Another win for LBJ’s selection?
For the 71st time the All-Star Game takes place in the NBA. It will kick off on 21 February 2022 from 02:00. This time, Cleveland and its Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse have been awarded the contract to host the event. This is the third time that the “Forest City” in Ohio has served as the location for the All-Star Game.
In addition, like last year, LeBron and Durant’s teams will face each other. LeBron James’ team prevailed last year and celebrated their fourth success in a row! The title of MVP also went to his selection in the person of Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The “Greek Freak” will also be in LBJ’s team again. For the upcoming edition of the NBA All-Star Game 2022, a tip and odds are presented below! You can watch the game live on DAZN.
Team LeBron – statistics & current form
Head coach Monty Williams, who usually performs this job in Phoenix, can be very happy with LeBron James’ selection of his team. Among the strongest players on LeBron’s team, besides the captain, can be counted Nikola Jokic. The Serb is the reigning MVP and is once again performing at this level.
Thus he carries his team in Denver, which is affected by various retirements, in an impressive manner. The “Joker” ranks among the best ten players in the NBA in points, rebounds and assists respectively.
Moreover, no player has delivered more double and triple-doubles league-wide this season than the 26-year-old!
In addition, LBJ picked last year’s MVP of the All-Star Game in the person of Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek is once again performing at a very high level this season and is also one of the three top favourites in the draw for the upcoming MVP alongside Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic.
DeRozan is currently unstoppable
The Bulls’ DeMar DeRozan is also in great form. With Zach Lavine out of action, he’s been asked to do a lot of work on the offensive end in Chicago, and the small forward is doing a great job, scoring at least 35 points in each of the past seven league games!
Furthermore, LeBron’s team has Stephen Curry, the best three-point shooter in the history of the NBA, on board for the shots from downtown. The “Chef” once again leads the scoring for most threes per game this season and has been named an All-Star for the eighth time in his career.
VanVleet makes his All-Star debut in 2022
Further available as a backup to Curry’s throws from downtown is Fred VanVleet of the Toronto Raptors. The shooting guard has earned his first nomination through a very strong season so far. VanVleet is especially convincing as an excellent sharpshooter from outside the perimeter.
Curry alone is hitting more threes per game this season than the 27-year-old, who is averaging four threes per league game. Although the VanVleet had to miss the last game due to an injury, he will most likely play again at the All-Star.
Also making his first appearance at the All-Star Game is Darius Garland. The point guard normally hunts for baskets with the Cleveland Cavaliers and has been very efficient this season, especially as an assister. Only five players in the NBA put up more baskets for their teammates than Garland!
“CP3” is on top of the starting lineup
Leading the scoring is the “Point God” who can be equally spotted on Team LeBron. Chris Paul has now bagged a dozen nominations – LeBron James alone tops that enormous number among this year’s players.
Team Durant – statistics & current form
Head coach Erik Spoelstra will have to do without his captain for his team. Kevin Durant of the Nets will not participate due to an injury. With his already twelfth participation he would have been the most experienced player on his team’s side.
Ja Morant, on the other hand, will celebrate his premiere at an All-Star Game. The guard from the Grizzlies is well on his way to becoming a new superstar in the NBA and is playing his third season. In this season, the “Rookie of the Year” from 2020 has once again made a huge leap in performance.
Morant increased his seasonal scoring average from 19.1 to 26.8! He also increased his rebounds by almost a third.
Murray steps in for Green
Another debutant is Dejounte Murray of the San Antonio Spurs. The point guard was chosen to replace the Warriors’ Draymond Green, who was injured and nominated for the fourth time.
While he certainly doesn’t have quite the defensive class of Green, Murray absolutely deserves the nomination. A reliable two-way player, he boasts the most triple-doubles after Nikola Jokic this season!
KD also made a point of not selecting his former teammate at Brooklyn James Harden, who recently left for the Sixers. “The Beard” was assigned to the opposing team only as the last player of the All-Star Draft because of this antics. However, the issue has been settled anyway, because Harden has to pass due to an injury.
Instead, centre Jarrett Allen was re-nominated by the Cavs, who will now also play in front of his own backdrop on his debut.
“The Process” is expected to get it done at forward
On the offensive end, hopes are pinned on Joel Embiid. The Cameroonian centre from Philadelphia ranks second in scoring and, as mentioned, is among the short list of players with the best chance of winning the MVP title this season.
In Philly history, there have been few icons like Allen Iverson or Wilt Chamberlain who have performed at such a high level of play as Embiid currently does.
Mode of the NBA All-Star Game 2022
As in the previous year, the All-Star Game will run according to its own rules. The first three quarters are scored individually and then the points scored are added together. The total of the leading team up to that point is followed by 24 points, based on Kobe Bryant’s shirt number.
The team that reaches this number of points first may finally claim victory in the All-Star Game 2022. The length of the fourth quarter can be either shorter or longer than the usual twelve minutes.
Who will be the new MVP at the NBA All-Star Game 2022?
If Giannis Antetokounmpo defends his MVP title, he would be the second player in league history after Russell Westbrook to achieve the feat. LeBron James could also go down in the history books if he succeeds, as it would be his fourth MVP triumph.
Only Kobe Bryant and Bob Pettit have achieved this before. He will also be particularly motivated by the venue. As is well known, the four-time champion won the title with the Cavaliers in Cleveland in 2016. To this day, one of the greatest finals of all time, as Cleveland was able to prevail against the overpowering Warriors and only after seven games.
Will LBJ take the MVP title?
With that in mind and his recent strong form with the Lakers, where he was particularly challenged by the temporary absence of Anthony Davis, picks on LBJ as MVP at the 2022 All-Star Game are also of interest.
Another factor in favour of the prediction is that James only made a brief appearance at last year’s All-Star Game because he was not fully fit. This year, the forward wants to show once again that he can still be counted among the best players in the NBA, even as an oldie.
Team LeBron – Team Durant Direct Comparison / H2H-Balance
The previous year, Team LeBron prevailed over Team Durant by a score of 170-150. As mentioned at the beginning, it was the fourth success in a row of a team with LBJ as captain. The opposing teams were also led twice by Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee champions and once by Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors.
Team LeBron – Team Durant Tip
Since 2005, LeBron James has always been nominated for the All-Star Game. This is the 37-year-old’s 18th time participating and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar alone tops that number of nominations in National Basketball Association history!
For the 2022 NBA All-Star Game between Team LeBron and Team Durant, betting on LBJ’s team to win by at least six points seems profitable. As in previous years, “The Chosen One” has put together a team with the right mix of veterans and young players.
On top of that, from an objective point of view, it can be said that the individual quality on the part of Team LeBron is higher compared to Team Durant, in which the captain is already missing once due to injury.
The fact alone that this team includes DeMar DeRozan and Luka Doncic, the two players from the East and West who are currently in the best form, underlines this judgement. In addition, Nikola Jokic is the reigning MVP and has the best chance of defending his title this season.
