NBA All-Star Weekend is a beautiful event, and there is plenty to keep even the most casual basketball fan interested in the proceedings. Personalities rule the day and, even if you aren’t particularly invested in the favorite television shows or pets of NBA players, the actual on-court activities are always entertaining, headlined by Saturday night’s various individual competitions and the headline event of the All-Star Game itself.
With that in mind, you probably don’t need to gamble on everything on Saturday or Sunday but, if you want to, that is absolutely an option. In fact, the good folks at BetOnline.ag have a menu of wagers that can be made and it’s time to fire away on a few potentially interesting angles, starting with the Skills Challenge on Saturday evening.
2019 NBA All-Star Skills Challenge Winner
De’Aaron Fox (SAC) 3/1
Luka Doncic (DAL) 4/1
Trae Young (ATL) 4/1
Mike Conley (MEM) 11/2
Nikola Jokic (DEN) 6/1
Jayson Tatum (BOS) 13/2
Kyle Kuzma (LAK) 7/1
Nikola Vucevic (ORL) 8/1
The Skills Challenge is a notoriously fickle beast, simply because a lot can go wrong and there isn’t much that is analogous to what the players have to navigate when dealing with the course itself. It does seem unwise to invest in a true big man like Nikola Vucevic despite his fantastic season and, in some ways, it is hard to see Jayson Tatum and Kyle Kuzma flying around given what we’ve seen from them on the court recently.
That brings us to the big guns. Jokic is probably too slow to actually win unless his passing is perfect, and the fact that he’s the best passing big man in NBA history is the reason he isn’t the player with the longest odds. Young should be considered an interesting darkhorse because he, too, is a fantastic passer and he’s generally quicker than someone like Jokic in having to go end-to-end. Doncic has the same positive qualities but, despite his generally otherworldly skill level, his lack of burst probably isn’t best suited for this contest unless, like Jokic, he’s just perfect.
In the end, that brings us to Mike Conley against De’Aaron Fox. There is a reason Fox is “favored” in that he’s probably the fastest player in the league. We can’t possibly take the favorite, however, so our (extremely mild) endorsement would be to take Conley on a bit longer odds.
2019 NBA All-Star 3-Point Contest Winner
Stephen Curry (GSW) 2/1
Devin Booker (PHX) 9/2
Seth Curry (POR) 5/1
Buddy Hield (SAC) 6/1
Joe Harris (BKN) 13/2
Damian Lillard (POR) 8/1
Danny Green (TOR) 10/1
Khris Middleton (MIL) 10/1
Dirk Nowitzki (DAL) 12/1
Kemba Walker (CHA) 12/1
The best shooter in the history of Earth is the betting favorite. That makes sense, right? If you take a deeper look, however, it is kind of wild that Stephen Curry is only 2/1 considering there are 10 (!) players in the field and, in good conscience, I can’t recommend that as a value. If we removed the odds from the equation, Steph would be the choice but let’s not get too crazy.
On the flip side, it is weird that Kemba Walker, the hometown favorite, is tied for the longest odds with Dirk Nowitzki. Dirk has made plenty of jokes about his lack of, uh, speed at this point and he probably isn’t going to win as a result. Walker is a jump shooter, which doesn’t help in this event, but the numbers seem off there.
You don’t make it into this field without being a heck of a shooter but, in terms of value, I’m looking in two spots. Seth Curry is a heck of a shooter and he has a favorable price if you want to get frisky. Joe Harris, however, is my official pick, as he’s been out of his mind recently and he’s priced far too low as a result of a general lack of name recognition. He’s a ridiculous shooter.
2019 NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest Winner
Dennis Smith Jr. (NYK) 3/2
John Collins (ATL) 5/2
Miles Bridges (CHA) 5/2
Hamidou Diallo (OKC) 3/1
This is a tough one. The smaller field should, in theory, make it easier to project a winner but that definitely isn’t the case when the “house” is giving you bad odds from the jump.
Dennis Smith is an electric athlete but smaller guards are sometimes at a disadvantage. The same could be said for John Collins, who is the best player of the quartet but happens to be a legitimate 6’10, posing potential issues with translatable movement. Bridges is the hometown guy from the Hornets and he’s a monster athlete. Finally, Diallo is the sleeper with plenty of juice.
Honestly, there isn’t a value to be had but, if forced to choose, I’ll take Bridges and ride the wave of the home crowd and a very conventional profile for a slam dunk winner as a combo forward.
2019 NBA All-Star Game
Team LeBron (-6) vs. Team Giannis
Over/Under 310.5 points
In the All-Star Game, take the over. I know there was more defense played in last year’s 148-145 final result but, prior to that, this total was exceeded in four straight contests. Plus, it’s just more fun to root for points in an exhibition and, let’s face it, you’re probably a degenerate if you’re betting on this.
As for the side, the value is probably on Team Giannis, simply because taking the points is usually the right thing to do. On the flip side, betting against LeBron James and Kevin Durant on the same team seems unwise.
2019 NBA All-Star Game MVP
Giannis Antetokounmpo (GIA) 6/1
Kevin Durant (LBJ) 6/1
LeBron James (LBJ) 13/2
Stephen Curry (GIA) 7/1
Kemba Walker (GIA) 15/2
Joel Embiid (GIA) 17/2
Paul George (GIA) 17/2
Kyrie Irving (LBJ) 9/1
Anthony Davis (LBJ) 10/1
James Harden (LBJ) 10/1
Russell Westbrook (GIA) 12/1
Kawhi Leonard (LBJ) 14/1
Dwyane Wade (LBJ) 20/1
Blake Griffin (GIA) 33/1
Ben Simmons (LBJ) 33/1
Bradley Beal (LBJ) 40/1
Damian Lillard (LBJ) 40/1
Klay Thompson (LBJ) 40/1
Karl-Anthony Towns (LBJ) 40/1
LaMarcus Aldridge (LBJ) 50/1
Dirk Nowitzki (GIA) 50/1
Kyle Lowry (GIA) 66/1
Nikola Jokic (GIA) 66/1
Khris Middleton (GIA) 80/1
D’Angelo Russell (GIA) 100/1
Nikola Vucevic (GIA) 100/1
This is the hardest thing to bet on the entire board and I won’t even pretend otherwise. You probably need your guy to win and you need them to come up with big numbers in a game filled with stars on all sides. I could tell you a lot of things from an analysis perspective but just cross off the “boring” guys right now (Vucevic, Russell, Middleton, Lowry, Dirk, Aldridge) and it doesn’t feel like Jokic will have the juice to score enough in this format.
Klay Thompson would need to hit 12 threes and, well, he might do that. Otherwise, the deepest value for me would be on Wade (in a rigged effort to get the legend one last award) or Westbrook (a two-time MVP in this game). There is no “smart” money here but, if you’re betting on the side in the game, take a player from that same side to win MVP.
Also, it’s probably not smart to bet on the All-Star Game (or anything this weekend) so, if you’re going to do this, let’s be frugal, shall we?
