Best Bets for NBA All-Star Weekend

It's that time in the calendar when the best players from around the NBA come together and put on a show for All-Star Weekend.

This year, Salt Lake City, Utah, serves as the host city for all the festivities.

Just because the NBA season is taking a little break, that doesn't mean there aren't betting opportunities to make some money.

Here are the best bets for the weekend.

Rising Stars Game

Friday at 9 p.m. ET

This year, there are four teams competing in this event. Three teams will be rostered by first and second year players. The fourth team is made up of young G League players.

The format is a three-game tournament. There are two semifinal games that will be played to the target score of 40 points. The winners of each semifinal will play each other in the championship game with the target score of 25 points.

Best Bet: Team Pau +170

This is the best roster of players in the event. It features the 2022 NBA Rookie of the Year, Scottie Barnes along with the first, fourth and fifth picks in the 2022 draft: Paolo Banchero, Keegan Murrary and Jaden Ivey.

The concern with this team is their lack of a pure big man. However, this is the most talented group of players and should be able to get to a target score easily.

2022 NBA Summer League: Orlando Magic vs. Sacramento Kings

Three-point contest

Saturday at 8 p.m. ET

The ball racks are located in five locations around the 3-point line: the two corners, the two wings and the top of the arc. Four of the five racks have a standard one-point ball, with the last ball in the rack worth two points. Contestants can also position one of the five racks containing all two-point balls at any of the five locations they choose.

There are also two ball rack locations called "The Starry Range," that are deep shot positions. These balls are worth three points.

Contestants have 70 seconds to complete as many of the 27 balls as possible. Players with the three highest scores advance to the championship round where the highest score is crowned the winner.

Best Bets: Buddy Hield (+430) and Kevin Huerter (+600)

Hield has made the most 3-pointers in the NBA this season with 230. That's 39 more than the nearest competitor, Damian Lillard. Hield is also 11th in the NBA, shooting 42.6% from 3-point range.

In an event with so much variance, it's hard to just rely on one person even if he is the favorite to win. That's why Kevin Huerter is also a pick.

Huerter's stats won't blow anyone away. He's 22nd in the NBA with 143 3-pointers. He's out of the top 50 with a 39.2% average. However, Huerter is a streaky shooter who can get hot from deep. Long shots have won this event in the past, so going to hold both of these tickets.

Indiana Pacers vs. New York Knicks

NBA All-Star Game

Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET

For the sixth year in a row, the teams will be selected by team captains. This year's captains are LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The new wrinkle this year is that the captains will select their teams 30 minutes before the game tips. Both captains are dealing with injuries, so it's to be seen how many minutes they'll play or if they'll play at all.

Best Bet: Team Giannis +130

The teams are unknown, which is why this could be a valuable bet. If Antetokounmpo drafts a good team, this number will definitely drop.

James is unbeaten in the All-Star Game as the captain of his team. This has to end at some point, and Team Giannis will be the team who takes him down.