NBA All-Star Betting – Trade Speculation Rampant Heading Into NBA All-Star Weekend
With the NBA All Star Weekend festivities finally here, the trade speculation continues throughout the league, with the ongoing Carmelo Anthony saga in the spotlight more than anything else. Less than a week after it was first reported that the Los Angeles Lakers were very interested in acquiring the services of Anthony from the Denver Nuggets, the New Jersey Nets have rejoined the pursuit of the All Star forward, while the New York Knicks continue their talks as the one team that Anthony has openly admitted he wants to join. Those talks will be in the spotlight once again when Anthony and the Western conference All Stars battle Paul Pierce and the Eastern conference All Stars this Sunday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
- 2011 NBA All Star Game
- Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference
- Sunday February 20, 2011 – 8 PM ET
- Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
- Online Sports Betting Odds: Eastern Conference - 200
The Staples Center will be electric when NBA basketball at the highest level returns after nearly two weeks of Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers playing away from home. Bryant and his teammates enter the break on the heels of consecutive losses to the Charlotte Bobcats and lowly Cleveland Cavaliers, and will need this time to regroup, but the former MVP should still see some time on the floor for the Western conference. Bryant’s 31 points at the All Star game back in 2007 earned him the game MVP and helped lead the West past the East 153-132 in the first All Star betting contest that wasn’t held in an NBA city.
Bryant will be joined by rising superstar Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets, as well as the man that has dominated the trade talks this season. It will be interesting to take a look at the chemistry between Anthony and Bryant even though it is an All Star game. No. 24 will also have teammate Pau Gasol by his side, taking on an Eastern conference team that is just as powerful.
The East will boast two of the last three game MVP’s, and it’s not surprise that these two are teammates for the Miami Heat. Lebron James was named All Star MVP back in 2008 after he scored 27 points with eight rebounds and nine assists, falling just short of clinching a triple-double in an Eastern conference win. His teammate Dwayne Wade earned that recognition last year in front of the biggest crowd ever to watch an All Star game, as it was held at the brand new Cowboys Stadium in front of 108, 713 sports betting bonus fans. The East narrowly squeezed out a win in that game, taking it 141-139 and it will be interesting to see if they can come up with the same result having to travel all the way across the country to the west coast for the game.
NBA Betting Pick: Eastern Conference
