NBA All-Star Weekend 2012 Skills Challenge Betting Odds: Stephen Curry the Reigning Favorite
Belmont.com has your NBA All-Star Weekend 2012 Skills Challenge odds. You can find all the latest All-Star Break betting odds at Belmont.com and claim 25 percent FREE CASH on your initial deposit.
NBA All-Star weekend is here and while it is typically a great time for basketball bettors to catch up on databases and look ahead to the second half, some fun action on the festivities is always available. This year is no different with the Slam Dunk contest, Three-point shooting contest and the Skills challenge. The Skills challenge is one of those events that tests point guards in all facets of the position and there are some great contests involved in this year’s contest.
Odds at Belmont.com: Stephen Curry (+250), Deron Williams (+275), Russell Westbrook (+350), John Wall (+400), Kyrie Irving (+500), Tony Parker (+500)
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Stephen Curry is the defending champion of the event and only once in the nine previous years of the Skills challenge has someone repeated as champion (Dwyane Wade). Curry has all the attributes to make another good showing this year but the motivation isn’t likely there anymore having claimed the title already.
The same could be said for Deron Williams who is the only other past champion in the event, winning back in 2007-08 as a member of the Utah Jazz. At +275 he is a valuable betting option though because he likely feels like he has something still to prove with him potentially being a free agent this year, leaving a Nets team that can provide him with a supporting cast capable of being championship contenders.
This is the first appearance for Kyrie Irving and with him being a rookie, he may be a little too nervous to put forth his best effort. He will have played in the Rising Stars game the night before and may just want to get “through” the event and enjoy the rest of the weekend.
Tony Parker was someone who was involved in the very first Skills challenge back in 2002-03 and while that may be considered an advantage, his age has caught up with him. Remember, Spurs coach Greg Popovich rested Parker on Tuesday night because he thought he was getting worn down and it just isn’t in the Spurs’ philosophy to go all out in these events; he is 0-2 in his career in this event.
That leaves us with John Wall and Russell Westbrook. Both competed in last year’s event like Curry and it will actually be the third straight year Westbrook is involved. During the broadcast of a recent OKC game it was brought up to Westbrook about his thoughts on the event and he said something along the lines of only remembering that Curry beat him. That sounds like a motivated athlete to me and at +375 the value is there to take one of the emerging superstar point guards in the league. Wall is likely a bit upset as a competitor that he fell short a season ago, so the motivation will be there for him as well.
However, Westbrook has the better “complete” skill set than Wall and knowing how competitive the guy is, he wants this title more than most. He is our pick to win the Skills challenge this year.
- Matt Smith, Gambling911.com Special Contributor
