NBA All-Star Saturday Night: Slam Dunk Betting Picks and More
By Jason Logan
Covers.com
The showbiz term “Jump the Shark” stems from an episode of Happy Days when Fonzie literally jumped a shark while water skiing. It was the high point for the popular sitcom, and everything else after was downhill for the old gang from Milwaukee.
You could say the NBA Slam Dunk Contest suffered a similar fate last year, when Los Angeles Clippers superfreak Blake Griffin jumped the Kia – literally jumped over the hood of a Kia Optima as a Grand Finale to his spectacular slam dunk showing.
This Saturday’s Sprite Slam Dunk Contest, the crown jewel of NBA All-Star Saturday Night, is a major step down from 2011’s antics.
Griffin declined to defend his title and the NBA narrowly avoided an embarrassing finish when it was announced New York Knicks instant sensation Jeremy Lin would be assisting teammate Iman Shumpert, giving the Knicks guard an unfair advantage in the fan-decided event.
However, Shumpert has pulled out due to injury, taking away what little interest people still had in the dunk contest. Replacing him is Utah Jazz high-flyer Jeremy Evans, who joins Chase Budinger of the Rockets, Derrick Williams of the Timberwolves and Paul George of the Pacers in Orlando Saturday night.
Not exactly the star-studded field the dunk contest used to boast, when guys like Shawn Kemp and Larry Johnson traded slams and Will Smith, still known as The Fresh Prince, was freaking out and holding up 10s court side.
That’s where sports betting comes in. Books are out to save All-Star Saturday Night, setting odds for all of the evening's events, including the Shooting Stars, Skills, 3-point and the declining slam dunk contest.
Here are our picks for All-Star Saturday Night:
Sprite Slam Dunk Contest
Paul George +150
Jeremy Evans +275
Derrick Williams +275
Chase Budinger +350
Pick: Williams – Since this is an event completely based on fan voting, we’re going to go with Williams due to his popularity from last year’s NCAA Tournament. That’s not to take anything away from his dunking abilities – which are great. But actually being able to dunk is not a prerequisite when fan voting is involved. Selina Gomez could win this thing if she made a layup.
Footlocker 3-point Shootout
Anthony Morrow +300
Ryan Anderson +325
James Jones +375
Mario Chalmers +400
Kevin Durant +500
Kevin Love +600
Pick: Durant – KD was king of NBA All-Star H-O-R-S-E before the league nixed the event. The classic shooting competition didn’t get much love during the weekend, but could probably rival the dunk contest in terms of excitement. Anyways, Durant is giving great value at +500 and is hitting 37 percent of his treys – most of those against double teams. Let’s see how he does with no one in his shorts.
Taco Bell Skills Challenge
Deron Williams +275
Stephen Curry +280
Russell Westbrook +300
John Wall +350
Kyrie Irving +500
Tony Parker +500
Pick: Williams – The skills challenge pretty much comes down to who can sink the 3-pointer and make the bounce pass. Curry won last year with a time of 28.2 seconds, but Williams won in 2008 at 25.5 seconds – the fastest time in the 10-year history of the event. Plus, Williams could use the skills challenge as his own personal combine to attract free-agent suitors this offseason.
Haier Shooting Stars
Atlanta +225
Orlando +225
New York +250
Texas +250
Pick: New York +250 – Allan Houston, Landry Fields and Cappie Pondexter look like the best trio of Legend, NBA and WNBA in this year’s co-ed event. And it’s about time Houston earned some of that ridiculous contract he signed back in 2001.
3-Point & Dunk Odds
By Bookmaker.eu
The actual NBA All Star game is precluded with many more contests and activities which you can gamble on against BookMaker and their NBA Betting Odds. The NBA All Star Weekend has an eclectic mix of shooters and dunkers for you the day before the actual NBA All Star game goes down with all your NBA All Star Betting Odds available also. The three point shootout contest always entertains and is one of many events BookMaker has the for the Saturday night NBA festivities.
The Foot Locker Three Point Shootout will have 6 qualified contestants for NBA fans to watch fire the rock, and this one doesn’t include LeBron James.
