The NBA All-Star weekend festivities will begin this evening with the Castrol Rising Stars, with the first matchup of the mini-tournament set for 9 p.m. ET from the Chase Center in San Francisco, California.
This year's Rising Stars event consists of 4 teams of 7 players in a tournament-style format. The winner of the event will go on to compete against the best-of-the-best in the main All-Star tournament on Sunday night.
Continue below for our NBA Rising Stars predictions and NBA picks for Friday, February 14.
NBA Rising Stars Predictions, Picks, Odds: Friday, February 14
- Tournament Winner: Team Mitch (+160, BetMGM)
- Team Chris Moneyline (-122, DraftKings) vs. Team Tim
- Tournament Winner: Team Mitch (+160, BetMGM)
Tournament Winner: Team Mitch (+160)
By Joe Dellera
I’m going with team Mitch here. I like the continuity in the roster with a pair of teammates from the Wizards and Blazers, plus the Thompson Twins.
They have a team that can switch everything, but they also have legitimate NBA experience, it’s not just a team of rookies.
I also think their path is easiest. They play the G League team (Team Jeremy) first, so they should be able to get through their first game pretty easily.
In theory, they have the path of least resistance to the championship game. I’ll back the favorites in this short competition.
Best Bet: Team Mitch to Win Tournament (+160)
Team Chris Moneyline (-122) vs. Team Tim
The revamped NBA All-Star Weekend format tips off on Friday night with the Rising Stars Game, a mini-tournament involving four teams of seven players, one of which is entirely from the G-League.
This tournament will have two rounds, beginning with the semifinals. The first team to 40 points advances to the final round, where the team that reaches 25 points is crowned the champion. The winning group will then be one of the four teams that play on Sunday against the NBA All-Stars in their mini-tournament.
After reviewing the matchups, I’m particularly interested in Team Chris, coached by the five-time All-Star Chris Mullin.
Mullin’s team features Stephon Castle (Spurs), Dalton Knecht (Lakers), Jaylen Wells (Grizzlies), Keyonte George (Jazz), Zach Edey (Grizzlies), Trayce Jackson-Davis (Warriors) and Ryan Dunn (Suns).
Team C will face Team T, coached by Tim Hardaway, another five-time All-Star throughout his career. Hardaway’s roster includes Brandin Podziemski (Warriors), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (Heat,) Gradey Dick (Raptors), Anthony Black (Magic), Zaccharie Risacher (Hawks), Alex Sarr (Wizards) and Tristan da Silva (Magic).
The first thing that jumps out to me is that Mullin has the more balanced team in terms of size with Edey and on the perimeter with Knecht. Castle is also a handful, capable of breaking down his opponent and getting into the paint.
It’s also worth noting that Podziemski is the only player on Hardaway’s roster who is currently on a winning team. In comparison, Mullin’s roster has four players on teams above .500.
Given the talent discrepancy between the two rosters, I’m not entirely surprised that Team Chris is a 2.5-point favorite with a moneyline at -122.
Their talent should be enough to survive and advance into the final round.
Best Bet: Team Chris Moneyline (-122)
Tournament Winner: Team Mitch (+160)
Taking the favorite in a contest like this feels dumb, but this is just the best team.
In fact, if I could bet Amen Thompson to be MVP, I probably would.
Julian Strawther has the capability of lighting it up from three, this team has defenders in the Thompson twins, Toumani Camara and Bilal Coulibaly.
They just have all the ingredients to be good at this silly format.
Best Bet: Team Mitch to Win Tournament (+160)
