Category: NBA All-Star

WATCH: LeBron James hits game winner in 2022 NBA All-Star game

Watch LeBron James hit the game-winning fadeaway to top Team Durant.

It just had to be him. LeBron James hit the game-winning fadeaway in his home state to defeat Team Durant, 163-160.

There is no game clock in the fourth quarter with the new format. After three quarters, there is a target score. Whichever team reaches that first wins. Tonight that was 163.

LeBron called for the ball while Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine guarded him in the post on an empty set. James sized him up while Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid rushed over to provide LaVine help defense.

The help didn’t matter.

James turned around and shot a rainbow one-legged fadeaway over both defenders and nailed it to secure the win. Team LeBron is now 5-0 since the NBA revamped the format five seasons ago.

Watch the play below (h/t: Bleacher Report):

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Jarrett Allen to replace James Harden for Team LeBron’s All-Star team

Jarrett Allen of the Cleveland Cavaliers will join Team LeBron for the 2022 NBA All-Star game.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver selected Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen as James Harden’s injury replacement for Team LeBron at the 2022 All-Star game.

Harden won’t be able to play due to a hamstring injury, so Team LeBron needed a replacement from the Eastern Conference to take his spot.

Allen joins teammate Darius Garland as the two members of the Cavaliers to make the All-Star game, and they’ll join LeBron to play in Cleveland.

The 23-year-old center is having an extremely productive season with the emerging Cavaliers. He’s averaging 16.2 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 66.5% from the field.

Allen is the only center in the reserves for Team LeBron.

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Team LeBron will need injury replacement for James Harden at All-Star game

A new player will need to join Team LeBron since James Harden (hamstring) will not be able to play.

Newly acquired Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden will not be able to play in the 2022 NBA All-Star game with a left hamstring injury, so Team LeBron will need a replacement.

Harden was the last pick in the draft because LeBron James intentionally tried to get Kevin Durant, Harden’s former teammate, to pick him the day the blockbuster trade went down.

But with Harden out, NBA commissioner Adam Silver will pick an injury replacement, which he’s done twice already with LaMelo Ball and Dejounte Murray becoming first-time All-Stars.

Possible names from the Eastern Conference that would make sense: Jarrett Allen of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Pascal Siakam of the Toronto Raptors or Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics.

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The most iconic NBA jerseys in All-Star Game history

The NBA All-Star Game has produced some truly memorable jerseys over the years. Which ones are the very best?

The NBA All-Star Game is one of basketball’s greatest showcases. Fans are treated to jaw-dropping dunks, flashy passes, and unforgettable moments. Who could forget the KG to Kobe alley-oop? Or Giannis dunking over Steph? The All-Star Game creates instant, everlasting memories. And sometimes NBA ASGs are such classics that even the jerseys become part of the allure.

Sometimes the All-Star Game official threads are fantastic homages to the host city. Other times they perfectly capture the style and sensibilities at the time. Looking back, some of the most beloved All-Star Games just wouldn’t be the same without their equally spectacular jerseys.

So what are the most iconic NBA All-Star jerseys of all time?

LeBron James analyzes Team LeBron after drafting for 2022 NBA All-Star game

LeBron James gives his thoughts on the squad he drafted for the 2022 NBA All-Star game.

The 2022 NBA All-Star game in Cleveland is on Feb. 20, and the teams are official after LeBron James and Kevin Durant, the two captains, drafted their squads Thursday.

Team LeBron’s roster is certainly stacked. Starting the game with LeBron is Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic.

Coming off the bench are Luka Doncic, Darius Garland, Chris Paul, Jimmy Butler, Donovan Mitchell, Fred VanVleet and James Harden.

LeBron analyzed his team after the draft, via @NBAAllStar:

“We solid, baby, we solid. We got fans because we got the hometown kid (Darius Garland)…so we got the fans on our side already. We got international play: Giannis and Joker, we got Luka. Then we got multiple champions: myself, Steph, Giannis, Fred VanVleet. Psshh. We good. We gucci.”

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2022 Team LeBron All-Star game roster: Full list of draft picks

See who Team LeBron and Team Durant chose for their teams for the 2022 NBA All-Star game.

The 2022 NBA All-Star game is slated for Feb. 10, and the teams are set. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant are the two captains since they got the most fan votes in their respective conferences.

Here are the players available to be drafted for Team LeBron and Team Durant:

Starters: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Trae Young, DeMar DeRozan, Jayson Tatum; Nikola Jokic, Andrew Wiggins, Ja Morant, Stephen Curry

Reserves: Jimmy Butler, Darius Garland, James Harden, Zach LaVine, Khris Middleton, Fred VanVleet, LaMelo Ball (injury replacement for Durant); Luka Doncic, Devin Booker, Rudy Gobert, Chris Paul, Donovan Mitchell, Karl-Anthony Towns, Dejounte Murray (injury replacement for Draymond Green)

See the full order of the picks below:

Highlights: Steph Curry goes off as Team LeBron posts 100 points in 1st half

Steph Curry made absurd 3s and Giannis Antetokoumnpo was perfect as Team LeBron scored 100 points in the first half of the All-Star Game.

Apparently, nobody told Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry the Three-Point Contest was over.

After winning the shootout on the final shot, Curry kept the fire burning during the All-Star Game. He helped lead Team LeBron to a victory in both of the first two quarters, scoring 22 points and making six 3-pointers.