Anthony Morrow (+200) – This New Jersey Nets guard is shooting 44 percent lifetime from 3-point land and will wear No. 3 to honor late New Jersey Nets legend Drazen Petrovic in this shootout. This is only his first invite despite the impressive percentage he has been putting up which happened to also be the same as Petrovic before a tragic car wreck in 1993.
James Jones (+285) – The Miami Heat guard may lose some credit to much of the general public with a barrage of superstars around him, but many fans Betting NBA All Star Odds will remember that Jones beat out Paul Pierce and Ray Allen in 2011 to win last year. He could become the first winner in consecutive years since Jason Kapono won in 2007-08.
Joe Johnson (+510) – This past member from the Phoenix Suns (when he was actually good) is now representing the Atlanta Hawks in both the All Star game and the three point shootout. He wasn’t so hot in 2005-06 and is attempting to make anyone named Johnson proud in this one.
Kevin Love (+500) – The fact that he is the first representative of the Minnesota Timberwolves surprised me a little bit, but his shooting percentage from outside the arc of 36.1 disgusted me really. He shot 41.7 percent last year, and I would hope (and bet) he picks it up the second half of the season. He would be considered the longshot in my eyes for this competition.
Mario Chalmers (+385) – Chalmers is shooting a notable 46.3 percent on his 3-point attempts, but that isn’t what intrigued me most. The Miami Heat now has 2 out of 6 three point shooters in this contest, and none of them are named LeBron James, Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh. I guess choosing the Heat for Betting Odds NBA All Star week at BookMaker may be the ticket.
Ryan Anderson (+285) – The hometown has representation as the Orlando Magic’s sixth player to represent the O-Zone from Florida. His impressive numbers this year along with the hometown crowd should be a big boost for number 33 shooting for 3.
The NBA All Star Game will have Live Betting available, so you can wager while you are actually watching the game at BookMaker. There are many events available for this, and you can make wagers on the All Star NBA Betting Odds right now on multiple categories big shooter.
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Bet on 2012 NBA All-Star Weekend - High-flying action awaits in Slam Dunk Contest
A word of caution to the participants in this year's dunk contest: don't dunk over a car…it has been done. Now, many would say that jumping over a car and slamming it had been done long before Blake Griffin did it in last year's dunk competition, citing the numerous YouTube videos dating long before Blake's Kia leap.
Even more cynical observers would downgrade Blake's achievement by pointing out that he leapt over the hood of the car rather than its highest point, hardly something to write home about.
Hopefully, this year's Sprite Slam Dunk contest will feature something that will shock and awe everyone watching, with no room left for hate. You can put in your two cents with a bet on the 2012 All-Star Weekend, and more specifically the upcoming dunk contest featuring some young guns from around the league.
The University of Arizona is represented well here, as alums Chase Budinger and Derrick Williams both take to the air to try to show the public something new and fresh, always the most challenging task of the dunk contest in recent years.
Many may look at Budinger and write him off because of his white skin and goofy blonde hair, but it would be a mistake. This kid has legitimate hops. Whether he can win will come down to how creative he can be. Might I suggest using Steve Nash in one way or another? I'll give him an extra point just for trotting the old man out. Williams is another intriguing option, especially if you Google "Derrick Williams monster dunk vs. Duke." Trust me, that video speaks for itself.
The other two contestants are Paul George from Indiana and Jeremy Evans from Utah. You probably already know Paul George, the intriguing second year player cut in nearly the same mold as the Pacers current star Danny Granger. George seems like more of a scorer than a dunker, but his athleticism is not to be underestimated. Now, Jeremy Evans is an add in for the injured Iman Shumpert, and I can only say thank you to the dunk gods that allowed this substitution. I may have pointed you to the one Derrick Williams highlight worth a mention, but if you head to YouTube and search for Jeremy Evans, you may be up all night watching highlight-reel, jump out of your seat type dunks.
After a long session of Evans videos, I have to give the nod to the newcomer. His vert is simply ridiculous. Pick him then get to know him then watch him win you your bet on the NBA All-Star Weekend.