The NBA All-Star Game is always an entertaining exercise, even though it does not resemble the sport of basketball as we are familiar with it during the regular season. Usually it pits Eastern Conference All-Stars against those of the Western Conference, but this year LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo were chosen as captains, and they kind of chose up sides.

I don't know how BetAnySports customers feel about it, but I find that kind of thing to be sort of hokey. It's a free-for-all for the most part, but who knows - maybe there's a little more pride with LeBron and Giannis attaching their names to it.

And maybe there's some handicapping to be done as it pertains to the All-Star MVP, which is now being named after the late Kobe Bryant, who won the award four times during his career.

What I think has to be considered above all is that this is not a game that is noted for its defense, and unselfish play isn't necessarily going to be noticed, particularly if a player does not chalk up an outlandish number of assists. But the guys who can fill up a stat sheet are the ones who are going to have a leg up on the rest.

I'd have to say something else here - in their "leadership" positions I doubt that LeBron or Giannis will be "ball hog" enough to do enough to grab the award. Maybe I'm wrong, but as a good "captain," they'll spread the wealth.

And allow me to make another interesting observation - there's never been an NBA All-Star MVP who wasn't an American. That seems astounding when you consider all the effort the NBA has made to promote its brand of hoops internationally.

The past MVP winners that are in this game: LeBron James, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis.


Let's look at the All-Star MVP odds for each of the members of Team LeBron, as they are posted at BetAnySports:

Team LeBron - Starters

ANTHONY DAVIS +450
JAMES HARDEN +650
KAWHI LEONARD +1400
LUKA DONCIC +900
LEBRON JAMES +350

Team LeBron - Reserves

DEVIN BOOKER +2300
CHRIS PAUL +4500
NIKOLA JOKIC +3500
BEN SIMMONS +3100
DOMANTAS SABONIS +6800
JAYSON TATUM +3000
RUSSELL WESTBROOK +1200

I like to look at the "Usage" figures when evaluating this, because it reflects how often the player is involved in a play down the offensive end of the floor. Among these "LeBron" guys, Harden is tops on this list; indeed, third in the league, while Westbrook is #5.

These are the guys who are most likely to shoot whenever they get the ball. Will Harden get more minutes? Maybe. And like Westbrook, he can fill in the other categories like rebounding and assists.

Of course, these guys are teammates this season, and that hasn't caused Harden to shoot the ball any less. He leads the NBA in field goal attempts, and in scoring by a margin of five points per game.

I realize that Westbrook has won a couple of MVP's in this event, but maybe it's Harden's turn.

Now we look at Team Giannis and the All-Star MVP odds on the members of that team, posted at BetAnySports:

Team Giannis - Starters

GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO +410
JOEL EMBIID +1500
PASCAL SIAKAM +1800
KEMBA WALKER +1600
TRAE YOUNG +850

Team Giannis - Reserves

BAM ADEBAYO +5000
BRANDON INGRAM +4200
DONOVAN MITCHELL +2500
JIMMY BUTLER +2800
KHRIS MIDDLETON +4000
KYLE LOWRY +5000
RUDY GOBERT +6800

You've got more "two-way" players here. Giannis, for one. He is second in scoring and also leads the NBA in individual Defensive Rating. We already know what Kawhi Leonard can do. Jimmy Butler is known as a defensive stalwart. And Pascal Siakam is emerging as someone who can do it all.

Rudy Gobert would be the guy if he could reject shots left and right, but I don't know how many minutes he's really going to get. Giannis leads the league in Usage percentage, while Trae Young is fourth.

Young is a guy who can be shameless enough in shooting that he could put a lot of points on the board. And he's a flashy passer too. But this isn't Atlanta; he hasn't earned the right to do it on this stage.....yet.

I'd love to see Donovan Mitchell get a chance here, although I don't think that's going to happen. Will Joel Embiid play enough to roll up some numbers?

Here's my top five, and I am looking at the price in terms of value:

1 - James Harden +650
2 - Luka Doncic +900 (maybe an international guy for once)
3 - Russell Westbrook +1200
4 - Giannis +410 (he really stands up among his teammates here - and an international too)
5 - Nikola Jokic +3500 (a great big man at a great big price - and he's international!)

Get in on all the All-Star props at BetAnySports. And remember - there are a lot of futures to take you through to the rest of the season!........ Reduced juice and Sports Betting Ultra are always available to help you get more value and real-time wagering, respectively......... Get you account started by using a debit or credit card, person-to-person transfers or the virtual currency of Bitcoin, which is fast and easy with their automated system, and NEVER incurs a transaction fee!

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