Friday night's Celebrity All-Star Game and BBVA Rising Stars Challenge got the 2013 NBA All-Star Weekend off to a rousing start, but it serves merely as a yearly preamble to the yearly exercise in athleticism known as the Sprite Slam Dunk contest. The 2013 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest has a start time of 8:30 pm (ET) and will be televised live on TNT. Odds for the Slam Dunk Contest are listed below and are courtesy of (Bovada.Iv).
Lets Take a look at each contestant and their Odds
James White of the New York Knicks checks in as the favorite at 11/10 Odds. Though his career arc has always been a bit of a curiosity, it's wholly possible that the Knicks keep James White around simply for entertainment value. He’s a world-renowned dunk artist that has made a career playing basketball, partly because of his ability to throw it down in some the most ridiculous ways imaginable. The guy has literally stopped practice before when showing his stuff, a ridiculous feat considering the Knicks have some great dunkers in Amar’e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, Iman Shumpert and more on the roster. While he may not have the youthful athleticism that would allow for a free-throw jam between the legs, White does have crafty veteran savvy and unlimited creativity. Expect a never-before-seen spectacle from White that may just bring him home some meaningful hardware.
Gerald Green of the Indiana Pacers is second on the list at 4/1 Odds. Most analysts will spend Saturday comparing Gerald Green to White (and vice versa) and for very good reason. Green, though given more chances due to a higher potential, has followed a very similar career path to his Eastern Conference counterpart. As most good dunk contest connoisseurs know, this isn't Green's first rodeo. He won the dunk contest in 2007 and followed that up with a second-place finish in 2008 in a contest that featured arguably the single worst scoring travesty in dunk contest history (Green's "46" on his "birthday cake" dunk). Greean has the athleticism and ability to leave a crowd speechless with a ferocious slam.
Next on the list is Terrance Ross of Toronto with 17/4 Odds. he forgotten man among Eastern Conference participants, Terrence Ross will hope to prove once again that the dunk contest is a young man's game. For those with an NBA League Pass subscription though, the Raptors' rookie has become a nightly YouTube clip waiting to happen. Ross is explosively athletic, cast in the mold of so many great dunkers before him. He will seemingly throw down from just about anywhere in the open court, and put-back dunks have even become semi-prevalent for the former Washington standout.
Next we have Kenneth Farried of the Denver Nuggets with 23/4 Odds. Maybe the 2013 All-Star Game festivities are meant to forever go down as "Manimal Weekend" and we're all just witnesses. Even if it's not, Kenneth Faried's weekend certainly got off to a rousing start on Friday night. Faried was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2013 BBVA Rising Stars Challenge, scoring 40 points on 18-of-22 shooting, and grabbing 10 rebounds in Team Chuck's dominant victory. Nevertheless, hustle points and rebounds don't translate to the slam dunk contest.Faried will need to step up even more than he did against his fellow rising stars and come out with dunks even more show-stopping than the nine he threw down Friday.
Eric Bledsoe of the LA Clippers is next at 6/1 Odds. Bledsoe, at least when he's not being bandied about in Kevin Garnett-related trade rumors, has emerged as arguably the NBA's best backup point guard. He's averaging 15.9 points, 5.7 assists and 5.2 rebounds per 36 minutes this season and he displays his otherworldly athleticism on both ends of the floor. Because of the smallish stature of Chris Paul’s star backup, he could have a good chance at making it to the final round as the West’s representative. Some of the past winners of this event include Nate Robinson (three times), Dee Brown and Spud Webb. While these guys are great dunkers, even their basic jams look absolutely spectacular due to their diminutive height—relative to the size of the the competition. This guy can fly.
Lastly we have Jeremy Evans of the Utah Jazz with 9/1 Odds. It's hard to remember a more disrespected defending champion. After scraping out a victory over Chase Budinger last season, Evans comes in as by far the biggest underdog on Saturday night. Still, it's not like Evans is unable to throw down spectacular slams. His two-ball leap over Gordon Hayward last season was pretty impressive, and while his Karl Malone-Kevin Hart follow up was less so, it was the type of pandering homage that both the judges and fans enjoy.
NBA Free Picks: 2013 NBA All-Star Game Betting
What NBA bettors need to know about the 2013 NBA All-Star Game on Sunday (2/17/13) -- a free pick by Pregame.coms Vegas Runner and host Marco D'Angelo.