The All Star Weekend is here with a revamped format – what can we expect, and where does the value lie?
Rising Stars Championship
I know these games on All Star Weekend generally mean nothing, especially the Rookies and Sophomores game, but have you seen Team M in the Rising Stars Championship?
Amen Thompson is putting up ridiculous numbers lately and gets a chance to play alongside his twin brother Ausar who is equally as tenacious on defence. Throw in Camara and Coulibaly, and when push comes to shove these guys are just going to lock down when the opportunity comes to advance as one of the teams in the All Star game.
Don’t be surprised if Ware from the Heat also joins this team with Missi getting injured.
3-Point Contest
I understand the Lillard narrative going for a three-peat in this event, but the price for Cam Johnson seems way overs.
Looking at the key shooting metrics this season, Johnson ticks every box.
He’s one of three players shooting the ball above 42% from catch and shoot triples this season, and of the three players doing so alongside Norman Powell and Darius Garland, Johnson has the highest catch and shoot makes of the three of them. To go with this, nearly 75% of Johnson’s three-point attempts are catch and shoot – he’s only one of three players above 50%.
Johnson is also one of five players shooting 45% or better from what’s classified as wide-open triples – so although Lillard is the obvious choice to win three-in-a-row, I think the price here for the Brooklyn Net cannot be ignored with a saver on Darius Garland at $5.50.
All Star MVP
Would be fairly shocked if Shaq’s team of vets don’t win the All Star Game, and Jayson Tatum is the clear value to win MVP.
Steph Curry appears the obvious choice with the All Star Game in Golden State, while LeBron’s narrative of chasing that fourth All Star MVP is always there, but we know the winner of this award is a volume shooter and scorer which has Tatum fitting that profile.
If the Celtic catches fire like in 2023’s game, he can lock away his second All Star MVP trophy.
