Zach LaVine of the Chicago Bulls and Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks opened as the slight betting favourites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com over a group of players including Fred VanVleet of the Toronto Raptors for the Three-Point Contest set for this weekend at the NBA’s All-Star festivities at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland.
3-Point Contest
Eight players will compete in the 3-Point Contest, which will be the second event of All-Star Saturday night. The three competitors with the highest scores in the first round will advance to the championship round. The player with the highest score in the championship round will win the MTN DEW 3-Point Contest trophy.
Participants
Desmond Bane: Grizzlies
Luke Kennard: Clippers
Zach LaVine: Bulls
CJ McCollum: Pelicans
Patty Mills: Nets
Karl-Anthony Towns: Timberwolves
Fred VanVleet: Raptors
Trae Young: Hawks
LaVine and Young sat as the +450 betting favourites on those NBA odds when they were released by sportsbooks on Wednesday night, ahead of Patty Mills of the Brooklyn Nets at +500, both VanVleet and Luke Kennard of the Los Angeles Clippers at +550, Desmond Bane of the Memphis Grizzlies at +600, and C.J. McCollum of the New Orleans Pelicans at +650. Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves rounded out the early lines at +950.
VanVleet sat out Toronto’s game on Wednesday night against Towns and the Timberwolves with knee soreness, and is shooting 40.1 per cent from three-point range for the Raptors this year. Kennard is the leader in the field at 43.4 per cent from three-point range on the season.
Slam Dunk Contest
Participants
Cole Anthony: Magic
Jalen Green: Rockets
Obi Toppin: Knicks
Juan Toscano-Anderson: Warriors
The four participants will be competing in two rounds with each attempting two dunks in the first round. The two players with the highest combined scores for their two dunks will then advance to the final round. In the finals, each participant will attempt two more dunks, and the player with the highest combined score will be named the winner.
Green was listed as the early +135 betting favourite on the Slam Dunk Contest odds, ahead of Obi Toppin of the New York Knicks at +170 odds. Toppin participated in the event last year as well, losing to Anfernee Simons of the Portland Trail Blazers in the finals. Cole Anthony of the Orlando Magic (+325) and Juan Toscano-Anderson of the Golden State Warriors (+475) round out this year’s Slam Dunk Contest field.
2022 Skills Challenge participants
Participants
Scottie Barnes: Team Rooks
Cade Cunningham: Team Rooks
Josh Giddey: Team Rooks
Jarrett Allen: Team Cavs
Darius Garland: Team Cavs
Evan Mobley: Team Cavs
Giannis Antetokounmpo: Team Antetokounmpos
Alex Antetokounmpo: Team Antetokounmpos
Thanasis Antetokounmpo: Team Antetokounmpos
The Skills Challenge will be different from past years where individual participants would compete for each All-Star team. Instead, three teams will now participate in a four-round competition and try to earn the most Challenge Points by the end.
In the first round, each player from all three teams will have 30 seconds to shoot from five different spots and players will not be able to repeat the same shot consecutively. Each spot has different values, ranging from one through five points. The scores from each individual player will be added to determine the team score.
The team that earns the most points will get 100 Challenge Points.
In the passing challenge, players will be given 30 seconds to complete passes into three oversized moving targets, with each varying in size and distance from where the players will be standing. Each team is required to make at least one pass attempt at each target and individual players cannot make consecutive passes at the same target. Each target will have different point values (two points, four points or six points) for each pass completed.
Just like the first round, the team that earns the most points will get 100 Challenge Points.
In the third round, players will take part in a timed relay. Each player must complete a course that will be skills that must be done.
– Throw an outlet pass into a moving target from the baseline; 2.)
– Dribble down the court through three moving pylons
– Make a short shot in the lane
– Make a three-pointer from the corner against an automated defender
– Dribble to the opposite goal and make a basket (such as a dunk, layup or jump shot).
The team with the fastest time will win Round 3 and earn 200 Challenge Points.
In the final round, every player from the top two teams will try to hit a half-court shot. Team 1 will set the time to beat with a made shot or expiration of the clock (maximum time of one minute and 30 seconds).
The team that makes a half-court shot in the fastest time will win the Skills Challenge. If there is a tie at the end, both teams will repeat the final challenge.
All-Star Game Odds
As for the All-Star Game itself, LeBron James of the Lakers is the +600 betting favourite to be named the game’s most valuable player, an award he’s already won three times in his career. Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks is at +650 on those betting lines, with Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers at +750, and Stephen Curry of the Warriors at +800. VanVleet opened as a longshot at +6000 to win the All-Star Game MVP award this weekend.
