr. is a relatively unknown rookie from Phoenix but this guy has hops and can fly. He's already been previewing some possible moves to fans around the league during warmups and being the new guy on the scene does work in his favor. No matter what Gordon throws down, he'll always be compared to last year's dunks and that's definitely a negative in a contest like this.
Both are spectacular dunkers and while the odds suggest Gordon gets redemption for last year's runner up finish, it will be either him or Jones Jr who takes home the crown.