The Western Conference had home-court advantage at the NBA's All-Star Game last season and came away with a 148-143 over their Eastern counterparts at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The Eastern Conference will be looking to return the favor on Sunday night as they get the friendly crowd at Orlando's Amway Center for this year's All-Star contest.
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Youth and celebrities launch the festivities on Friday
The All-Star Game itself is just one part of the weekend's festivities, which get underway on Friday with the Rising Stars Challenge and the Celebrity Game. The Rising Stars Challenge is a bit of a consolation prize for young players that didn't get invited to the real All-Star Game, with rookies and sophomores split up between Team Shaq and Team Chuck. O'Neal's squad is highlighted by the Clippers' Blake Griffin (who is also in the main game), the Knicks' Jeremy Lin, and the Timberwolves' Ricky Rubio, while Barkley's team includes the Cavaliers' Kyrie Irving, the Kings' DeMarcus Cousins, and the Wizards' John Wall.
The Celebrity Game then offers up C-list (and lower) personalities from the worlds of sports and entertainment in hopes of creating some semblance of basketball. At Bovada musician and actor Common and ESPN analyst Doug Gottlieb are listed as the 4/1 co-favorites to be the player to score first in the Celebrity Game, followed by actor Kevin Hart at 9/2 odds, and Vinny Guadagnino from reality TV's Jersey Shore at 5/1 odds.
Slam Dunk, Three-Point challenges set for Saturday
Saturday night then features the Skills Challenge, the Three-Point Contest, and the Slam Dunk Competition. The Slam Dunk Competition is generally the marquee event of the weekend, but the contest is severely lacking in star power this time around. Iman Shumpert of the New York Knicks has been listed as the -150 favorite to win the Slam Dunk Competition at Bovada, with Paul George of the Indiana Pacers next at +350. Derrick Williams (+450) of the Timberwolves and Chase Budinger (+550) of the Rockets round out the competitors for the final event of Saturday night's festivities.
Some bigger names can be found in the Three-Point Contest, including the Hawks' Joe Johnson (13/2) and the Timberwolves' Kevin Love (13/2). Anthony Morrow of the Nets is the favorite for that event on the NBA props at Bovada at 5/2; he's shooting 41.2 percent from behind the three-point line this season. Ryan Anderson of the Magic (3/1), and both James Jones (7/2) and Mario Chalmers (4/1) of the Heat make up the rest of the field.
It's the Skills Challenge, though, that offers up the biggest stars on Saturday, with Stephen Curry of the Warriors the 3/1 favorite to win the event for the second year in a row. The Nets' Deron Williams (7/2), the Thunder's Russell Westbrook (7/2), the Wizards' Wall (4/1), the Cavaliers' Irving (11/2), and the Spurs' Tony Parker (11/2) are the other competitors.
Can Bryant get another game MVP award on Sunday?
The actual All-Star Game itself is set to tip off at 8:00pm ET on Sunday night – at least for viewers who haven't decided to record the contest and watch it after the Academy Awards are over. Kobe Bryant of the Lakers won his fourth career All-Star Game MVP award in the Western Conference's victory in Los Angeles at this event last season, and he's the co-favorite at Bovada along with Howard and the Heat's LeBron James at 15/2 to win the award for a fifth time on Sunday. James was the game's MVP in both 2006 and 2008.
Other players high on the MVP odds list for Sunday include the Thunder's Kevin Durant at 8/1, the Bulls' Derrick Rose and the Clippers' Griffin at 9/1, and the Heat's Dwyane Wade – the MVP of the 2010 All-Star Game - at 12/1. Chris Paul of the Clippers is at 14/1 along with the Knicks' Carmelo Anthony, with Dirk Nowitzki of the Mavericks at 16/1 odds to win the MVP award on Sunday night.
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Back in Business. The biggest stars hit the hardwood. Bet on the NBA at Bovada.
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