2022 NBA All-Star Game prediction, odds: Team LeBron vs. Team Durant picks, best bets by expert on 85-67 run

The 2022 NBA All-Star Game serves as the centerpiece of the sports world on Sunday evening. The game also caps a jam-packed weekend in Cleveland, including the Slam Dunk Contest, Three-Point Contest, and Rising Stars Challenge. The matchup features 24 of the top players in the world, with LeBron James and Kevin Durant as the captains on each side. James Harden is out of action for Team LeBron, with Durant unable to play for his own squad and Draymond Green also sidelined with injury.

Tipoff at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse is at 8 p.m. ET. Caesars Sportsbook lists Team LeBron as a six-point favorite, while the over-under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, is 324.5 in the latest 2022 NBA All-Star Game odds. Before making any 2022 NBA All-Star Game picks, be sure to check out the 2022 NBA All-Star Weekend predictions from SportsLine expert Mike Barner. 

Barner is a respected NBA Fantasy expert, both season-long and DFS, whose work has appeared in Sports Illustrated and on Yahoo, RotoWire and KFFL. He has also been featured on ESPN Radio. He digs deep into the data, examining team trends and projecting game outcomes. With his unmatched analysis, Barner spots opportunities in a unique way. 

Barner’s expertise has been on full display lately. He is on an amazing 85-67-2 run in against-the-spread NBA picks, returning over $1,100 to $100 players. He also has an incredible feel for NBA All-Star Weekend. In 2021, Barner called the winner of the 3-point Contest, the Dunk Contest and hit both the spread and over-under in the All-Star Game itself. Anybody who followed his picks saw some huge returns. 

Now, he has zeroed in on Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game 2022, analyzed the rosters and matchups, and released a confident against-the-spread pick. Head to SportsLine now to see it. Here are the Team LeBron vs. Team Durant lines:

• NBA All-Star Game 2022 spread: Team LeBron -6
• NBA All-Star Game 2022 over-under: 324.5 points
• NBA All-Star Game 2022 money line: LeBron -230, Durant +190
• Team LeBron: James is seeking a fifth consecutive All-Star victory
• Team Durant: Jayson Tatum replaces the injured Durant (knee) as a starter

2022 NBA All-Star Game format

Team LeBron and Team Durant will represent charitable organizations, with Team LeBron playing for the Kent State I Promise Scholars Program and Team Durant playing for the Greater Cleveland Food Bank. The winner of each quarter will be tracked, with the winner receiving additional funds for its organization, and then a Final Target Score will be implemented to determine the overall winner. 

The Final Target Score, sometimes referred to as an Elam Ending, will be 24 points higher than the leading team’s total score through three quarters. That leads to an untimed fourth quarter, and the first team to reach the Final Target Score will be victorious.

Why Team LeBron can cover

Team LeBron combines off-the-charts skill with depth, and James remains a unique force in the NBA world, appearing in his record-tying 18th All-Star Game. He is averaging 29.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 6.5 assists per game this season, and has been even better lately with 25 points or more in the last 23 games. James is also a fantastically gifted player in terms of athleticism, and that also applies to Giannis Antetokounmpo. Antetokounmpo won the 2021 NBA All-Star MVP while making all 16 of his shots, and he scored 82 points in the last two games before the All-Star break.

Elsewhere, DeMar DeRozan and Luka Doncic are supporting pieces on this All-Star team, though both are top-10 MVP candidates in the league this season. DeRozan is leading the NBA in scoring this month, with Doncic closing the first half of the season by scoring 45 points or more in three out of four games. Stephen Curry is the NBA’s best shooter, attracting more defensive attention than anyone, and Nikola Jokic has the best advanced metrics of any player in the league. The Denver Nuggets center also ranks in the top 10 of the NBA in points, rebounds, and assists, which is wildly impressive.

Why Team Durant can cover

Team Durant has incredible talent and depth, with Joel Embiid as the team’s centerpiece. Embiid is the current betting favorite to win the 2021-22 NBA MVP award at Caesars Sportsbook, and he is averaging 33.4 points and 11.5 rebounds per game in the last 25 contests. Team Durant also has another elite center in Rudy Gobert, and the team’s perimeter collection is impressive. Ja Morant is enjoying a breakout campaign, leading the Memphis Grizzlies to a top-three mark in the West and averaging 26.8 points, 6.9 assists and 5.8 rebounds. 

Trae Young is also on board, averaging nearly 28 points and more than nine assists per game, and Tatum is putting up 27.2 points and 7.8 rebounds in the last 13 games for the Boston Celtics. Team Durant also has Devin Booker, who is the leading scorer on the best team in the league in Phoenix. He scored 29.2 points per game in the last 18 games before the All-Star Break.

How to make 2022 NBA All-Star Game picks

Barner is leaning under on the total, and he’s also found a critical X-factor that has him jumping all over one side of the spread. You can only see what it is, and which team you should back in the 2022 NBA All-Star Game at SportsLine.

Who wins the NBA All-Star Game 2022? And what crucial X-factor makes one side a must-back? Visit SportsLine right now to see which team you should be backing on Sunday, all from the SportsLine expert who crushed his All-Star picks last year, and find out.

2022 NBA All-Star Game Rosters

Team Durant:

Kevin Durant
Joel Embiid 
Ja Morant
Jayson Tatum
Andrew Wiggins
Trae Young
LaMelo Ball
Devin Booker
Rudy Gobert
Zach LaVine
Khris Middleton
Dejounte Murray
Karl-Anthony Towns
Draymond Green

Team LeBron

LeBron James
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Stephen Curry
DeMar DeRozan
Nikola Jokic
Jarrett Allen
Jimmy Butler
Luka Doncic
Darius Garland
James Harden
Donovan Mitchell
Chris Paul
Fred VanVleet