The Slam Dunk Contest is missing some star power in 2019, which leaves for a wide open field and some intrigue about which player will come out on top. Knicks guard Dennis Smith, Hawks forward John Collins, Thunder guard Hamidou Diallo and Hornets forward Miles Bridges will be the candidates in this year’s event.
It seems like every year the crowd falls in love with one of the dunkers and cheers them on. The obvious choice this year is Bridges, who is participating in front of his home crowd. Will the crowd noise impact the judges’ scoring? That remains to be seen.
Smith finished in third place in last year’s dunk contest and has been listed as the favorite, but this competition looks wide open. Any of these high flyers have the ability to win this showcase in NBA gambling.
The Slam Dunk Contest will be held at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, February 16th, 2019. The showcase will be nationally televised on ESPN.
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Odds Analysis
The Slam Dunk Contest will be set up like this: there are two early rounds in which each contestant will have three attempts in each to complete a dunk. The judges will score each throwdown between six and 10 points. The top two scorers will advance to the head-to-head final round. The player with the highest combined score on its two championship round dunks will win the title.
Smith is listed with +155 odds to win the dunk contest. He is the smallest player in the dunk contest at 6-foot-3 but sometimes that can be to a player’s advantage because of the underdog factor. Guards have often won the competition and he is the favorite to do so.
Collins is listed at +225 odds. He is the best player in the group and is hoping to take that confidence into this one. Collins will be playing in the Rising Stars game as well so it will be a busy weekend for him.
Diallo is an intriguing candidate. He recorded a 44.5-inch vertical in the pre-draft combine coming out of college, which was the second-highest mark in history there. He can clearly get up, but it remains to be seen what kind of dunks he will bring to the competition. Diallo’s odds are listed at +303.
Bridges is the hometown kid who is aiming to give the fans something to cheer about. He is 6-foot-7, which is a good size to allow for many different kind of dunks. His odds to win the dunk contest are set at +250.
Free NBA ATS Picks
While Smith is the favorite heading into the dunk contest, there are a lot of different ways this one can go. Diallo has the longest odds and he is a virtual unknown, but the vertical jump numbers don’t lie.
He is a great choice at these odds in a field that doesn’t have a bunch of star power. Smith may be the favorite but he is not worth the price it would pay to pick him. Bridges has the home court but not the same ability.
Diallo has to be the choice. In a murky field, it could pay off nicely to take the longshot in NBA wagering. While the regular season might be taking a break, there are plenty of wagers to be made during All-Star Weekend, which includes the slam dunk contest.
NBA ATS Pick: Hamidou Diallo to win the dunk contest
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