Two former winners will be in the field when eight participants gear up for the NBA Three-Point Shootout this weekend. Rockets guard Eric Gordon will aim to defend his championship while 2016 winner Klay Thompson would love to pick up a second crown in three years.
Even though Gordon got the job done a year ago, Thompson will be the player to beat. He is shooting a league-best 45.5 percent from three-point range this season and has a good handle on the format. Players who are participating for the first time are sometimes challenged by the format, in which they must shoot five three-pointers from five different racks around the three-point line.
There is a time limit of one minutes for a player’s round, and the last ball on each rack is known as the money ball and is worth two points.
The 2018 NBA Rising Stars Challenge will go down Saturday, February 17, 2018, at 8 p.m. ET at the Staples Center. The game will be televised live on TNT.
We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA Saturday schedule.
Odds Analysis
Thompson’s odds to win the three-point contest are listed at +210, which is a much more favorable number than the rest of the candidates. He is aiming to become the sixth player to win the three-point shootout at least twice.
Gordon has the second-best odds at +450 as he aims for the repeat. Gordon became the first Rockets player in franchise history to win the competition by knocking off Kyrie Irving in an extra round last year.
Devin Booker has the third-best odds at +550, followed by Paul George with +650 odds. Wayne Ellington is listed at +700, Bradley Beal is +750, Kyle Lowry is at +1000 and Tobias Harris rounds out the field with the longest odds at +1100.
This isn’t the most star-studded of fields, as long-range bombers like Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant are not participating this season. Still, it’s a lot of players that have struck well from deep this season, led by Thompson at the top.
Player To Watch
Booker isn’t a huge star yet but he has played very well this season in Phoenix and is a consistent shooter from deep. Booker is hitting only 38.3 percent of his three-point shots, but unlike Thompson or Gordon, he is also tasked with creating shots instead of just setting up on the perimeter and waiting for talented teammates to drive and kick.
The oddsmakers seem to know he has a legitimate shot as the odds place him on the short list of contenders. One drawback is that Booker is coming off an injury and has missed a lot of time recently.
He may be a little rusty after such an extended absence, which makes him a risky choice.
Free NBA ATS Picks
Thompson is the favorite and it would be nice to choose someone else because the odds are better, but it’s hard to make a better case for anyone else in the field. Gordon shot well last year and has an easy effort which doesn’t allow him to get too tired as the competition moves along, but he is not as natural of a shooter as Thompson.
With his fellow Splash Brother watching from the sideline, look for Thompson to capture this contest for his second Three-Point Shootout championship in three years.
NBA Odds: Klay Thompson To Win Three-Point Shootout
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