NBA 3-Point Shootout Open For Wagering at One NY Sportsbook

By Blog


Posted on: February 15, 2023, 11:12h. 

Last updated on: February 15, 2023, 11:12h.

NBA All-Star Weekend is coming up, and New Yorkers will have to  cross state lines to wager on the 3-point contest that is a big part of All-Star Saturday night.

MVP of the big game on Sunday? Slam dunk contest winner?

For those you will have to travel across state lines to place wagers if you live in New York, because the Empire State’s gambling law prohibits wagering on anything decided by human voters. The dunk contest judges are Jamal Crawford, Lisa Leslie, Karl Malone, Dominique Wilkins, and Harold Miner, and it seems safe to say that none of them can be bought.

But the 3-point shootout? That is decided by one thing: Who makes the most shots. And lines have been posted by FanDuel ahead of all the other sportsbooks. The favorite is Indiana’s Buddy Hield, who leads the NBA in 3-pointers made with 224. He is +460.

Hield is followed by Damian Lillard at +480, as the Portland All-Star comes off yet another epic scoring night: 39 points against Washington. The rest of the field is Boston’s Jayson Tatum (+600), Utah’s Lauri Markkanen and Sacramento’s Kevin Huerter ( both +650), and Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton and Miami’s Tyler Herro at +700.

Herro has been sidelined recently by a left knee contusion and did not travel with the Heat for tonight’s game in Brooklyn. But the Heat tweeted this morning that he will be competing, and FanDuel put him on the board:

The players ranked Nos. 2, 3, and 6 in 3-pointers made, Portland’s Anfernee Simons, Golden State’s Klay Thompson, and Utah’s Donovan Mitchell, are not on the board. In Simons’ case, it is because of this injury he sustained last night. He exited Moda Arena on crutches, and it remains to be seen if he will be replaced in the 3-point shootout.

How Have the Rules Changed This Year?

Last year’s special Mountain Dew ball has been replaced by a special white “Starry” basketball, a nod to the soft drink produced by PepsiCo that has become the official soft drink of the NBA, the WNBA, and NBA G League in North America. Shots made with the white ball will be worth 3 points, and it is a safe bet that someone with an agenda will complain that the ball is white.

Regular orange NBA game balls are worth one point, and the multi-colored “money” ball is worth two points. For each rack, the multi-colored “money” ball can only be shot after the four orange balls are shot. Two ball pedestals are positioned at “Starry Range” (two deep shot locations between racks 2 and 3 and the other between racks 3 and 4), and each super deep ball pedestal — 29′ 9″ out, 6 feet behind the deepest part of the current 3-point line — holds one special white “Starry” ball.

Got all that? Yes, the rules for these events change year to year, and this year is no different. But a contest is a contest, and we are here to help you made the best wagering choices you can make.

Hield won the contest in 2020, and will be looking to join Larry Bird, Craig Hodges, Peja Stojakovic, Mark Price, Jason Kapono, and Steph Curry as multi winners. Hield not only ranks first in 3-pointers made (he has 28 more than Simons), he is 11th in 3-point percentage. Nobody in the field has a higher 3-point percentage, and the NBA has not invited league leader Isaiah Joe of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who has made 103 of 227 attempts (.454).

Generally, the NBA tabs replacements for injured participants, so stay tuned. There may even be a Net in there by the time everything shakes out.

What Will Your Wagering Strategy Be?

Wagering on All-Star weekend events is tricky, especially since the East vs. West format was scrapped. And this year, for the first time, the exact squads will not be selected until 7:30 p.m. Sunday night. Team LeBron will have first pick since LeBron James was the overall leading vote-getter in the All-Star balloting process, and Team Giannis will pick second. The captains take turns drafting from the pool of 22 players voted into the All-Star field — first, they select from the eight All-Star starters, then from the 14 All-Star reserves.

That means the gambling window for this game will last only about 15-20 minutes before tipoff. So the action is going to be on the Saturday night events, and we advise you to steer clear of the Skills Challenge, even though Team Antetokounmpo (brothers Giannis, Thanasis, and Alex) will face two challengers: Team Utah (Walker Kessler, Jordan Clarkson, and Collin Sexton) and Team Rookies (Paolo Banchero, Jaden Idey, and Jabari Smith Jr.). This event takes place while most everyone in the arena is distracted by something else, and wagering on a US Savings Bond is a better bet.

You may want to parlay a 3-point contest winner with the slam dunk contest winner, and the four dunkers this year are Jericho Sims of the Knicks, Trey Murphy III of the Pelicans, Kenyon Martin Jr. of the Rockets, and Mac McClung of the 76ers’ G-League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats. More on that tomorrow.

For now, Hield has 224 made 3s, folks. And this is his third time in the contest. Markannen is on his home court, and he is the only other competitor in the top 40 in percentage, ranking 19th. The only other player in the top 50, percentage-wise, is Huerter, who is 45th.





Source link

Leave a Comment