A number of high-profile stars questioned whether there should even be an NBA All-Star Game this season. In the end none of them opted out and the game will be played. For the fourth straight year the format will have team captains selecting their roster via a schoolyard type draft. LeBron James has had plenty of success as captain picking the winning roster in each of the last three years. As top vote-getters in their respective conferences, LeBron and Kevin Durant picked their teams from a pool of starters and reserves regardless of conference affiliation.
The 70th NBA All-Star Game takes place at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 7, 2021, from State Farm Arena in Atlanta and will air live on TNT. Visit BookMaker.eu for a complete list of betting odds and propositions for All-Star Sunday.
NBA Betting Lines at BookMaker.eu
Team LeBron -3.5
Team Durant +3.5
The Rosters
As the top overall vote-getter LeBron owned the first pick among the starters taking Giannis Antetokounmpo. He added Stephen Curry with the second pick giving Team LeBron a combined eight NBA MVP awards between those three players. Future MVP Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic round out the starting five. Durant won’t play in the game as he recovers from an injury. He did select his team, though, with a well-rounded starting five that includes big man Joel Embiid, wings Kawhi Leonard and Jayson Tatum, and backcourt players Kyrie Irving and Bradley Beal. Durant brought his Nets Big Three together by taking James Harden with the first pick of the second round. It’s hard to say if a team has an advantage considering we have a collection of the best players in the NBA.
2021 All-Star Game Format
The league did away with the outdated East vs. West format a few years ago moving to the captain and draft format. James has served as a captain every year since the format was instituted and his team won each of the previous three games. Team LeBron had a whopping fourth quarter in last year’s game, the first using the target score. Each of the first three quarters start at 0-0 with teams competing for their respective beneficiaries.
The final target score is determined by taking the leading team’s total cumulative score through three quarters and adding 24 points. The 24 is to honor the late Kobe Bryant. There is no clock for the final frame instead the first team to reach or surpass the target score is declared the winner. Team LeBron won the fourth quarter 33-22 at the 2020 All-Star Game to reach the target score first in a 157-155 victory.
Team LeBron
They definitely have the edge in MVP awards with LeBron (4), Curry (2) and Antetokounmpo (2) combining for eight. And it’s hard to ignore what James has done in the new format winning every game as a team captain. Maybe he’s due to lose one. With so many great players available it’s hard to distinguish which team has the edge, but you have to like the trio of LeBron, Giannis and Curry.
James drafted playmakers adding Damian Lillard, Ben Simmons and Chris Paul as reserves. He added height later in the second round with Domantas Sabonis and Rudy Gobert the last two players selected. Doncic might be the X-factor on this roster. He’s having an MVP-type season with the Mavericks and is on pace to become the league’s poster child. He can do everything on the floor and is a perfect fit with the talent on the team. The same goes for big man Jokic, who leads the Nuggets in scoring, rebounding and assists
Team Durant
Though he’s not playing in the game Durant brought his Brooklyn Big Three together by drafting Irving and Harden. Considering how the Nets have turned things around since acquiring Harden it seems like a bold strategy. The members of Team Durant have combined to score more points than their counterparts and appear to have more balance throughout the roster.
A player to watch for Team Durant is Washington’s Bradley Beal, who leads the NBA in scoring with 32.9 points per game. Beal and Joel Embiid (30.2) are the only players averaging more than 30 points per game through the first half of the campaign.
NBA All-Star Game Odds Pick
The name recognition on Team Durant isn’t as noticeable, but don’t mistake that for being not as good. Like I said, KD made some smart choices in balancing out his roster which should give his squad an edge when the reserves take the floor. The younger guys like Donovan Mitchell, Julius Randle and Devin Booker will benefit from playing with Harden, who has been on top of his game since joining the Nets. Six of the last seven All-Star Games have seen at least 300 points scored with Team LeBron and Team Giannis combining for 312 in the target scoring format last year.
NBA Odds Prediction: Team Durant 157, Team LeBron 149
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