The Western Conference has dominated the All-Star games for much of the past half-decade, and with the lineup it is trotting out this weekend, that won’t be expected to change. Even though LeBron James is on the other side with the East, there is a much more talented collection of stars in the West.
The roster is so deep that Russell Westbrook, who is currently averaging a triple-double and is the front-runner for the MVP, has to come off the bench because Steph Curry and James Harden were voted the starters.
It is sometimes hard to handicap the All-Star game because the competitive juices don’t start flowing until the final quarter, but the West has the better roster and has come out on top regularly of late, so it’s hard to pick against it in this one.
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The spread hasn’t been put out yet as there has been some recent movement on the rosters, but rest assured the West should come into this game expecting to emerge victorious.
The West won last year’s game 196-173 and has captured five of the past six in total. The East’s only breakthrough during that time was a 163-155 victory in 2014.
The scoring total will no doubt be super high. Most over-unders come in a little north of 200 during the season, but the All-Star game has comically bad defense and a run-and-gun pace. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the total come in between 300 and 400 points, especially based on the numbers put up a year ago.
Keep an eye on the spread. Even though the West is more talented, these games are often hard to figure out. If the East gets a healthy chunk of points, it should be the choice.
Player to Watch
LeBron James -- The West has a ridiculous amount of talent on the court, from Westbrook, Harden and Curry to Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard and Anthony Davis.
The East’s best chance of hanging in is by giving the ball to the best player in the world and allowing him to take over. James is having a typically stellar season, averaging 25.8 points, 8.9 assists and 7.8 rebounds per game.
He has the ability to take over games when he wants to, as evidenced in last year’s NBA Finals when he brought the Cavs back from a 2-1 deficit against the Warriors to win the NBA title.
The question will be if James wants to try to win this game badly, or if he’s content to take a back seat to the other players on the court. He has the most talent, but if the drive isn’t there, it could be really tough for the East to keep up.
Injury Report
The East will be missing Kevin Love as he is out with an injury. However, there won’t be much of a dropoff as Carmelo Anthony was named as his replacement. Anthony is a ten-time All-Star and his game may actually fit in better in the All-Star format than Love’s.
Free NBA ATS Picks
The All-Star game can often be hard to judge, but the talent disparity in this one is just striking. If this game is within striking distance in the fourth quarter, the West will likely take over behind their bevy of stars.
With elite shooters like Curry and Durant as well as big-time playmakers like Westbrook and Harden, the Western Conference has an overwhelming amount of talent. LeBron probably won’t try hard enough to keep this one close.
Take the West by double-digits, even though this is an All-Star game.
NBA All-Star Game Odds: Western Conference 177, Eastern Conference 167
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