The NBA All Star break is finally here and for a lot of teams and DFS grinders it’s a welcomed break to relax and refresh for the home stretch of the season. Charlotte, NC is the site this year and as always, we have the Rising Stars Challenge, the All-Star game itself and then the individual competitions which are to me the best part of the break.
This article is going to break down the Skills Challenge, the Dunk Contest, and the Three Point shootout which are all set to tip off on Saturday Night. They are always a blast to watch, and if we are going to tune in, we might as well look to see if we can have some fun and possibly pick a few winners to make the break a profitable one.
Skills Competition
The Skills Competition is usually the first event on Saturday night, and it is 8 players racing in an obstacle course like setting that tests their dribbling, shooting, and passing ability. The format is an elimination bracket with a guard and a center guaranteed to meet in the finals. Obviously, guards have a great skillset for this, but we have seen big men certainly hold their own with Towns, Porzingis and Laurie Markannen all taking home the trophy in recent years. Here is the field and the odds for this year’s competition (Odds are going to vary from book to book):
The Contestants
De’Aaron Fox +300
Luka Doncic +400
Trae Young +400
Nikola Jokic +600
Jayson Tatum +650
Mike Conley +650
Kyle Kuzma +700
Nikola Vucevic +850
My Prediction: I’ll take Jokic here at 6/1 and hope that he can add his name to the list of big men who have done well in this competition. Obviously Jokic has the skillset needed in terms of being able to handle the ball, be an accurate passer, and make the shot in order to possibly take down the contest. One other positive is that Jokic competed in this event two years ago so maybe that experience can pay off this time around.
Three Point Contest
The Three Point shootout to me is the best part of All Star weekend and the format is very simple. We have 10 players all who will go around the arc to 5 stations each with 5 balls and try to rack up the most 3 pointers made. Each rack has a “Moneyball” as the last ball which is worth 2 points instead of 1 and each contests has 1 station that is all Moneyball’s so the max score one could get is 34. After the first round 3 finalists move on and reshoot and the player with the highest score in that final round will be the champion. The field is pretty loaded with some legit NBA talent including the defending champ in Devin Booker.
The Contestants
Steph Curry +250
Devin Booker +400
Joe Harris +500
Buddy Hield +500
Seth Curry +600
Damien Lillard +800
Danny Green +900
Khris Middleton +1000
Kemba Walker +1000
Dirk Nowitzki +1500
My Prediction: Obviously Steph is the favorite as he won in 2015 and lost to Klay in 2016, but I’d rather take a stab with a guy at a better price and hope he can make it thru and give you a chance in the final three. Kemba Walker is the longshot that I would look at, as he is the hometown guy and finished third in this event in 2017 so again, I’m banking on past experience to be a big plus here. Depending on your book you may be able to find 10/1 + odds which is good enough for me for a competition where after Steph seems completely wide open.
Slam Dunk Contest
The Slam Dunk Contest caps off All Star Saturday night and despite some lackluster competitions in recent years there also have been some iconic NBA moments produced in this event. We have 4 players vying for the trophy and it’s a pretty simple format with each player having 2 first round dunks that are graded by the 5 judges. The top 2 scores move onto the finals and repeat the process to crown the champion.
The Contestants
Dennis Smith Jr +200
John Collins +225
Miles Bridges +225
Hamidou Diallo +300
My Prediction: Interesting group here as we have the hometown guy in Bridges and then two relatively unknown dunkers in Collins and Diallo, making it somewhat of a wide-open field. However I think they are all playing for second place as Dennis Smith Jr is the man to beat in my eyes and is the best shot even as the 2/1 favorite. He was in the contest last year, and was bounced out in the first round, but we all know how high he can get, and he does seem like a guy who really wants this trophy and made it a priority to return and get it. Plus Smith is a North Carolina native who went to NC State so like Bridges I expect the crowd to be behind him from the start.
Good Luck everyone and enjoy the break!
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