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NBA 3 Point Contest Picks – All Star Weekend 2019

by | Last updated Feb 14, 2019 | nba

Buddy Hield Sacremento

2019 MTN DEW 3-Point Contest – NBA All-Star Saturday Night
When: Saturday, February 16th, 2019 – 8 pm ET (2nd Event)
Where: Spectrum Center – Charlotte, NC
TV: TNT

Welcome to the true champion of NBA All-Star Saturday Night: the 2019 MTN DEW 3-point Contest. My general disinterest in the more heralded Slam-Dunk Contest will become abundantly clear later, but suffice to say that it’s a far inferior product to its preceding event. In the early days of the 3-point line, nobody really knew what it was or how it worked. Larry Bird famously led the league in 1985-86 with 82 made 3-pointers on 194 total attempts. In the month of January alone, James Harden made 78 3-pointers on 233 attempts. In just 33 short years (Larry Bird again!), the NBA’s axis has been flipped on its head, and the game is more centered around the ability to space the floor with shooting as it has ever been. What can I say: chicks dig the long ball.

Part of the reason why the 3-point contest has become the go-to for NBA lovers on All-Star weekend is the accessibility and relatability of it. Outside of a 3-month stretch when I was 17, I’ve never been able even to grab the rim. But I could shoot, and I’ve done countless 3-point contests with my friends and teammates. Watching these guys do the thing that I love to do at the highest level is equal parts inspiring, mesmerizing and incredibly infuriating. Nostalgia aside, we’re in for yet another incredible 3-point shootout featuring (some of) the league’s elite marksmen. If you are looking to place a few sheckles on an event – I’ve got the one for you. Let’s have some fun and get into some #TierTalk, shall we?

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Tier 1: Just Happy to Be Here

  • Dirk Nowitzki – 15/1

On any other night, I would be happy to regale you with tales of the legend of Dirk Nowitzki. But much like Old Man Dirk will be doing on Saturday night, I’m going to go ahead and mail this section in. The 2006 3-Point shootout champion is forever in my heart for giving me the greatest gift I’ve ever received: the 2011 NBA Finals. But anytime you’re trying to petition the league to grant you an extra 15 seconds to complete the racks, it’s wise to avoid betting on you. Regardless, what a victory lap for Dirk! Happy for my guy.

Tier 2: Better in a Game Scenario

  • Danny Green – 12/1
  • Khris Middleton – 12/1

I’ll save you all my rant about Middleton’s All-Star status, but I’ll just tell you that there is a certain forward in Toronto whose name rhymes with Schmascal Schmiakam who would like a word with the All-Star council. And that player’s teammate, Danny Green, is some people’s long shot, but I’m honestly not a huge fan of his jump shot or his current hairdo, so he’s out. Both good players, both decent shooters – not for me.

Tier 3: This Guy Can Do One Thing

  • Joe Harris – 15/2
  • Seth Curry – 11/2

Joe Harris and Seth Curry came here to chew gum and knock down wide-open corner 3s– and they’re all out of gum. Unfortunately, this contest involves moving around and pulling balls off of a rack, and while both of these guys are technically great shooters in a vacuum, it’s a little bit different when you’re staring down the best of the best. I wouldn’t necessarily count either one of them as completely dead in the water, and a little taste on a Joe Harris victory is just juicy enough to catch my eye. But ultimately, these aren’t the “Jason Kaponos” we’re looking for. Next.

Tier 4: All-NBA Darkhorses

  • Damian Lillard – 9/1
  • Kemba Walker – 9/1

Getting Damian Lillard or Kemba Walker at 9/1 in anything feels like a steal, but getting them at 9/1 in something that involves them shooting a basketball is highway robbery. Are you trying to tell me that Damian Lillard, the pride of Weber State, a man who is shattering 3-point records left and right while maintaining a steady rap career, has worse odds than a white guy from UVA? Are we sure we want to do this? Meanwhile, Kemba Walker, who singlehandedly took a blowtorch to the NCAA’s establishment this decade, a man who can get hotter than hot, has nearly double the odds of Doc Rivers’ son-in-law? Am I losing my mind – or is Vegas pulling a fast one? This might be an Admiral Ackbar-style “It’s a trap!” moment, but I’m hook, line and sinker, baby. 9/1 is a betting ticket you can tell your grandkids about. Sign me up.

Tier 5: Could’ve Been A Contender

  • Devin Booker – 9/2
  • Buddy Hield – 4/1

Full disclosure: When I saw the announcement of who was going to be in the 3-point contest, I could not pull up Buddy Hield’s odds fast enough. But I was not expecting to find a 4/1 waiting for me, and it’s yet another reason why online bookies always beat Joe Public. Buddy Hield’s perfect jump shot was a secret that I thought only I knew about it, but apparently, it’s in the public domain. And if we’re talking about jump shots that you want to show your kids, Devin Booker’s is about as textbook and mechanically perfect as a shot can be. I loved him coming into the NBA, I loved him going into his last 3-point shootout (which he won), and I love him in this one. We’re at the point now where there’s no such thing as a bad bet, and splitting your money evenly between these two to get roughly a 2/1 betting ticket that one of them wins is how money gets made.

The Penthouse: The Nuclear Option

  • Stephen Curry – 2/1

If you thought that Stephen Curry wasn’t going to get his own tier, you clearly aren’t reading Kyle Cash’s daily NBA picks on a consistent basis. Don’t feel bad. Nobody is. The Greatest Shooter and Offensive Player in NBA history has already won this contest once, and it’s shocking and egregious and immoral that he hasn’t won it again. I give out exact scores of every game that I forecast here at Predictem.com, and here’s a free guess for you: Stephen Curry puts up a 30-spot in his final round. 30 points worth of threes for number 30 in his hometown of Charlotte. You want a narrative? THAT is a narrative.

And there you have it. In reality, any one of these guys has the ability to shock the world and take home the 3-point belt. If Daequan Cook and Voshon Lenard can do it, there’s no reason why Joe Harris and Danny Green can’t follow suit. So my professional advice to you is not to go too crazy, and just pick a guy or two and throw down a few bucks at a sportsbook like 5Dimes. Do a draft with your friends and throw up $20 each. Bet over/under for made money balls with the chick next to you at the bar. And if you really want to win, just do the right thing and back Stephen Curry. Again: Charlotte is his hometown. And that’s that.