NBA All-Star betting: The Cavs are a slam dunk play in the Skills Challenge

The NBA tweaked the format of this year's Skills Challenge so hard that there's now actually quite a bit of luck that will factor into who wins the revamped All-Star weekend event. I don't think the sportsbooks have factored this into their lines as much as they should have, so it's time to exploit this value on BetMGM.

The teams

Before we delve into the format and how it's providing us a favorable betting spot, let's take a quick look at the three participating teams and their odds:

Team Rookies (-150): Scottie Barnes, Cade Cunningham, Josh Giddey

Team Cavs (+200): Jarrett Allen, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley

Team Antetokounmpo: (+400): Giannis, Thanasis, and Alex Antetokounmpo

The format

All three teams compete in the first three rounds, which consist mainly of shooting and passing. The winning team from each round is awarded points — 100 points in rounds one and two, and 200 points in round three. The two teams with the most points advance to the final round, where the champion is decided by which team can hit a half-court shot in the shortest amount of time.

Once you get to the final round, it's basically a coin flip on which team will win, so the best wager to make is on a team that's plus money. That's why I'm taking Team Cavs at +200.

In previous Skills Challenges, players had to out-shoot and out-pass their opponents in every round until they made the finals. In this new iteration, you simply have to not be the worst. I believe that unfortunate distinction will belong to Team Antetokounmpo. Thanasis is shooting 15.7% from three-point range and averaging 1.2 field goals per game in his NBA career, while brother Alex has made 10 shots across his 10 NBA G League games. I have a lot more faith in Mobley and Allen hitting their shots on their home court and leading Team Cavs to a final round where they have a 50/50 chance of winning. At +200, that's great value.

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