NBA All-Star Weekend comes to a close tonight when the league’s top players hit the Staples Center court for the 2018 NBA All-Star Game. For the first time ever, this contest won’t pit the Eastern Conference vs. the Western Conference, but rather two unique teams with rosters built via a draft conducted by LeBron James and Stephen Curry, the team captains and top All-Star vote getters. There are a number of intriguing storylines in play, including a former teammates reunited in the same lineup and current teammates squaring off against one another. After the draft results were revealed, the consensus was that James had the better squad, so it’s no surprise that Vegas is anticipating that the Cleveland Cavaliers star’s side will win on Sunday night.
Nothing is certain during All-Star Weekend, however, as the exciting lead-up to this marquee event has proven. Friday started off rather tame and went chalk with Team Clippers—favored by a point—besting Team Lakers in the Celebrity Game and Team World easily covering as a four-point favorite against Team USA in a highlight-filled Rising Stars Game, but last night was a different story.
Not many foresaw how All-Star Saturday night would play out, as every single event involved a huge upset. The evening opened with Spencer Dinwiddie winning the Skills Challenge despite the Brooklyn Nets guard having the longest odds in the field at 13-1 (+1300). Devin Booker wasn’t expected to take home the Three-Point Contest title either, but he defied his 10-1 (+1000) odds—only Tobias Harris, another finalist, had worse—to win the competition. Donovan Mitchell closed out the festivities by stealing the show in a Dunk Contest that Dennis Smith Jr. was supposed to win. The Utah Jazz guard wowed the judges and cashed tickets for backers who believed in him regardless of his 3.5-1 (+350) odds, which were the longest of the four competitors.
Will there be a final upset from Team Stephen on Sunday to cap off All-Star Weekend, or will Team LeBron’s group of favorites take care of business in this inaugural captains-format contest? Jon Price of SportsInformationTraders.com was asked for his take on the action and the hoops handicapper obliged with not only a pick against the spread, but also his prediction for the winner of the game’s MVP award. Before getting to the betting pro’s take, have a look at the complete schedule, tip-off time, TV and live streaming information, team rosters, updated odds for Most Valuable Player and more for the 2018 NBA All-Star Game:
NBA All-Star Weekend comes to a close tonight when the league’s top players hit the Staples Center court for the 2018 NBA All-Star Game. For the first time ever, this contest won’t pit the Eastern Conference vs. the Western Conference, but rather two unique teams with rosters built via a draft conducted by LeBron James and Stephen Curry, the team captains and top All-Star vote getters. There are a number of intriguing storylines in play, including a former teammates reunited in the same lineup and current teammates squaring off against one another. After the draft results were revealed, the consensus was that James had the better squad, so it’s no surprise that Vegas is anticipating that the Cleveland Cavaliers star’s side will win on Sunday night.
Nothing is certain during All-Star Weekend, however, as the exciting lead-up to this marquee event has proven. Friday started off rather tame and went chalk with Team Clippers—favored by a point—besting Team Lakers in the Celebrity Game and Team World easily covering as a four-point favorite against Team USA in a highlight-filled Rising Stars Game, but last night was a different story.
Not many foresaw how All-Star Saturday night would play out, as every single event involved a huge upset. The evening opened with Spencer Dinwiddie winning the Skills Challenge despite the Brooklyn Nets guard having the longest odds in the field at 13-1 (+1300). Devin Booker wasn’t expected to take home the Three-Point Contest title either, but he defied his 10-1 (+1000) odds—only Tobias Harris, another finalist, had worse—to win the competition. Donovan Mitchell closed out the festivities by stealing the show in a Dunk Contest that Dennis Smith Jr. was supposed to win. The Utah Jazz guard wowed the judges and cashed tickets for backers who believed in him regardless of his 3.5-1 (+350) odds, which were the longest of the four competitors.
Will there be a final upset from Team Stephen on Sunday to cap off All-Star Weekend, or will Team LeBron’s group of favorites take care of business in this inaugural captains-format contest? Jon Price of SportsInformationTraders.com was asked for his take on the action and the hoops handicapper obliged with not only a pick against the spread, but also his prediction for the winner of the game’s MVP award. Before getting to the betting pro’s take, have a look at the complete schedule, tip-off time, TV and live streaming information, team rosters, updated odds for Most Valuable Player and more for the 2018 NBA All-Star Game:
