No standard NBA action this weekend, but there is a bunch of fantastic All-Star events to look forward to, culminating in the NBA All-Star game on Sunday. Check out our preview and betting picks for the key events of the weekend below.
NBA All-Star Weekend Picks
Three Point Contest
The field for the 2023 three-point contest is jam packed full of talent. As always, a afew surprise players wil be competing, this season in the form of big man Julius Randle and pass first point guard Tyrese Haliburton.
Field:
Damian Lillard (+370)
Buddy Hield (+410)
Kevin Huerter (+460)
Tyler Herro (+600)
Lauri Markkanen (+700)
Jayson Tatum (+800)
Tyrese Haliburton (+1000)
Julius Randle (+1200)
Love the value of Jazz sharp shooter Lauri Markkanen here. He ranks 2nd amongst this field in 3pt% this season at 41.2% and has a built in advantage of taking a lot of his threes from the top of the arc, a spot where some of the spot up shooters like Herro/Huerter/Hield tend to struggle.
NBA All-Star Game
The two captains of the 2023 NBA All-Star game will be Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James as the two highest vote pollers in the ballot. They recently drafted their teams in full, with the results below.
Team Giannis
Kyrie Irving
Donovan Mitchell
Giannis Antekounmpo
Kevin Durant (injured)
Jayson Tatum
Jaylen Brown
DeMar DeRozan
Tyrese Haliburton
Jrue Holiday
Julius Randle
Bam Adebayo
Joel Embiid (starting)
Pascal Siakam (replacement)
Team LeBron
Stephen Curry (injured)
Luka Doncic
Nikola Jokic
LeBron James
Zion Williamson (injured)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Damian Lillard
Ja Morant (starting)
Paul George
Jaren Jackson Jr.
Lauri Markkanen (starting)
Domantas Sabonis
Anthony Edwards (replacement)
De’Aaron Fox (replacement)
The NBA All-Star game has never been, and will never be a perfect science, but the introduction of the “Elam Ending’ in 2020 has made for some tight finishes over the past few years. Two of the three games since the inception of the new format have been three points or less, and the players generally like to put on a bit of a show for the fans with a thrilling finish.
Love Team Giannis to cover the 3-point line here or at least get a push on a game losing three.
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