Team LeBron already had 100 points by halftime. They led Team Durant 100-80.

Curry took his 3s from deep. That’s relative, but even for him, they were deep, and it was typically for no reason other than the fun of it. With less than 10 seconds left before halftime, Curry took a shot from a step inside halfcourt. The only reason he did was to show up Damian Lillard, who had just done the same.

It was Curry’s sixth three of the half, one shy of tying the record for a half.

LeBron James was enjoying the show throughout. He knows he drafted his team just right.

I mean, he was nuts. He was laughing as he turned around from the logo and shot in that video above.

Those weren’t even his only logo shots, as crazy as that is to say:

Oh, he was also getting the ball down low, too.

If Curry wasn’t the MVP of the first half, it was Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who scored 24 points and made all 11 shots he attempted — including two 3-pointers.

James finished the half with four points, four assists and two rebounds.

Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul had 12 assists by halftime, and he also scored six points and grabbed six rebounds.

Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard had 16 and Boston Celtics wing Jaylen Brown had 12 points at the break.

The leading scorer on Team Durant was Kyrie Irving, who had 15 points at the half.

With a 20-point lead at the half, Team LeBron will try to create a lead large enough in the third quarter that the Elam Ending will play a minimal role in the outcome.

NBA All-Star Game: Prediction, point spread, odds, over-under

Team LeBron will face off against Team Durant in Sunday night’s All-Star Game, which will be without Philadelphia’s two stars.

The 70th NBA All-Star Game will take place tonight in Atlanta and the coronavirus pandemic has already made sure it is one unlike any other we’ve seen before. Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons have both been ruled out of tonight’s game due to contact tracing. But still, the game is going to happen and our friends at BetMGM are taking your bets. We’re giving you all the information we can from them so you can make your best wagers possible on tonight’s exhibition with the league’s biggest stars.

The lines, courtesy of BetMGM

  • Point spread: Team LeBron -4.5
  • Moneyline: Team LeBron -175 / Team Durant +150
  • Over-under: 315.5

Place your legal, online sports bets in VA, CO, IA, IN, NJ, PA, TN and WV at BetMGM.

Advice and prediction

When you look at the names, scoring, shooting, and passing, Team LeBron is going to be incredibly difficult to beat. LeBron James, Steph Curry, Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, and Giannis Antetokounpmo in the starting lineup followed by Damian Lillard off the bench?

But the thing about the All-Star games that is easy to forget is how amazing the other team is too. Kevin Durant isn’t playing for Team Durant, which is a major loss for them. Still, they have James Harden and he’s been maybe the best player in the league over the past month.

We also have to consider the other aspect of the All-Star Game that makes it different from any other NBA betting situation: the Elam Ending. After the third quarter, they will add 24 points, in honor of Kobe Bryant, to the leading team’s score to determine the target score.

By introducing a pick-up game element where you play to a score, you will see a lot more tough defense in the 4th quarter. That’s what we saw last season and it makes me believe even if one of the teams gets out to a 20 or even 30-point lead, the different ending will result in a competitive game.

But Joel Embiid showed last season during the ASG that he wasn’t afraid to take big shots and while Harden and Irving are great in that spot, but not having Durant on both ends, in addition to not having Embiid during such a high-level game, is going to be too much to handle.

If all things were equal as far as the stars, I would take the points and lean on Team Durant. But something tells me Team LeBron is going to want to hit the target score and get on the first flight out of Atlanta. Also, take the under.

Prediction: Team LeBron 150, Team Durant 135

 

 

 

NBA All-Star Game: Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid (contact tracing) out

Both Team LeBron and Team Durant will be without two players in tonight’s game due to Contact Tracing.

The 2021 NBA All-Star Game in Atlanta will be without the game’s two stars from the best team in the Eastern Conference. The NBA announced on Sunday morning that Philadelphia 76ers stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons have been ruled out for Sunday night’s All-Star Game in accordance with the NBA’s Health and Safety protocols.

According to the league, Embiid and Simmons have both had contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus. Thanks to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, we know that person was a barber in Philadelphia. The league says that all other players and the Philadelphia coaching staff, which is coaching Team Durant, are all able to play because they did not have contact with the same person that Embiid and Simmons did.

The NBA announced that Zion Williamson will replace Embiid as a starter on Team Durant. Sunday night’s All-Star Game is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST in Atlanta and will feature a dunk contest at halftime. Team LeBron is currently a -4.5 point favorite against Team Durant, according to our pals at BetMGM.

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2021 NBA All-Star Game rosters: Team LeBron vs. Team Durant

See the full rosters for Team LeBron and Team Durant ahead of Sunday’s All-Star Game.

LeBron James will try to remain undefeated as a team captain in the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday in Atlanta, and while he won’t have Lakers superstar Anthony Davis alongside him in the starting lineup this time, his roster is loaded with talent.

James, who was voted as the team captain for the Western Conference, and Eastern Conference captain Kevin Durant, who will miss the All-Star Game due to injury, drafted their teams on Wednesday night. With the first overall selection, James picked two-time defending league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, while Durant opted for Nets teammate Kyrie Irving.

The 2021 NBA All-Star Game will begin at 8:00 p.m. ET Sunday on TNT. Here are the rosters for each team: