2017 NBA All Star Game Betting Predictions
Posted by Henry Watkins on Wednesday,February 15, 2017 11:31, EDT in
The NBA season has already entered the second half, but this weekend will see a little break in the action as the top players in the league head to the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans for the annual All-Star Game. As always, the players voted in by the fans will put on a big show, with the point totals sure to once again hit rather ridiculous highs. While the NBA All-Star Game is more about fun than anything else, there is still the serious business of wagering on the big game to consider. Will the East or West prevail, what will be the total number of points scored, and who will take home the MVP? These are the wagers that are likely to see the most action, so let’s see if we can answer those questions so that you can take some NBA free picks that will put a little extra money in your pocket this weekend.
Here’s A Closer Look At The 2017 NBA All Star Game Betting Predictions
Eastern Conference Vs Western Conference
Let’s start out by saying that there is an abundance of talent on both sides, and that given the open style of play in this game, you could make an argument for both East and West. The Eastern Conference holds the edge in overall wins by a 37-28 margin, but they haven’t had a lot of success in the past few years. It has been the Western Conference that has won 5 of the last 6 NBA All-Star Games, but ironically enough, the last time the East won it in 2014, it was the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans where the game was played. Could history be about to repeat itself?
I don’t think that it is, as I like the Western Conference to come away with the win once again. They just have too many players that can rack up the points, whereas the East is likely to be relying heavily on the exploits of LeBron. The next thing to consider here is the margin of victory. Things tend to be close in these games, although last year was a total blowout. I think that was a bit of an aberration, and I like the West to win by 5-7 points.
OVER/UNDER in the NBA All-Star Game
We always get a high scoring game in the All-Star tilt, but the last 3 years has seen the totals go through the roof, breaking the 300-point barrier each time. That is a trend that looks set to stay, but I just don’t see any way in which things get as out of hand as they did last year, when the two teams combined for 369 points. I think the total will drop back down to the levels of the two years prior to that one, putting it at around 320 points.
NBA All-Star Game MVP
Bob Pettit, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O’Neal are the only players to have won the All-Star Game MVP 3 or more times. There are a couple of players who could hit that mark this year, with LeBron James and Russell Westbrook both looking for their third. Westbrook has won the award in back to back games, and I am going out on a limb and taking him for the three peat.
