Kobe Out of All-Star Game and the odds will show it. Sportsbook has the NBA All-Star game on Sunday and one of the biggest stars is not going to be playing as the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant is out with an ankle injury. The West is still likely to be a slight favorite since they have dominated recently but with Kobe out, the East is going to get a lot of sportsbook online attention.
Sportsbook had Jason Kidd replacing Kobe on the Western Conference roster. Also pulling out of the game was Philadelphia’s Allen Iverson. He will be replaced by New York’s David Lee. Kobe has missed the last three Los Angeles games and it was questionable whether he would play. Iverson never should have been voted into the game to begin with so it is good that he has pulled out.
Kidd being chosen as a replacement for Kobe must be a favor to the Dallas fans since Kidd is not having an All-Star season. NBA commissioner David Stern makes the replacement selections and he obviously ignored the stats when selecting Kidd. He is just fifth in the league in assists as sportsbook stats had it and is nowhere near the leaders in scoring. Monta Ellis of Golden State would have been a far better selection considering he is among the scoring leaders as sportsbook stats have it but he does have an injury and politics obviously played a part in Kidd getting selected.
The Western Conference is vulnerable in NBA All-Star game odds at the sportsbook. They have lost Kobe, Chris Paul and Brandon Roy. While Chauncey Billups is a nice replacement as sportsbook online indicated, Kidd and Chris Kaman really don’t do much for the Western Conference.
On the other side, losing Iverson is a help to the East in sportsbook online since Lee is having a better year than Iverson. He is averaging 20 points and 11.4 rebounds per game as sportsbook online indicated. The two coaches, West coach George Karl and East coach Stan Van Gundy will choose the players who will replace Bryant and Iverson in the starting lineups. It is almost a given that Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki will get one of the spots for the West while Joe Johnson should get the call for the East although Paul Pierce would also be a logical choice.
While the West is still a slight favorite at the sportsbook, the total on the game is in the low 260’s. Not much defense is played and the absence of one or two players is not expected to lead the public to take the under at the sportsbook.